1952 college football season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The 1952 college football season ended with the unbeaten Michigan State Spartans (9–0) and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (12–0) each claiming a national championship from different polls. Michigan State finished first according to two of the "wire service" (AP and UP) polls, which both placed Georgia Tech second. Georgia Tech was first in the (Hearst chain) International News Service poll. UP and INS merged in 1958 to form UPI. Although the Spartans became members of the Big Ten Conference in 1950, full participation did not come until 1953, and under the terms of their entry into the conference, they were not allowed to participate in postseason play. Georgia Tech won the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day in New Orleans.

Conference and program changes[]

Conference changes[]

  • One conference changed its name this year:
    • The Wisconsin State Teachers College Conference, an active NCAA Division III conference currently known as the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC), changed its name to the Wisconsin State College Conference

Membership changes[]

School 1951 Conference 1952 Conference
Arizona State–Flagstaff (NAU) Lumberjacks Border NMIC
Bowling Green Falcons Independent MAC
Bradley Braves Missouri Valley Independent
Drake Bulldogs Missouri Valley Independent
Toledo Rockets Independent MAC

September[]

September 20 Maryland won at Missouri 13–10, and Texas won at LSU 35–14. In the preseason poll released on September 22, 1952, the Michigan State Spartans were rated first, followed by the Maryland Terrapins. Maryland actually had more first place votes 79 to 77, but MSU had an edge on points, 1720–1696. The remainder of the Top Five was No. 3 Georgia Tech (which beat The Citadel 54–6), No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 5 Illinois. Defending champion Tennessee was 6th. As the regular season progressed, a new poll would be issued on the Monday following the weekend's games.

On September 27 No. 1 Michigan State won at Michigan, 27–13. No. 2 Maryland beat Auburn 13–7 in Birmingham. No. 3 Georgia Tech narrowly beat Florida 17–14 and fell to 6th place in the next poll. No. 4 Oklahoma visited Colorado and was tied, 21–21. No. 5 Illinois, which beat Iowa State 33–7, rose to second place in the next poll. No. 8 California, which was 2–0–0 after a 28–14 win over Missouri, and No. 11 Texas (which had won at North Carolina 28–7), moved into the top five. The poll: No. 1 Michigan State, No. 2 Illinois, No. 3 Maryland, No. 4 California, and No. 5 Texas.

October[]

October 4 No. 1 Michigan State narrowly defeated Oregon State 17–14 at Portland. No. 2 Illinois lost at No. 8 Wisconsin, 20–6, and would end up finishing 1952 with a losing (4–5–0) record. No. 3 Maryland beat Clemson 28–0. No. 4 California won at Minnesota, 49–13. No. 5 Texas lost 14-3 to No. 19 Notre Dame. No. 6 Georgia Tech, which beat SMU 20–7 in Dallas, returned to the Top Five. The next poll featured No. 1 Wisconsin, No. 2 Michigan State, No. 3 California, No. 4 Maryland, and No. 5 Georgia Tech.

October 11 The new No. 1, Wisconsin, lost at Columbus to unranked Ohio State, 23–14. No. 2 Michigan State beat visiting Texas A&M 48–6. No. 3 California beat Oregon at Portland, 41–7. No. 4 Maryland won at Georgia, 37–0. No. 5 Georgia Tech beat Tulane 14–0. No. 6 Duke, which won at South Carolina 33–7, was fifth in the next poll: No. 1 Michigan State, No. 2 Maryland, No. 3 California, No. 4 Georgia Tech, and No. 5 Duke.

October 18 No. 1 Michigan State beat visiting Syracuse 48–7. No. 2 Maryland beat No. 20 Navy 38–7. No. 3 California beat Santa Clara 27–7. No. 4 Georgia Tech beat Auburn 33–0. No. 5 Duke won at N.C. State, 57–0, but was still bounced out of the top five. No. 6 Oklahoma, which had won at No. 8 Kansas 42–20, was third in the next poll: No. 1 Michigan State, No. 2 Maryland, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 California, and No. 5 Georgia Tech.

