Before the NCAA took control of rules and records in 1937, teams could play less than what the rule book said. All you needed was agreement by the teams themselves.
Rutgers thought they’d have an easy time with NYU and negotiated one of the shortest games ever played in school history since football became four quarters in 1910. The 53-0 home shutout of Albright College on September 25, 1915 and the 13-0 home shutout of Pennsylvania Military College on September 30, 1922 were both played with four eight-minute quarters. The October 21, 1923 Sunday Times Home News explained, “Yesterday’s game was the shortest ever played here, taking only 32 minutes of playing time…. Before the game, an agreement was made with the visiting team that three periods of eight minutes be played and if, at the end of eight minutes in the final stanza, Rutgers were leading, the game should be called.”
Instead, heavily favored Rutgers found itself down 3-0 when Bus Terrill made an 82-yard touchdown run halfway through the fourth quarter just as the eight-minute mark approached. “… Rutgers was leading by four points and the officials called the game. This caused a great deal of confusion, as some thought that the last period was to have been 15 minutes, but the action of Referee Farrier in putting an end to the game early was justified by the agreement made.” Rutgers gave NYU the quick hook and a 7-3 loss.
