American college football season
The 1953 college football season was marked by the NCAA Rules Committee's revocation of the two-platoon system and unlimited substitution rules in favor of the historic one-platoon system with its highly restrictive substitution rules. This radical rules shift made the 1953 season "The Year of the Great Adjustment," in the words of sportswriter Tommy Devine of the Detroit Free Press, in which teams scrambled to tighten their rosters and alter their strategies in accord with the more traditional "iron man" game.
The season finished with four teams selected as national champions:
The Cincinnati Bearcats, under head coach Sid Gilman, compiled a 9β1 record and led the country in both total offense (409.5 yards per game) and total defense (184.3 yards per game).
Small college teams compiling perfect records included Juniata (three consecutive undefeated seasons), Peru State (part of 26-game winning streak), and Shippensburg (consecutive perfect seasons).
Individual statistical leaders in major college football included Paul Larson of California with 1,572 yards of total offense; Bobby Garrett of Stanford with 1,637 passing yards; J. C. Caroline of Illinois with 1,256 rushing yards; Johnny Carson of Georgia with 663 receiving yards; and Earl Lindley of Utah State with 81 points scored.
Conference and program changes
Conference changes
- Three conferences began play in 1953:
- One conference changed its name in 1953:
Membership changes
September
In the preseason poll released on September 14, 1953, Notre Dame was rated first, followed by the defending champion, Michigan State, Georgia Tech, UCLA, and Alabama. As the regular season progressed, a new poll would be issued on the Monday following the weekend's games.
In a Friday night game at Los Angeles, No. 4 UCLA beat Oregon State 41β0. Meanwhile, at Montgomery, AL, No. 5 Alabama was shocked by Southern Mississippi, 25β19. The next day, September 19 No. 3 Georgia Tech beat Davidson, 53β0. Notre Dame and Michigan State began their seasons the following week.
On September 26 No. 1 Notre Dame won 28β21 at No. 6 Oklahoma. No. 2 Michigan State won at Iowa, 21β7. No. 3 Georgia Tech went to No. 15 Florida and was held to a 0β0 tie. No. 4 UCLA beat Kansas 19β7. Still at No. 5, Alabama, trying to salvage some respect against a second unranked opponent, went to 0β1β1 after a 7β7 tie against LSU in Mobile; in the poll that followed, the Crimson Tide fell completely out of the Top 20. No. 9 Maryland, which had won 52β0 at Washington and Lee, rose to third, and previously unranked Michigan (a 50β0 victor over Washington), entered the poll at fourth. The top five were No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Michigan State, No. 3 Maryland, No. 4 Michigan, and No. 5 UCLA.
October
October 3 With the exception of No. 4 Michigan, which beat Tulane 26β7 at home, the other top teams won on the road: No. 1 Notre Dame at Purdue, 37β7, No. 2 Michigan State at Minnesota 21β0, No. 3 Maryland at Clemson, 20β0, and No. 5 UCLA defeated Oregon 12β0 in an away game. No. 6 Ohio State, which won 33β19 at California, rose to third in the next poll, knocking UCLA down to sixth. The Big Ten had three of the spots in the top five: No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Michigan State, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Maryland, and No. 5 Michigan.
October 10 No. 1 Notre Dame was idle, but stayed at No. 1 after No. 2 Michigan State's 26β19 win over TCU. No. 4 Maryland won 40β13 over Georgia and No. 5 Michigan edged Iowa 14β13. The night before, No. 3 Ohio State had lost 40β21 to Illinois, while No. 6 UCLA returned to the top bracket with a 13β0 win over visiting Wisconsin. The next poll: No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Michigan State, No. 3 Maryland, No. 4 UCLA, and No. 5 Michigan.
October 17 No. 1 Notre Dame beat No. 15 Pittsburgh 23β14. No. 2 Michigan State defeated Indiana 47β18. No. 3 Maryland won 26β0 at North Carolina. No. 4 UCLA lost at Stanford, 21β20.
No. 5 Michigan beat Northwestern 20β12. No. 6 Georgia Tech, which beat Auburn 36β6, took UCLA's place in the next poll: No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Michigan State, No. 3 Maryland, No. 4 Georgia Tech, and No. 5 Michigan.