October 25 No. 1 Michigan State beat No. 17 Penn State 34–7. No. 2 Maryland beat LSU 34–6. No. 3 Oklahoma beat Kansas State 49–6. In Los Angeles, a matchup of unbeaten teams pitted No. 4 California (5–0–0) against the 5–0–0 and No. 7 USC Trojans. USC won 10–0. Cal would lose this and the next two games after its perfect start. No. 5 Georgia Tech beat Vanderbilt 30–0. The next poll: No. 1 Michigan State, No. 2 Maryland, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 Georgia Tech, and No. 5 USC.

November[]

November 1 No. 1 Michigan State narrowly won at No. 8 Purdue, 14–7. No. 2 Maryland won at Boston University, 34–7. No. 3 Oklahoma won at Iowa State 41–0. No. 4 Georgia Tech (6–0–0) faced unbeaten No. 6 Duke (also 6–0–0) and won 28–7. No. 5 USC was idle, and its place was taken by No. 7 UCLA, which handed No. 11 California a 28–7 defeat. The next poll: No. 1 Michigan State, No. 2 Maryland, No. 3 Georgia Tech, No. 4 Oklahoma, and No. 5 UCLA.

November 8 No. 1 Michigan State won at Indiana 41–14. No. 2 Maryland was idle. No. 3 Georgia Tech beat Army 45–6. No. 4 Oklahoma lost at No. 10 Notre Dame, 27–21, and dropped back out of the Top Five. No. 5 UCLA beat visiting Oregon State 57–0. No. 6 USC rose to fifth after a 54–7 win at Stanford. The next poll: No. 1. Michigan State, No. 2 Georgia Tech, No. 3 Maryland, No. 4 UCLA, and No. 5 USC.

November 15 Unbeaten No. 1 Michigan State hosted once-beaten (5–1–1) No. 6 Notre Dame and won 21–3. In Atlanta, unbeaten (8–0–0) No. 2 Georgia Tech faced once-beaten (7–1–0) No. 12 Alabama and won, 7–3. And on the road, unbeaten (7–0–0) No. 3 Maryland lost at unbeaten (6–0–2) No. 11 Mississippi, 21–14. No. 4 UCLA was idle. No. 5 USC beat No. 17 Washington 33–0. No. 8 Oklahoma, which had beaten Missouri 47–7, returned to the Top Five. The next poll: No. 1 Michigan State, No. 2 Georgia Tech, No. 3 UCLA, No. 4 USC, and No. 5 Oklahoma.

November 22 No. 1 Michigan State won 62–13 over Marquette to close its season unbeaten. No. 2 Georgia Tech also stayed unbeaten as it beat Florida State 30–0. No. 3 UCLA and No. 4 USC (both 8–0–0) met in Los Angeles, with USC winning 14–12 to take the crown of the Pacific Coast Conference and a trip to the Rose Bowl. No. 5 Oklahoma beat Nebraska 34–13. The new poll: No. 1 Michigan State, No. 2 USC, No. 3 Georgia Tech, No. 4 Oklahoma, and No. 5 UCLA.

November 29 No. 1 Michigan State had closed its season. No. 2 USC hosted No. 7 Notre Dame and lost 9–0. No. 3 Georgia Tech finished its season unbeaten (11–0–0) with a 23–9 win over Georgia. The Yellow Jackets were invited to the Sugar Bowl to face unbeaten, but twice tied (8–0–2) and No. 6 Mississippi, a conference rival whom they had not faced during the regular season. No. 4 Oklahoma closed its season at Oklahoma A&M, winning 54–7 to finish 8–1–1. In the final AP poll, released December 1, No. 1 Michigan State was the champion, followed by No. 2 Georgia Tech, No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 4 Oklahoma, and No. 5 USC.

