The 1951 Boston University Terriers football team was an American football team that represented Boston University as an independent during the 1951 college football season. In its fifth season under head coach Aldo Donelli, the team compiled a 6–4 record and outscored their opponents by a total of 299 to 157.[1] Although they finished with four losses, all 4 of which were to opponents who finished unranked , defeated only one opponent that was ranked at the time of the game (No. 16 Pacific (CA), which finished 6–5 and unranked), defeated no opponents who finished ranked, defeated no opponents that finished with a winning percentage above .600 other than 7–3 William & Mary, and defeated just one opponent (2-8 Oregon) who was in a major conference at the time and just one other opponent (Louisville) which is in FBS today, the Terriers still managed to secure a spot on the final AP Poll, just shy of the top 15. This was largely due to two first place votes that were granted to the team, becoming only the second team to receive first place votes in the final poll with a winning percentage of .600 or worse, the first being 5–4–1 Holy Cross in 1942. The 1951 Boston team is considered by James Vautravers, a college football historian who analyzes past AP polls, to be the worst team to ever finish ranked in an AP Poll.[2] The team was ranked at No. 54 in the 1951 Litkenhous Ratings.[3]
To date, they are the most recent team that joined Division I-AA/FCS after it was formed in 1978 (excluding teams that were dropped later either voluntarily or due to rule changes) to be ranked in an AP Poll, as no team since the AP Poll allowed FCS teams to be ranked in 2007 has ever been ranked, despite some receiving votes.