October 24 No. 1 Notre Dame stayed unbeaten with a 27β14 win over No. 4 Georgia Tech.
No. 2 Michigan State lost 6β0 at Purdue and No. 5 Michigan lost at Minnesota 22β0.
No. 3 Maryland won a Friday game at Miami, 30β0. Coming into the Top Five were No. 6 Baylor (14β13 over No. 15 Texas A&M), No. 7 Illinois (20β13 over Syracuse), and No. 8 West Virginia (52β20 over VMI). The next poll: No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Maryland, No. 3 Baylor, No. 4 Illinois, and No. 5 West Virginia.
October 31 No. 1 Notre Dame beat No. 20 Navy 38β7. No. 2 Maryland beat South Carolina 24β6.
No. 3 Baylor beat TCU 25β7. No. 4 Illinois defeated Purdue 21β0. No. 5 West Virginia won at Penn State 20β19. No. 6 Michigan State, which beat Oregon State 34β6, rose to fifth. The next poll: No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Maryland, No. 3.Baylor, No. 4 Illinois, and No. 5 Michigan State.
November
November 7 No. 1 Notre Dame won 28β20 at Penn. No. 2 Maryland beat George Washington University 27β6 at a game in Washington, DC. No. 3 Baylor lost at No. 19 Texas, 21β20. No. 4 Illinois beat No. 17 Michigan 9β3. No. 5 Michigan State won 28β13 at No. 16 Ohio State, and No. 6 Georgia Tech beat Clemson 20β7. The next poll featured No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Maryland, No. 3 Illinois, No. 4 Michigan State, and No. 5 Georgia Tech.
November 14 No. 1 Notre Dame won at North Carolina, 34β14, and No. 2 Maryland beat No. 11 Mississippi 38β0 as both stayed unbeaten and untied. No. 4 Michigan State beat Michigan 14β6. On the other hand, No. 3 Illinois lost to Wisconsin, 34β7 and No. 5 Georgia Tech fell 13β6 to Alabama in a game at Birmingham. Returning to the Top Five to take their place were No. 6 Oklahoma and No. 7 UCLA, which had defeated Iowa State (47β0) and Washington (22β6), respectively. The next ranking was No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Maryland, No. 3 Michigan State, No. 4 Oklahoma, and No. 5 UCLA.
November 21 Number one since the season began, No. 1 Notre Dame played to a 14β14 tie with No. 20 Iowa in a controversial game where Notre Dame's players were accused of faking injuries to stop the clock and gain time for a final touchdown. No. 2 Maryland closed its season with a 21β0 win over No. 11 Alabama to finish the season unbeaten and untied at 10β0β0. No. 3 Michigan State closed with a 21β15 win over Marquette. No. 4 Oklahoma beat Nebraska 30β7, and No. 5 UCLA beat No. 9 USC, 13β0. The next poll featured No. 1 Maryland, No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 Michigan State, No. 4 Oklahoma, and No. 5 UCLA.
November 28 The new No. 1, Maryland had already finished its season. No. 2 Notre Dame, with a 48β14 win at No. 20 USC, and No. 4 Oklahoma (42β7 over Oklahoma A&M) were the only Top Five members who hadn't closed their seasons.
November 30 The final AP Poll ranked Maryland, the only unbeaten and untied team, No. 1 with 187 first place votes. Unbeaten, once-tied, and one-game-left-to-play No. 2 Notre Dame received 141 votes.
December 5 Notre Dame beat visiting SMU 40β14. No additional AP Poll was taken because there were few other games played this Saturday.
ACC member Maryland would accept a bid to the Orange Bowl to meet once-beaten (8β1β1), Big 7 champ, and No. 4 Oklahoma, while No. 3 Michigan State and No. 5 UCLA would meet in the Rose Bowl. Notre Dame declined to participate in a postseason game.