Conference standings[]

Major conference standings[]

1952 Big Seven Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 Oklahoma $ 5 0 1 8 1 1
Missouri 5 1 0 5 5 0
Nebraska 3 2 1 5 4 1
Kansas 3 3 0 7 3 0
Colorado 2 2 2 6 2 2
Iowa State 1 5 0 3 6 0
Kansas State 0 6 0 1 9 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1952 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 11 Wisconsin + 4 1 1 6 3 1
No. 18 Purdue + 4 1 1 4 3 2
No. 17 Ohio State 5 2 0 6 3 0
Michigan 4 2 0 5 4 0
Minnesota 3 1 2 4 3 2
Illinois 2 5 0 4 5 0
Northwestern 2 5 0 2 6 1
Iowa 2 5 0 2 7 0
Indiana 1 5 0 2 7 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
1952 Border Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Arizona State $ 4 0 0 6 3 0
Texas Tech 2 1 1 3 7 1
Arizona 3 2 0 6 4 0
Hardin–Simmons 2 2 1 5 3 2
Texas Western 2 3 1 5 5 1
New Mexico A&M 1 2 1 2 6 1
West Texas State 1 4 0 3 6 0
Arizona State–Flagstaff 0 1 0 3 4 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1952 Middle Three Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Lehigh + 1 0 0 5 4 0
Rutgers + 1 0 0 4 4 1
Lafayette 0 2 0 0 9 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
1952 Missouri Valley Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Houston $ 3 0 0 8 2 0
No. 12 Tulsa 3 1 0 8 2 1
Oklahoma A&M 2 2 0 3 7 0
Detroit 1 3 0 2 7 0
Wichita 0 3 0 3 6 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1952 Pacific Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 5 USC $ 6 0 0 10 1 0
No. 6 UCLA 5 1 0 8 1 0
Washington 6 2 0 7 3 0
California 3 3 0 7 3 0
Washington State 3 4 0 4 6 0
Stanford 2 5 0 5 5 0
Oregon 2 5 0 2 7 1
Idaho 1 3 0 4 4 1
Oregon State 1 6 0 2 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1952 Rocky Mountain Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Idaho State $ 5 0 0 8 0 0
Colorado College 4 1 0 7 2 0
Colorado State–Greeley 3 2 0 5 3 0
Colorado Mines 2 3 0 4 5 0
Montana State 1 4 0 2 5 0
Western State (CO) 0 5 0 2 6 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1952 Skyline Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Utah $ 5 0 0 6 3 1
New Mexico 5 1 0 7 2 0
Colorado A&M 5 2 0 6 4 0
Wyoming 4 3 0 5 4 0
BYU 3 4 0 4 6 0
Utah State 3 4 0 3 7 1
Montana 1 5 0 2 7 1
Denver 0 7 0 3 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1952 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Georgia Tech $ 7 0 0 12 0 0
No. 8 Tennessee 5 0 1 8 2 1
No. 7 Ole Miss 4 0 2 8 1 2
No. 9 Alabama 4 2 0 10 2 0
Georgia 4 3 0 7 4 0
No. 15 Florida 3 3 0 8 3 0
Mississippi State 3 4 0 5 4 0
Tulane 3 5 0 5 5 0
No. 20 Kentucky 1 3 2 5 4 2
LSU 2 5 0 3 7 0
Vanderbilt 1 4 1 3 5 2
Auburn 0 7 0 2 8 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1952 Southern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 16 Duke $ 5 0 0 8 2 0
Wake Forest 5 1 0 5 4 1
West Virginia 5 1 0 7 2 0
William & Mary 4 1 0 4 5 0
George Washington 4 2 1 5 3 1
VPI 4 4 0 5 6 0
Furman 2 2 1 6 3 1
Washington and Lee 3 4 0 3 7 0
VMI 2 3 1 3 6 1
NC State 2 4 0 3 7 0
South Carolina 2 4 0 5 5 0
North Carolina 1 2 0 2 6 0
The Citadel 1 3 1 3 5 1
Davidson 1 6 0 2 7 0
Richmond 0 6 0 1 9 0
Maryland     7 2 0
Clemson     2 6 1
  • $ – Conference champion
  • † League sanctions prevented Maryland and Clemson from conference participation
Rankings from AP Poll
1952 Southwest Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 10 Texas $ 6 0 0 9 2 0
Rice 4 2 0 5 5 0
SMU 3 2 1 4 5 1
TCU 2 2 2 4 4 2
Baylor 1 3 2 4 4 2
Texas A&M 1 4 1 3 6 1
Arkansas 1 5 0 2 8 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Independents[]

