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The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/stayclassypeople on 2024-07-05 12:34:42+00:00.

There is no official standard because there is no official national champion. It all depends on the standard the school wishes to utilize. The national champion is in the eye of the beholder."

— Kent Stephens, historian

1959

This is the tenth 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

  • The PCC (PAC predecessor) disbanded after pay for play scandals at Cal, USC, UCLA, and Washington. Those same 4 schools formed a new conference, the Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU). Stanford would join shortly after.

    • Due to the PCC’s disbanding, the Rose Bowl had no contractual obligation to take a school from either the Big 10 or AAWU.
    • The Big 10 authorized it’s schools to accept bids at their own discretion.

  • Idaho, Wazzu, Oregon, and Oregon St all became independents.

  • Bowl Tie Ins

    • Rose: unofficially the AAWU and Big 10.
    • Sugar: a SEC team (unofficially)
    • Orange: Big 7 and ACC champs
      • The ‘no-repeat’ rule was in effect again for the Big 7, barring OU from playing in it again.
    • Cotton SWC Champ

  • Number of Bowls: 8

  • Preseason #1: LSU

Big Games

  • Sept 26th
    • #3 Auburn lost it’s season opener to Tennessee, 3-0 deflating preseason national title hopes
  • Oct 3rd
    • #13 Georgia lost 14-30 to #16 South Carolina. This would be the Dawgs only setback of the season, finishing 9-1, going perfect in the SEC.
  • Oct 17th
    • #7 USC (3-0) beat #18 Washington (4-0) 15-22. The Huskies would not lose again.
  • Oct 31st
    • "The Halloween Run." The SEC didn’t quite have the reputation it does, today so having #1 LSU vs #3 Ole Miss (both 6-0) meet for a titanic showdown had to be a special moment. Both offenses sputtered on a rain soaked field as Ole Miss led 3-0 early in the 4th. Then the run happened. Billy Cannon fielded a Rebel punt at the 11 and weaved across the field for an electric 89 yard punt return. The Rebels countered by driving to the Tiger 2 yard line. With 18 seconds left, they had a 4th and goal by Cannon and his teammates stuffed the runner short of the endzone (players played both ways in the day) to preserve the 7-3 victory.
    • unranked Nebraska upset #19 Oklahoma 25-21, ending their 74 game conference win streak. They still rallied to win their 14th consecutive conference title
  • Nov 7th
    • Just a week after their epic win over Ole Miss, #1 LSU was knocked off at Tennessee 14-13 after Cannon’s failed 2-point conversion attempt. The loss ended their 19 game win streak and seriously hurt their chances of repeat SEC and national titles.
    • Syracuse rose from preseason #20, all the way to #4 in the polls, but faced it’s biggest test yet vs #7 Penn St. They escaped 20-18, keeping their national title hopes alive.
  • Nov 14th
    • #2 Texas exceeded preseason expectations, starting 8-0, but had their title hopes spoiled with a 9-14 upset loss to #18 TCU.
  • Nov 21st
    • #5 Texas escaped A&M 20-17. They tied Arkansas in atop the SWC standings, but received the Cotton Bowl invite thanks to a head to head win over the Hogs earlier in the year.
    • #4 USC (8-0) found itself behind two 1 loss SEC teams and unbeaten Syracuse in the polls, however there was still a chance to move to #1 with a lot of football to be played. Instead they fell to rival UCLA 10-3. They would lose again to Notre Dame the following week. Despite the head to head win over Washington, the Rose Bowl selected the Huskies over them instead.
    • #3 LSU trailed #2 Ole Miss in the polls despite the head to head win. They edged Tulane 14-6. Now they would need a Syracuse loss and the polls to remember they beat Ole Miss to win back to back titles.
  • Nov 28th
    • #2 Ole Miss romped MSU in the Egg Bowl 42-0. Maybe just maybe Syracuse would lose their last game the following week to give them a national title.
    • #6 Georgia edged Georgia Tech 21-14 to claim an outright SEC title. Despite the perfect conference record, they were buried in the polls behind 1 loss rivals Ole Miss and LSU, who they did not meet in the regular season. Claiming #1 ranking in either poll would require more than just a Syracuse loss the following week.
  • Dec 5th
    • Everyone else in the top 5 had completed their season, but #1 Syracuse had one game to go vs #17 UCLA to secure the national title. If they slipped up, #2 Ole Miss, #3 LSU, or possibly 1 loss Georgia and Texas would have a shot to claim the national title. The Orange left no doubt with a 36-8 romp, staking a claim to their first ever national title.

