This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/stayclassypeople on 2024-07-03 11:43:03+00:00.
THE 1957 Season
This is the eighth post in a series covering the 1950-1973 seasons. Each year I will cover the big games the shaped the race for #1 and how they performed in the bowls. Season by season you’ll see the gradual evolution of how college football went from a regular season only sport into a game into a sport where bowls would become national championship events. This is my amateur attempt at understanding college football’s bizarre journey in declaring who is #1.
Master Post (check out prior seasons here)
A Brief History of the bowls and Polls
News & Notes
- Auburn was put on probation by the SEC after it was discovered they paid two high school players $500 a piece.
- Notre Dame had a self imposed bowl ban.
- Bowl Tie Ins
- Rose: PCC and Big 10 champs
- Iowa and Oregon St ineligible due to each conference’s 'no repeat rule.'
- Sugar: SEC (unofficially)
- Auburn ineligible
- Orange: Big 7 and ACC champs
- Colorado ineligible due to the Big 7’s ‘no repeat’ rule
- Cotton: SWC champ
- Rose: PCC and Big 10 champs
- Oklahoma A&M changed it’s name to Oklahoma St and agreed to join the Big 7. They would not begin play in the conference until the 1960 season. For the interim, they left the Missouri Valley Conference and played as an independent
- I forgot to mention in the last post, but The Air Force played its first season of football in 1956. Technically they played their first season in 1955, however they only played freshman squads from other schools.
- Preseason #1: Oklahoma
Big Games
*all rankings mentioned are AP only
- September 28th
- unranked Auburn scored a huge 7-0 win at #8 Tennessee. They would score two additional ranked wins on the way to a perfect season
- Ohio St fell 14-18 to TCU. They would run the table from here, while TCU would finish 5-4-1.
- October 12th
- #2 Michigan St rolled #6 Michigan 35-6. The win propelled them to #1 in the next poll.
- October 19th
- Newly minted #1 Michigan St fell at home vs Purdue, 13-20.
- October 21st
- Oklahoma regained #1 in the AP
- October 28
- 6-0 Texas A&M jumped Oklahoma for #1
- November 2nd
- #3 Iowa tied #12 Michigan 21-21.
- November 16th
- #2 Oklahoma (7-0) vs Notre Dame: The Sooners entered this game on a 47 game win streak. Notre Dame entered unranked on a two game losing streak. It was a 0-0 defensive slugfest deep into the 4th quarter when the Irish went on a 20 play 80 yard driving, scoring a touchdown on 4th and goal from the 3 yard line to go up 7-0. With around a minute to go, Notre Dame’s D later intercepted an Oklahoma pass in the end zone to seal the upset. Oklahoma’s 47 game win streak still stands as an NCAA record.
- #6 Ohio St (6-1) unofficially wrapped up the Big 10 title with a 17-13 win over #5 Iowa. They would need a win over Michigan the following to secure it outright over 1 loss Michigan St, but were Rose Bowl bound either way.
- November 23rd
- #2/#1 Ohio St completed it’s season with a 31-14 win over #19 Michigan to finish 8-1. Despite a loss on their record, they were still ahead of unbeaten Auburn in the polls. This was thanks, in part, to Woody Hayes campaigning for poll votes, arguing that Auburn had a weaker strength of schedule. So far it was working in the coaches poll, but their final poll would not be released for another week.
- November 30th
- #4 Oklahoma waxed Oklahoma St 53-6. Given that their resume included 0 ranked wins, it’s unlikely they would gain much affection from the voters.
- #3 Michigan St wrapped up an 8-1 season with a 27-9 win over Kansas St. Barring an Auburn loss and change of heart from the voters in each poll, their chances of #1 were slim
- #1/#2 Auburn couldn’t control the fact that the Coaches Poll was likley going to side with Ohio St, but they could control things with the AP with a win vs Alabama. Lose and it’s likely a consensus title for the Buckeyes. They bludgeoned the Tide 40-0, staking a claim for their first national title in the poll era.
Final Polls
*First place votes in parentheses
Teams in bold=conference champions
| Team | Record | AP | Coaches | Bowl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auburn | 10-0 | 1 (210) | 2 (11) | none |
| Ohio St | 8-1 | 2 (71) | 1 (14) | Rose |
| Michigan St | 8-1 | 3 (30) | 3 (8) | none |
| Oklahoma | 9-1 | 4 (22) | 4 | Orange |
| Navy | 8-1-1 | 5 (6) | 6 | Cotton |
| Iowa | 7-1-1 | 6 (7) | 5 | none |
| Ole Miss | 8-1-1 | 7 (3) | 8 | Sugar |
| Rice | 7-3 | 8 | 7 | Cotton |
*Arizona St finished 10-0 and #10/12 in the polls. They received 2 first place votes in the coaches poll.