1952 Eastern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Hofstra     8 1 0
No. 19 Princeton     8 1 0
Franklin & Marshall     7 1 0
Villanova     7 1 1
Holy Cross     8 2 0
Yale     7 2 0
Penn State     7 2 1
No. 14 Syracuse     7 3 0
Bucknell     6 3 0
Colgate     6 3 0
Pittsburgh     6 3 0
Carnegie Tech     4 3 0
Harvard     5 4 0
Boston University     5 4 1
Penn     4 3 2
Army     4 4 1
Boston College     4 4 1
Tufts     3 4 1
Drexel     3 4 0
Fordham     2 5 1
NYU     2 5 1
Columbia     2 6 1
Brown     2 7 0
Cornell     2 7 0
Dartmouth     2 7 0
Temple     2 7 1
Buffalo     1 7 0
Rankings from AP Poll
1952 Midwestern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Michigan State     9 0 0
No. 3 Notre Dame     7 2 1
Carthage     5 2 0
Youngstown     4 3 1
Wabash     5 4 0
Dayton     6 5 0
Baldwin–Wallace     4 4 0
Wayne     4 4 0
Bradley     4 5 0
John Carroll     4 5 0
Washington University     4 5 0
Rose Poly     3 4 1
Xavier     4 6 0
Marquette     3 5 1
Drake     2 7 0
Rankings from AP Poll
1952 Southern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Maryland State     9 1 0
Mississippi Southern     10 2 0
Virginia     8 2 0
Sewanee     7 2 0
No. 17 Navy     6 2 1
Tampa     8 3 1
Chattanooga     7 3 0
Delaware     4 4 0
Louisville     3 5 0
Miami (FL)     4 7 0
Marshall     2 7 2
Memphis State     2 7 0
Florida State     1 8 1
Rankings from AP Poll
1952 Western college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Fresno State     8 2 0
Pacific (CA)     7 3 1
San Jose State     6 3 0
La Verne     5 3 1
Hawaii     5 5 2
Cal Poly San Dimas     4 4 0
Nevada     2 2 0
Santa Clara     2 6 1

Minor conferences[]

Conference Champion(s) Record
California Collegiate Athletic Association Cal Poly–San Luis Obispo 4–0
Central Church College Conference Concordia (NE) 3–0
Central Intercollegiate Athletics Association Virginia State 7–0
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Kansas State Teachers (Emporia State) 5–0
College Conference of Illinois Lake Forest
Millikin
3–0–1
Evergreen Conference Pacific Lutheran 5–0–1
Far Western Conference Humboldt State College 3–0
Frontier Conference Carroll (MT) 4–0
Gulf Coast Conference North Texas State 2–0
Indiana Collegiate Conference Butler
Valparaiso
3–1
Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Buena Vista 2–1
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference McPherson 6–0
Lone Star Conference East Texas State Teachers 5–0
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Albion 5–0
Mid-American Conference Cincinnati 3–0
Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference Coe 6–0
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Gustavus Adolphus
Concordia–Moorhead
6–0
Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association Northeast Missouri State
Northwest Missouri State
4–1
Nebraska College Conference Peru State 7–0
New Mexico Intercollegiate Conference Eastern New Mexico
Panhandle A&M
4–1
North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Iowa State Teachers (Northern Iowa) 5–1
North Dakota College Athletic Conference Jamestown College
Minot State Teachers
Valley City State
5–1
Ohio Athletic Conference Heidelberg 5–1
Ohio Valley Conference Tennessee Tech
Western Kentucky State
4–1
Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference Northeastern State College (OK) 5–0
Oregon Collegiate Conference Oregon College
Pacific Northwest Conference College of Idaho
Pacific (OR)
4–0–1
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference West Chester State Teachers 5–0
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Idaho State College 5–0
South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference Northern State Teachers 4–1
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Whittier 4–0
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Bethune–Cookman
Florida A&M
5–1
4–1
Southwestern Athletic Conference Prairie View A&M College 6–0
State Teacher's College Conference of Minnesota Mankato State Teachers
Moorhead State Teachers
St. Cloud State Teachers
3–1
Texas Collegiate Athletic Conference Abilene Christian 4–0
Wisconsin State College Conference North: Wisconsin State–La Crosse
South: Wisconsin State–Platteville
5–0
4–0

