So, Titan football rankings.
Actual AP Poll (which started in 1936 season):The Titans made the actual AP Top 20 poll in two seasons.
In 1937 the Titans were ranked #18 on October 25 after winning at Boston College, 14-0, the prior Saturday. The win left the Titans at 5-0, with wins over Hillsdale (60-0), Western Michigan (20-7), Texas Tech (34-0), and Catholic (30-0). But the Titans lost the next week, 7-0 to 16th ranked Villanova, and then lost the following week 7-0 at Manhattan. After wins over North Dakota (40-0) and Creighton (48-7), the Titans lost their season finale at Duquesne, 14-7, to finish 7-3.
1940 was very similar to 1937. The Titans again entered the poll the last week in October after a 5-0 start, coming it at #17 on October 28. As in 1937, the Titans gave up just 7 points in their first 5 games. After defeating Wayne State 42-7 in the season opener, the Titans shut out Catholic, Eastern Michigan, Manhattan, and Villanova. Another 7-0 loss the next week--this time to Tulsa--knocked the Titans out of the poll. The Titans rebounded to shut out TCU 3-0, but then lost Gonzaga, 13-7. Detroit closed out a 7-2 season with yet another shut out, over Marquette, but it wasn't enough to break back into the top 20.
Recreated AP Polls:As noted above, a fellow named
James Vautravers has painstakingly recreated what he believes the AP final top 25 would have looked like had they had polls before 1936. Note that this is not Vautravers own ranking, but what he believes, based on research about how AP voters tend to vote, the AP would have done.
According to Vautravers, the Titans would have finished the year in the Top 25 twice, and been among those "receiving votes" in four other seasons. Here they are:
1917: The 1917 Titans went 8-1, losing only to Michigan in the season's second week, 14-3. (UM checked in at #14 in Vautravers's AP poll). This came after the Titans opened the season with a 145-0 shellacking of Toledo. After losing to UM, the Titans won their final 7 games, including a win over Michigan State in the season finale. But Vautravers notes, "They beat no one of value," and figures they would have received votes but not cracked the Top 25. Remember, MSU was a gridiron nothing in those early days.
1919: Vautravers has the Titans among those not in the Top 20, but "receiving votes." The 1919 Titans went 8-1, outscoring opponents 257-30, with five shutouts. The Titans only loss was 7-3 to Tufts. The best win was probably over Georgetown, 16-13. Vautravers also had the Hoyas "receiving votes."
1921: The Titans were again among the hypothetical "receiving votes" after an 8-1 season. Vautravers' would have had Detroit with the 26th most points in the AP poll. The Titans lost to Washington & Jefferson (#4, and a power in those days), but not beating anyone of much worth. Wins included Tulane and Boston College, but also Vermont, Marietta, Ohio Northern, Franklin, West Virginia Wesleyan, and Springfield.
Note these three teams above were all coached by Jim Duffy, who went 43-12-1 in 6 seasons at the helm of the Titans. The next three were all coached by Gus Dorais.
1927: The Titans were 7-2, with their only losses to #2 Army (6-0 on the road) and #3 Notre Dame (20-0 on the road). But the wins weren't impressive, so Vautravers' doesn't think they'd crack the AP top 25--though in his personal opinion, they were a top 25 team. The seven wins were over Adrian, Loras, Michigan State, Haskell, St. Louis, Carnegie Mellon, and South Dakota State.
1928: The Titans went 9-0, and noted football historian Parke Davis retroactively declared the Titans the nation's co-#1 (with Georgia Tech). Most people think Davis, whose rankings are highly respected, nonetheless put the Titans too high. Vautravers says he would have put the Titans #4 on the merits, but thinks the AP would have voted them #9. Under Gus Dorais, the Titans went 9-0. Only two teams scored on Detroit: Tulsa, which fell 19-14 in week 2, and Georgetown, which lost to the Titans 33-13 in the season finale. Included in the seven shutout wins was a 39-0 thumping of Michigan State.
1933: Vautravers's retroactive AP Poll brings the Titans in as #17 in 1933. The Titans went 7-1, losing only at Duquesne, 14-0. The Dukes went 10-1 that year, and were 16th in Vautravers's recreated poll. Once again only two teams scored on Detroit--Marquette fell 22-6 one week after the loss at Duquesne. The Titans shut out Eastern Michigan, Western Michigan, Washington & Jefferson, Holy Cross, Catholic, and, in season finale, Michigan State (14-0).
Sports ReferenceThe site Sports-Reference.com includes a "Simple Rating System," which gives teams a score based on strength of schedule and average point differential. They only go back to 1927 for the Titans. This system would put the Titans in the top 25 for these years:
1927: 22nd
1928: 12th
1933: 19th
This system would have ranked the Titans quite high (i.e. 26-40) in several other seasons before the WWII break, but not in the top 25.