Final Polls

(first place votes)

Conference champ=bold

Team Record AP Coaches Bowl Game
Syracuse 10-0 1 (134) 1 (31) Cotton
Ole Miss 9-1 2 (37) 2 (4) Sugar
LSU 9-1 3 (6) 3 Sugar
Texas 9-1 4 (1) 4 Cotton
Georgia 9-1 5 (3) 5 Orange
Wisconsin 7-2 6 (5) 6 Rose
Washington 8-2 7 7 Rose

* #15 Oklahoma won the Big 7, but 2nd place Mizzou claimed the Orange Bowl bid.

The SEC dominated the top 5 with three 1 loss teams, but only #1 Syracuse stood perfect, claiming their first, and to date, only national title. Most famously, Syracuse was led by Heisman winning sophomore running back Ernie Davis. Davis was the first ever African American to win the Heisman trophy. Their title would be put to the test as the Orange were invited to play SWC champ Texas in the Cotton Bowl. Interestingly, outright SEC champ Georgia, was spurned by the Sugar bowl who selected two of it’s conference rivals, LSU and Ole Miss for a regular season rematch. Bowl tie ins were poorly defined in this era. The Sugar bowl technically didn’t have to take the SEC champ, just an SEC team in general. The Rose Bowl would also feature two top 10 teams as both Wisconsin and Washington both agreed to accept an at-large bid to the bowl. The Rose Bowl was not obligated to pick a school from either conference, but old habits die hard. 7 of the 8 teams in the major bowls were in the top 10, making for an epic New Years slate.

Orange Bowl: #18/20 Missouri (6-4) vs #5 Georgia (9-1)

I imagine Georgia had to be smarting after being spurned by the Sugar, but maybe going to a major New Years bowl was just as good of a destination. The Dawgs were led by future college and pro hall of famer Fan Tarkenton, who tossed two first half TDs to gain a 14-0 lead. They played Mizzou to a scoreless first half, winning 14-0 to finish 10-1.

Rose Bowl: #6 Wisconsin (7-2) vs #8/#7 Washington (8-1)

Both teams may have been here as at large teams, opposed to auto bids, but it still felt like the same ole Rose Bowl. This was also the first meeting between these two teams. Washington made quick work of the Badgers, jumping out to a 17-0 first quarter lead and 24-8 halftime lead before rolling to a 44-8 win.

Sugar Bowl: #2 Ole Miss (9-1) vs #3 LSU (9-1)

Conference rematches in bowl game were a rare occurrence, but the Sugar Bowl organizers couldn’t resist a rematch of the epic regular season Halloween battle. It turns out the recipe for success for Ole Miss was just drier weather and not punting to Billy Cannon. The Rebels scored on a 43-yard pass in the 2nd to take a 7-0 lead. They added two more passing TDs in the 3rd and 4th to roll to a 21-0 lead, holding LSU to just 74 total yards in the process. If not for an epic punt return on Halloween, I have to imagine they may have finished #1 in the polls over Syracuse.

Cotton Bowl: #1 Syracuse (10-0) vs #4 Texas (9-1)

A mid November loss cost Texas a chance at #1, but if they could just beat the #1 team in the bowl, maybe they could remind the nation that they were the nation’s best team. #1 Syracuse wasn’t about to let them do this. They opened up the scoring on an 87 yard bomb to Ernie Davis. Davis scored again on a short rush and 2-point conversion reception to make it 15-0. Texas got on the board in the 3rd to make it 15-6. The Orange countered with another Davis TD reception to take a 22-6 lead. They would hold on for the 22-14 victory. With his 3 touchdowns, Ernie Davis was named the game’s MVP. Davis was able to accept his MVP award at the banquet after the game, but was forced to leave the premise right after, as it was a segregated facility.

Davis would go on to rush two more season for Syracuse before being drafted #1 in the 1962 NFL draft. Unfortunately his NFL career was cut short when he contracted Leukemia and passed away just a year later. He was posthumously inducted into the college football hall of Fame.

Final Review

Honestly, this is probably my favorite season to cover in this series so far…

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