Minor conference standings[]

1952 California Collegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Cal Poly $ 4 0 0 7 3 0
Santa Barbara 3 1 0 8 2 0
San Diego State 2 2 0 4 5 0
Los Angeles State 1 3 0 4 4 0
Pepperdine 0 4 0 2 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1952 Central Church College Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Concordia (NE) $ 3 0 0 6 3 0
Dana 2 1 0 3 4 0
Tarkio 1 2 0 1 7 0
York (NE) 0 3 0 2 6 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1952 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Virginia State $ 7 0 0 8 1 0
North Carolina College 4 2 0 4 4 0
North Carolina A&T 5 2 0 6 4 0
West Virginia State 5 3 0 6 4 0
Morgan State 4 2 0 4 4 1
Howard 5 2 1 6 2 1
Johnson C. Smith 4 2 0 5 2 0
Hampton 4 4 0 4 5 0
St. Augustine's 5 2 0 7 2 0
Lincoln (PA) 2 3 1 5 3 1
Winston-Salem State 2 4 0 4 4 0
Virginia Union 1 6 0 1 8 0
Delaware State 1 5 0 1 7 0
Bluefield State 1 5 0 1 7 0
Saint Paul's (VA) 0 6 0 0 8 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1952 Central Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Emporia State $ 5 0 0 7 3 0
St. Benedict's 3 2 0 5 4 0
Washburn 3 2 0 4 5 0
Pittsburg State 2 2 1 5 4 1
Fort Hays State 0 3 2 1 6 2
Southwestern (KS) 0 4 1 1 7 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1952 College Conference of Illinois football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Lake Forest + 3 0 1 6 1 1
Millikin + 3 0 1 6 1 1
Wheaton (IL) 4 1 0 7 1 0
Augustana (IL) 3 2 0 3 5 0
Illinois Wesleyan 2 2 0 8 0 0
Elmhurst 1 3 0 3 4 0
Illinois College 1 4 0 2 5 0
North Central (IL) 0 5 0 0 6 1
  • + – Conference co-champions
1952 Evergreen Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Pacific Lutheran $ 5 0 1 5 2 1
Western Washington 4 1 1 5 2 1
Puget Sound 4 2 0 5 3 1
Whitworth 4 2 0 4 3 1
Central Washington 2 4 0 4 4 0
Eastern Washington 1 5 0 1 7 0
UBC 0 6 0 0 8 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1952 Far Western Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Humboldt State $ 3 0 0 7 1 0
Cal Aggies 2 1 0 2 7 0
San Francisco State 1 0 0 3 6 0
Chico State 1 3 0 1 6 0
Southern Oregon 0 3 0 3 5 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1952 Hoosier Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Hanover $ 6 0 0 6 1 2
Earlham 4 2 0 6 2 0
Franklin (IN) 4 2 0 5 3 0
Indiana Central 3 3 0 5 3 0
Anderson (IN) 2 4 0 3 5 1
Manchester (IN) 2 4 0 4 4 0
Taylor 0 6 0 0 9 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1952 Gulf Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
North Texas State $ 2 0 0 7 3 0
Midwestern (TX) 1 1 0 6 5 0
Trinity (TX) 0 2 0 4 6 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1952 Gulf States Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Louisiana Tech + 3 0 2 6 1 2
Southeastern Louisiana + 3 0 2 6 1 2
Southwestern Louisiana + 3 0 2 5 2 2
McNeese State 2 3 0 7 3 0
Louisiana College 0 4 1 3 7 1
Northwestern State 0 4 1 1 7 1
  • + – Conference co-champions
1952 Indiana Collegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Butler + 3 1 1 5 3 1
Valparaiso + 3 1 1 5 3 1
Indiana State 2 1 2 4 1 3
Ball State 3 2 0 3 5 1
Evansville 2 3 0 2 7 0
Saint Joseph's (IN) 0 5 0 0 8 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
1952 Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Central Michigan $ 6 0 0 7 2 0
Western Illinois 5 1 0 7 2 0
Michigan State Normal 3 2 1 5 3 1
Northern Illinois State 2 4 0 3 6 0
Southern Illinois 2 4 0 2 6 0
Illinois State Normal 1 4 1 1 6 2
Eastern Illinois 1 5 0 2 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1952 Iowa Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Northern Division
Buena Vista xy$ 2 1 0 5 5 0
Luther 2 1 0 3 5 0
Upper Iowa 1 2 0 3 3 0
Wartburg 1 2 0 2 5 0
Southern Division
Iowa Wesleyan xy 4 0 0 7 1 0
