Q for DL65: When you say you "witnessed" a national championship, what did you see? When the Gophers moved to # 1 in the polls following a victory in the last game of the season on or about Nov. 19, 1960, did the players, media etc. believe that they had won a national championship? Did the newspapers at the time say so, with statements like the "Gopher have clinched the national championship, even if they lose the Rose Bowl, which is only an exhibition game that doesn't count." Are their media accounts from late Nov. and Dec. 1960 calling the Gophers national champion, or did that happen later? I don't know the answers to these questions, but would be interested in what people thought and said at the time?
After losing the Rose Bowl, did the game accounts include statements confirming that the Gophers were national champions, as a 2-loss team, or did that happen later? Was there any poll or choice after the Rose Bowl that crowned the Gophers as national champion? Do the Jan. 2-3 newspapers from around the country call the Gophers the national champion?
I don't mean to pick on you, I just think that calling the Gophers the 1960 National Champions is a bit odd, and suspect it was an after-the-fact thing, and that folks didn't believe from Nov. 20,1960-Jan. 2, 1961 that the Gophers were national champion. I got thinking about this with the report of the "new" trophy in the Gophers locker room for the 1960 national championship. I also wonder, did anyone actually give the Gophers a national championship trophy in late Nov. 1960-Dec. 1960, or in 1961? Again, I don't know the answers to these questions.
Would be interested in your thoughts DL65.
While this is post # 1 for me, I am a long-time reader and 20-year plus Gopher season-ticket holder.