Postseason
After the AP national champion Maryland lost in the Orange Bowl, there was a lot of controversy since the AP Poll had been finalized beforehand and could not be changed to take this result into account. This Maryland loss resulted in Notre Dame being ranked No. 1 by 10 polls, including Billingsley , Boand, DeVold, Dunkel, National Championship Foundation, Williamson, and several others. As a reward for beating the Terrapins, the Sooners received No. 1 from Berryman and Football Research. Archived 2011-09-07 at the Wayback Machine
Conference standings
Major conference standings
Independents
Minor conferences
Minor conference standings
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1953 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
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Morris Harvey $
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7
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8
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- $ – Conference champion
- * β Did not qualify for conference standings
Conference standings based on power ratings
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Rankings
Bowl games
Heisman Trophy voting
The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player
Source:
Statistical leaders
Individual
Total offense
The following players were the individual leaders in total offense among major college football players during the 1953 season:
1. Paul Larson, California, 1,572 yards
2. Lamar McHan, Arkansas, 1,516 yards
3. Joe Mastrogiovanni, Wyoming, 1,514 yards
4. Bobby Garrett, Stanford, 1,502 yards
5. Zeke Bratkowski, Georgia, 1,416 yards
6. Paul Giel, Minnesota, 1,339 yards
7. Richard "Iron Man" Carr, Columbia, 1,262 yards
8. J. C. Caroline, Illinois, 1,256 yards
9. Sandy Lederman, Washington, 1,133 yards
10. Don Ellis, Texas A&M, 1,128 yards
Passing
The following players were the individual leaders in pass completions among major college football players during the 1953 season:
1. Bobby Garrett, Stanford, 118 of 205 (57.6%), 1,637 yards, 10 interceptions, 17 touchdowns
2. Zeke Bratkowski, Georgia, 113 of 224 (50.4%), 1,461 yards, 23 interceptions, 6 touchdowns
3. Sandy Lederman, Washington, 92 of 189 (48.7%), 1,157 yards, 14 interceptions, 8 touchdowns
4. Paul Larson, California, 85 of 171 (49.7%), 1,431 yards, 16 interceptions, 6 touchdowns
5. Tony Rados,Penn State, 81 of 171 (47.4%), 1,025 yards, 12 interceptions, 8 touchdowns
6. Don Rydalch, Utah, 78 of 128 (60.9%), 980 yards, 8 interceptions, 7 touchdowns
7. Lamar McHan, Arkansas, 78 of 150 (52.0%), 1,107 yards, 11 interceptions, 8 touchdowns
8. Richard "Iron Man" Carr, Columbia, 77 of 191 (40.3%), 1,367 yards, 18 interceptions, 13 touchdowns
9. Don Ellis, Texas A&M, 76 of 171 (44.4%), 950 yards, 14 interceptions, 4 touchdowns
10. Dick Thomas, Northwestern, 74 of 145 (51.0%), 933 yards, 7 interceptions, 5 touchdowns
10. Cotton Davidson, Baylor, 74 of 156 (47.4%), 1,092 yards, 16 interceptions, 9 touchdowns
Rushing
The following players were the individual leaders in rushing yards among major college football players during the 1953 season:
1. J. C. Caroline, Illinois, 1,256 yards on 194 carries (6.47 average)
2. Kosse Johnson, Rice, 944 yards on 187 carries (5.05 average)
3. Kenny Cardella, Arizona, 915 yards on 148 carries (6.18 average)
4. Bobby Watkins, Ohio State, 875 yards on 153 carries (5.72 average)
5. Neil Worden, Notre Dame, 859 yards on 145 carries (5.92 average)
6. Dicky Moegle, Rice, 833 yards on 114 carries (7.31 average)
7. Alan Ameche, Wisconsin, 801 yards on 165 carries (4.85 average)
8. Larry Grigg, Oklahoma, 792 yards on 130 carries (6.09 average)
9. Bobby Cavazos, Texas Tech, 757 yards on 97 carries (7.80 average)
10. Chet Hanulak, Maryland, 753 yards on 77 carries (9.78 average)
Receiving
The following players were the individual leaders in receptions among major college football players during the 1953 season:
1. Johnny Carson, Georgia, 45 receptions, 663 yards, 4 touchdowns
2. Ken Buck, Pacific, 45 receptions, 660 yards, 5 touchdowns
3. Sam Morley, Stanford, 45 receptions, 594 yards, 6 touchdowns
4. John Steinberg, Stanford, 32 receptions, 425 yards, 3 touchdowns
5. Dave McLaughlin, Dartmouth, 31 receptions, 592 yards, 6 touchdowns
6. Floyd Sagely, Arkansas, 30 receptions, 542 yards, 3 touchdowns