Dubuque 3 1 0 4 4 0
Simpson 2 2 0 3 5 0
Parsons 1 3 0 4 4 0
Central (IA) 0 4 0 1 7 0
Championship: Buena Vista 13, Iowa Wesleyan 7
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
1952 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
McPherson $ 6 0 0 8 0 1
Ottawa 5 1 0 8 1 0
Bethany (KS) 3 3 0 5 4 0
College of Emporia 2 3 1 3 5 1
Baker 2 3 1 2 5 1
Kansas Wesleyan 2 4 0 5 4 0
Bethel (KS) 0 6 0 2 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1952 Lone Star Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
East Texas State $ 5 0 0 11 0 0
Southwest Texas State 4 1 0 7 2 0
Sam Houston State 2 3 0 6 4 0
Sul Ross 2 3 0 4 6 0
Lamar Tech 1 4 0 3 6 0
Stephen F. Austin 1 4 0 2 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1952 Mason–Dixon Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Randolph–Macon $ 3 0 1 5 3 1
Hampden–Sydney 2 1 1 5 3 1
Johns Hopkins 1 2 0 4 4 0
Western Maryland 1 2 0 4 4 0
Bridgewater 1 2 0 2 4 0
Gallaudet 0 1 0 1 4 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • Conference standings were based on the Dickinson Scoring System.
1952 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Albion $ 5 0 0 7 1 0
Hope 4 1 0 4 5 �� 0
Alma 2 3 0 4 4 0
Kalamazoo 2 3 0 3 4 1
Adrian 1 4 0 3 5 1
Hillsdale 1 4 0 3 5 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1952 Mid-American Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Cincinnati $ 3 0 0 8 1 1
Miami (OH) 4 1 0 8 1 0
Ohio 5 2 0 6 2 2
Bowling Green 2 2 0 7 2 0
Kent State 2 2 0 5 4 0
Western Michigan 1 4 0 4 4 0
Western Reserve 1 4 0 5 4 0
Toledo 1 4 0 4 5 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1952 Mid-Ohio League football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Ohio Northern $ 5 0 0 7 2 0
Findlay 4 1 0 6 1 0
Bluffton 3 2 0 5 4 0
Defiance 2 3 0 4 4 0
Cedarville 1 4 0 ? ? ?
Ashland 0 5 0 0 8 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1952 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Gustavus Adolphus + 6 0 0 7 1 0
Concordia (MN) + 6 0 0 7 2 0
Hamline 4 2 0 6 2 0
Saint John's (MN) 3 3 0 5 3 0
St. Thomas (MN) 3 3 0 3 5 0
Macalester 2 2 1 2 4 1
Augsburg 2 4 0 3 5 0
Saint Mary's (MN) 0 5 1 1 5 1
Minnesota–Duluth 0 6 0 0 7 1
  • + – Conference co-champions
1952 Missouri College Athletic Union football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Missouri Valley $ 4 0 0 6 4 0
William Jewell 3 1 0 10 1 1
Culver–Stockton 2 2 0 2 5 0
Central Methodist 1 3 0 1 7 0
Tarkio * 0 4 0 1 6 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • * – Forfeited to Missouri Valley and William Jewell
1952 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
NE Missouri State + 4 1 0 7 1 0
NW Missouri State + 4 1 0 6 3 0
Missouri–Rolla 3 2 0 3 5 0
SE Missouri State 2 3 0 4 4 0
SW Missouri State 1 4 0 3 6 0
Central Missouri State 1 4 0 1 6 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
1952 Montana Collegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Carroll (MT) $ 4 0 0 8 2 0
Rocky Mountain 3 1 0 ? ? ?
Montana Mines 2 2 0 ? ? ?
Western Montana 1 3 0 ? ? ?
Eastern Montana 0 4 0 0 5 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1952 Nebraska College Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Peru State $ 7 0 0 10 0 0
Hastings 5 2 0 6 2 0
Doane 4 3 0 4 5 0
Nebraska Wesleyan 4 3 0 5 5 0
Kearney State 3 4 0 5 4 0
Wayne State (NE) 3 4 0 4 5 0
Chadron State 2 5 0 3 6 0
Midland 0 7 0 2 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1952 New Mexico Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Eastern New Mexico + 4 1 0 7 1 1
Panhandle A&M + 4 1 0 7 3 0
New Mexico Military 2 2 1 ? ? ?
Adams State 2 2 1 2 5 1
New Mexico Western 2 3 0 4 3 0
New Mexico Highlands 0 5 0 1 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1952 North Central Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Iowa State Teachers $ 5 1 0 6 2 0