*Oregon St (8-2) won the PCC for a 2nd straight year. Due to the PCC’s no-repeat Rose Bowl rule, 7-3 Oregon went to Pasadena instead.
*North Carolina St won the ACC, but was ineligible to play in the Orange Bowl due to recruiting violations. Duke took their place.
Our 2nd split national title! What has historically made college Football’s postseason so quirky, fun, infuriating or fascinating (depending on who you ask), is how much politics and campaigning for votes has affected national championships. Woody Hayes argument for Ohio State’s tougher schedule paid off in the minds of the Coaches poll voters. Although, it should be noted that Auburn’s recruiting scandal tainted them in the eyes of those same voters too. The real answer is lost to time, but I’d wager both had an effect, leading to the 2nd split national title in the poll era. Top 10 Auburn, Michigan St, and Iowa were all staying home for the holidays, meaning the only major bowl featuring top 10 teams was the Cotton.
Orange: #4 Oklahoma (9-1) vs #16 Duke (6-2-2)
A monumental upset loss to Notre Dame may have been the only thing standing in the way of an Oklahoma 3-pete. (1930s Minnesota rejoice). ACC runner up Duke challenged them for 3 quarter, only trailing 21-14. The Sooners outscored them 27-7 in the 4th to win comfortably, 48-21.
Sugar: #7/#8 Ole Miss (8-1-1) vs #11 Texas (6-3-1)
Ole Miss may have backed its’ way into the Sugar Bowl thanks to Auburn’s disappointment, but they didn’t disappoint. They beat Texas like an . . . orange headed stepchild, racing to a 26-0 lead through 3 quarters. Texas avoided a shutout with a TD in the 4th, but Ole Miss still rolled to a 39-7 victory
Cotton: #5/6 Navy vs #8/7 Rice
This game may have not been played on water, but Navy still sunk the Owls as if it was. The Midshipmen raced out to a 13-0 lead by halftime and extended it to 20-0 in the 3rd. Rice got on the board later in the 3rd with a touchdown of their own, but it was all they could muster, giving Navy a 20-7 victory.
Rose Bowl: #2/1 Ohio St vs Oregon #17/NR
I would like to take this moment to mention that Oregon was known as the Webfoots at the time, not the Ducks. Anyway, despite being unranked in the poll that picked Ohio St #1, the PCC runner up’s gave the Buckeyes all they could handle. Ohio St scored on a 1 yard touchdown run on it’s opening drive to take a 7-0 lead. Oregon St used an 80 yard drive in the 2nd to tie it at 7 before halftime. After a scoreless 3rd, Ohio St was facing the possibility of a tie. Although the polls were complete, a tie to a barley ranked team would be an embarrassing mark for a championship season. In the early goings of the 4th, the Buckeyes nailed a 34-yard field goal to take a 10-7 lead. Their defense would hold on from there to preserve the victory.
Final Review
Personally, I don’t see how you can’t give the title to Auburn. Per Tiptop25’s author,
There was an unquestioned assumption for most sportswriters in those days that the Big 10 was the best, toughest conference, which is why Big 10 teams could sometimes be named “national champions” over teams with better records from other parts of the country.Auburn’s opponents were 45-47-7 this season, rather unimpressive. But Ohio State’s were 43-47-4, and Michigan State’s were 39-43-2. So I don’t see much of a schedule advantage here for Ohio State and Michigan State, and certainly nowhere near enough to counter the fact that each took a loss and Auburn didn’t.
That seems to sum it up for me. I agree being unbeaten isn’t everything, who you play has to matter, otherwise Arizona St and it’s weak schedule would have been ranked #1 or #2 as well. Also, if you truly believe Auburn’s schedule and/or probation meant they didn’t deserve #1, then don’t Michigan St and possibly Oklahoma have just as much of a claim for #1 as the Buckeyes? But what do I know, I’m just some guy on the internet.
Other Selectors champions
| School | Selector |
|---|---|
| Auburn | Billingsley Report (shared), CFRA, Helms, Houlgate, NCF, Polling, Sagarin, Williamson |
| Michigan State | Billingsley Report (shared) |
| Ohio State | Boand, DeVold, FWAA, INS, Liktenhous, |
| Oklahoma | Berryman |
Ohio St, Michigan St, and Auburn all claim a national title for this season.
Sources