6. John Allen, Arizona State, 30 receptions, 505 yards, 8 touchdowns
6. Chet Lyssy, Hardin-Simmons, 30 receptions, 389 yards, 5 touchdowns
6. Jim Garrity, Penn State, 30 receptions, 349 yards, 3 touchdowns
10. Dale Hopp, Columbia, 29 receptions, 437 yards, 4 touchdowns
10. Andy Nacrelli, Fordham, 29 receptions, 428 yards, 3 touchowns
Scoring
The following players were the individual leaders in scoring among major college football players during the 1953 season:
1. Earl Lindley, Utah State, 81 points (13 TD, 3 PAT)
2. Bobby Cavazos, Texas Tech, 80 points (13 TD, 2 PAT)
3. Larry Grigg, Oklahoma, 78 points (13 TD)
3. Fred Mahaffey, Denver, 78 points (13 TD)
3. Johnny Mapp, VMI, 78 points (13 TD)
6. Burgmeier, Detroit, 72 points (12 TD)
6. Cameron, UCLA, 72 points (12 TD)
8. Lewis, Texas Tech, 67 points (11 TD, 1 PAT)
8. Joe Mastrogiovanni, 67 points (9 TD, 13 PAT)
10. Bates, Illinois, 66 points (11 TD)
10. Gatewood, Drake, 66 points (11 TD)
10. Talley, California, 66 points (11 TD)
Team
Total offense
The following teams were the leaders in total offense in major college football during the 1953 season:
1. Cincinnati, 409.5 yards per game
2. Notre Dame, 383.9 yards per game
3. West Virginia, 377.6 yards per game
4. Texas Tech, 376.5 yards per game
5. Utah, 375.1 yards per game
6. Maryland, 359.5 yards per game
7. Rice, 358.6 yards per game
8. Illinois, 356.1 yards per game
9. Oklahoma, 352.1 yards per game
10. Army, 348.4 yards per game
Total defense
The following teams were the leaders in total defense in major college football during the 1954 season:
1. Cincinnati, 184.3 yards per game
2. UCLA, 188.4 yards per game
3. Maryland, 193.2 yards per game
4. Yale, 194.9 yards per game
5. Syracuse, 196.6 yards per game
6. Oklahoma, 196.9 yards per game
7. Texas Western, 198.6 yards per game
8. Wichita, 198.8 yards per game
9. Detroit, 199.6 yards per game
10. West Virginia, 203.9 yards per game
See also
References
- "1953 Preseason AP Football Poll". CollegePollArchive.com. Archived from the original on April 3, 2015. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
- Tommy Devine, "Mid-West," Football Pictorial: Street and Smith's 1954 Yearbook. New York: Street and Smith Publishing, 1954; p. 5.
- Billingsley Report, Boand System, DeVold System, Dunkel System, Helms Athletic Foundation, Houlgate System, Litkenhous Ratings, National Championship Foundation, Poling System, Sagarin Ratings, and Williamson System.
- "ESPN.com - NCAA College Football - The 100". ESPN. #29 FAINTING IRISH. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
- Written at New York. "Notre Dame Can Claim National Championship". Waco TribuneβHerald. Waco, Texas. United Press. January 3, 1954 . Retrieved November 1, 2022.
- "1953 Atlantic Coast Conference Year Summary". sports-reference.com. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
- "The Golden Dozen of 1953". The Pittsburgh Courier. December 19, 1953. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
- "The Golden Dozen of 1953". The Pittsburgh Courier. December 19, 1953. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
- "The Golden Dozen of 1953". The Pittsburgh Courier. December 19, 1953. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Lattner wins Heisman, Maxwell awards". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. December 2, 1953. p. 20.
- Official Collegiate Football Record Book. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 1954. p. 71.
- Official Collegiate Football Record Book. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 1954. p. 73.
- Official Collegiate Football Record Book. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 1954. p. 75.
- Official Collegiate Football Record Book. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 1954. p. 77.
- "Five Players Get 13 Touchdowns Each, Utah State's Lindley Wins Scoring Title by an Extra Point". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. December 8, 1953. p. 5C – via Newspapers.com.
- Official Collegiate Football Record Book. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 1954. p. 78.
- Official Collegiate Football Record Book. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 1954. p. 79.
1953β54 NCAA championships |
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