North Dakota State 4 2 0 5 4 0
South Dakota 3 2 1 4 3 1
South Dakota State 3 2 1 4 4 1
Morningside 3 3 0 5 3 0
North Dakota 2 4 0 3 6 0
Augustana (SD) 0 6 0 0 9 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1952 North Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Minot State + 5 1 0 6 2 0
Jamestown + 5 1 0 5 2 0
Valley City State + 5 1 0 5 3 0
Ellendale 4 1 1 4 2 1
Dickinson State 3 3 0 5 3 0
Mayville State 2 3 1 2 3 1
Wahpeton Science 1 5 0 2 5 0
Bismarck JC 1 5 0 1 5 0
Bottineau 0 6 0 0 6 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
1952 North State Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Lenoir–Rhyne $ 6 0 0 8 1 0
East Carolina 4 1 1 6 3 2
Catawba 4 1 1 4 5 1
Appalachian State 2 4 0 2 6 1
Western Carolina 1 4 0 2 8 0
Guilford 1 4 0 1 7 0
Elon 1 5 0 3 6 1
  • $ – Conference champion
1952 Northwest Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Pacific (OR) + 4 0 1 7 0 1
College of Idaho + 4 0 1 7 1 1
Willamette 3 2 0 5 2 2
Linfield 2 3 0 5 3 1
Lewis & Clark 1 4 0 1 6 1
Whitman 0 5 0 3 6 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
1952 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Heidelberg $ 5 1 0 8 1 0
Wooster 4 1 1 7 1 1
Muskingum 5 2 0 6 3 0
Ohio Wesleyan 5 2 0 6 3 0
Denison 4 2 0 4 4 0
Hiram 3 3 0 5 3 0
Akron 2 2 1 2 6 1
Capital 2 3 0 4 4 0
Oberlin 2 3 0 3 5 0
Wittenberg 2 4 0 5 4 0
Otterbein 2 5 0 2 6 0
Kenyon 1 3 0 3 3 0
Marietta 1 4 0 2 5 1
Mount Union 1 4 0 1 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1952 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Western Kentucky + 4 1 0 9 1 0
Tennessee Tech + 4 1 0 9 2 0
Murray State 3 2 0 4 4 0
Middle Tennessee 2 2 0 6 5 0
Eastern Kentucky 0 3 1 3 4 1
Morehead State 0 4 1 1 6 1
  • $ – Conference champion
1952 Oklahoma Collegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Northeastern State $ 5 0 0 9 1 0
Central State (OK) 3 2 0 4 4 0
East Central 3 2 0 4 5 0
SE Oklahoma State 2 3 0 4 4 0
SW Oklahoma State 2 3 0 3 6 0
NW Oklahoma State 0 5 0 3 6 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1952 Oregon Collegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Oregon College $ 3 0 0 3 3 0
Oregon Tech 2 1 0 5 2 0
Eastern Oregon 1 2 0 3 5 0
Portland State 0 3 0 0 9 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1952 Smoky Mountain Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Emory and Henry $ 1 0 0 8 2 0
Carson–Newman 0 1 0 3 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1952 South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Northern State $ 4 1 0 6 1 0
Huron 6 2 0 6 2 0
Yankton 4 2 0 5 2 0
Black Hills 3 2 0 5 3 0
Southern State 4 3 0 4 3 0
Dakota Wesleyan 3 3 0 3 4 0
South Dakota Mines 2 4 0 2 5 0
General Beadle 1 4 0 1 4 0
Sioux Falls 0 6 0 0 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1952 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Whittier $ 4 0 0 9 1 0
Occidental 3 1 0 4 4 0
Pomona 2 2 0 2 5 0
Redlands 1 3 0 2 7 0
Caltech 0 4 0 0 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1952 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Prairie View A&M $ 6 0 0 7 2 0
Southern 5 1 0 9 2 0
Texas College 3 2 1 4 3 1
Arkansas AM&N 2 2 2 3 6 2
Wiley 2 4 0 4 5 0
Langston 1 4 1 2 6 1
Bishop 0 6 0 2 8 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1952 Texas Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Abilene Christian $ 4 0 0 6 3 1
McMurry 3 1 0 4 4 1
Texas A&I 1 3 0 3 8 0
Howard Payne 1 3 0 3 6 0
Austin 1 3 0 2 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1952 Yankee Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Connecticut + 3 1 0 5 3 0
Maine + 3 1 0 4 3 0
Rhode Island + 3 1 0 7 1 0
UMass 1 2 0 4 3 1
Vermont 0 1 0 2 5 0
New Hampshire 0 4 0 2 4 1
  • + – Conference co-champions

