In December 1926, prior to the Rose Bowl, Stanford was selected as the national champion under the Dickinson System. Stanford garnered 22.5 points from Dickinson. Navy ranked second with 21.88 points, and Alabama was ranked No. 10 with 16.67 points, due to weak schedule strength.[2]
The 1927 Rose Bowl was held on January 1, 1927, in Pasadena, California. Stanford (10-0, 4-0 PCC) faced off against the Southern Conference Champions, the Alabama Crimson Tide (9-0, 8-0 SoCon). The game would end in a 7–7, and was the last Rose Bowl game to end in a tie.
United Press called the 1927 Rose Bowl "the football championship of America", and the game was considered the most exciting in the series up to that time. The crowd of 68,000 set an attendance record. Stanford's George Bogue missed an 18-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter, then threw a touchdown pass to Ed Walker and kicked the point after to put Stanford up, 7-0. Stanford held that lead through most of the rest of the game, but in the final minutes, they were forced to punt on fourth down. Frankie Wilton's kick was blocked, and Alabama took over 14 yards from goal. Four plays later, and with a minute left, Jimmy Johnson carried the ball for a touchdown, making it 7-6. The two-point conversion, and overtime, were decades in the future. Stanford's only hope was to block the point after, but Alabama ran the play quickly and Herschel Caldwell's kick tied Stanford, and took away a Stanford victory in the final minute.[16]
^"They Were Number One — College Football's National Championship Teams — * As Chosen By Citizens Savings Athletic Foundation" (Press release). Los Angeles: Citizens Savings Athletic Foundation. March 15, 1973. As the result of its 1973 appraisal, the Athletic Foundation took the privilege of granting co-championship recognition to Stanford with Alabama in 1926; Notre Dame with the U.S. Military in 1946; Michigan with Notre Dame in 1947; and Ohio State with UCLA in 1954.
^2020 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records(PDF). Indianapolis: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. July 2020. pp. 112–114. Archived(PDF) from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2021.