The 1934 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team, under head coach Bernie Bierman, compiled an undefeated 8–0 record, won the Big Ten championship, led the conference in scoring offense (33.8 points per game), and was selected as the national champion by eight of the selectors recognized as official by the NCAA. Fullback Pug Lund received the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the most valuable player of the Big Ten. Three Minnesota players were selected as consensus first-team All-Americans: Lund, end Frank Larson, and guard Bill Bevan.
The 1934 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, in the program's first year under Francis Schmidt, compiled a 7–1 record, led the Big Ten in scoring defense (4.3 points allowed per game), and was ranked No. 8 under the Dickinson System. Guard Regis Monahan and end Merle Wendt were selected as first-team All-Americans.