 In 1927, the AP story about the "national football championship" for that year noted that "Scores of 96 football teams were compiled by Dr. Dickinson in seven football conferences, including an Eastern group of 25 leading teams regarded for convenience as a conference... 
"The Dickinson system awards 30 points for a victory over a strong team, and 20 for victory over a weak team.Defeats count half as much as victories [15 pts vs. strong team, 10 pts vs. weak team], and ties are considered as games half won and half lost [22.5 points vs. strong, 15 vs. weak].Dividing this total by the number of games played gives the final rating."