The Game that Changed the South

When someone talks about the South, they rarely ever forget to talk about FOOTBALL. SEC (South Eastern Conference) Saturdays are a vital part of a Southerner's life in the fall, year in and year out. (Watch the video above to find out what the SEC is all about). The SEC has produced some of the best players that play in the National Football League because of the tough competition that SEC teams provide. Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, Champ Bailey, and Hines Ward are just a few former SEC players to mention. Even though football has been such a huge part of the Southern identity, it was not always that way.

After the Civil War, the South was "devoid of regional pride," but one event gave the South something to be proud of for several years to come. In the early 1900's, Southern football was considered inferior to football in other regions. Personally, I cannot imagine Brown or Yale being better football schools than Alabama. Because of this assumed inferiority, Southern teams were not even taken into consideration to play in the Rose Bowl. "In the 1920s, many Ivy League as well as other colleges felt that football had become too popular and might interfere with academics. Some schools decided that the regular season games were enough and they would no longer accept Rose Bowl invitations (Jarvis)." In 1925, the Washington Huskies had an undefeated season but they denied an invitation to the Rose Bowl because of their coach's "grudge" with Southern California. Another college also had an undefeated season; the University of Alabama. So, reluctantly, the Rose Bowl committee decided to consider the University of Alabama (Jarvis). After hearing this, the Huskies reversed their earlier decision and decided to play Alabama in the 1926 Rose Bowl.

Alabama was a huge underdog in this match-up. The game is considered one of the greatest Rose Bowls of all time, for two reasons. The final score was Washington 19 and Alabama 20. That's right! Alabama beat the mighty Huskies. I would say that the crowd got its money's worth. This game marked the beginning of Southern dominance in college football and has been dubbed as "The Football Game That Changed the South."

*Georgia Tech was part of the SEC until 1963.

Sources:
1) "Reconstruction and the Rose Bowl" by Gail Jarvis
2) "The Football Game That Changed the South" (Press Release)