| 1927 college football season | ||
|---|---|---|
 Rose Bowl souvenir program | ||
| Number of bowls | 1 | |
| Bowl games | January 1, 1928 | |
| Champion(s) | Illinois Georgia Texas A&M Yale | |
| ||
The 1927 college football season ended with the Illini of the University of Illinois (7–0–1) being recognized as champion under the Dickinson System. At season's end, the Rissler Cup was awarded to the team that finished first in the "Dickinson ratings", which considered strength of schedule, in that a win, loss or tie against a "strong" opponent was worth more than one against a lesser team, and the results were averaged.
In the final week, Georgia's "Dream and Wonder team" was upset by Georgia Tech. Georgia had upset Eastern power Yale 14–10. Though most selectors retrospectively named either Illinois or Georgia as their 1927 national champions, over a half-century later Jeff Sagarin, a computer-based selector, named Dana X. Bible's Texas Aggies as the No. 1 team.[1]
In the Rose Bowl, the Pittsburgh Panthers (8–0–1) were invited to play against the Pacific Coast Conference champion. Though USC and Stanford had identical records in conference play, Stanford was given a chance to "avenge" its 7–7 tie against Alabama in the previous year's Rose Bowl. Stanford won 7–6.
- ^ 2020 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. July 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2021.