Rankings[]

Bowl games[]

As late as 1952, many colleges, and some football conferences, did not participate in postseason bowl games. No. 1 Michigan State had joined the Big Ten conference in 1950 for football, but as part of the terms of membership, was ineligible to play in a bowl game until the 1953 season. No. 3 Notre Dame had a policy against playing in postseason games.[2] No. 4 Oklahoma was a member of the Big 7 conference (which later, as the Big 8 and Big 12, would send its best team to the Orange Bowl), and that conference banned post-season games. The Oklahoma University Board of Regents considered a motion to allow the team to accept an invitation from the Orange Bowl, and passed a resolution that stated that "Oklahoma belongs to the Big Seven Conference and has followed its rules in the past and should follow them in the future.".[3] Thus, three of the nation's four "top teams" did not play in a bowl game. The exception was Georgia Tech, which played as the SEC champ in the Sugar Bowl. In a forerunner of the SEC championship game, the two best teams in the conference met, with No. 7 Ole Miss accepting the invitation to play against Tech.

Bowl game Winning team Losing team
Sugar Bowl No. 2 Georgia Tech 24 No. 7 Ole Miss 7
Rose Bowl No. 5 USC 7 No. 11 Wisconsin 0
Cotton Bowl No. 10 Texas 16 No. 8 Tennessee 0
Orange Bowl No. 9 Alabama 61 No. 14 Syracuse 6
Gator Bowl No. 15 Florida 14 No. 12 Tulsa 13

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "1952 Preseason AP Football Poll". CollegePollArchive.com. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  2. ^ "Bowl Scramble Underway Across Nation Today," Las Cruces (N.M.) Sun-News, Nov. 8, 1952, p8
  3. ^ "Oklahoma U. Regents Turn Down Bowl Offer," Albuquerque Journal, Nov. 21, 1952, p14
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