1953 college football season

1953 college football season
Preseason AP No. 1	Notre Dame[1]
Number of bowls	7
Champion(s)	Maryland (AP, Coaches)
Heisman	Johnny Lattner (halfback, Notre Dame)
← 1952 · football seasons · 1954 →

The 1953 college football season finished with the Maryland Terrapins capturing the AP, INS, and UPI national championship after Notre Dame held the top spot for the first nine weeks. The No. 4 Oklahoma Sooners defeated Maryland in the Orange Bowl, but there was no further polling after the November 30 results were released. However, Notre Dame was selected as the National Champions by 10 other polls and the Oklahoma Sooners received first in two polls.^[2] However, despite the team receiving National Championship rings, the University of Notre Dame does not recognize this title due to their policy of only recognizing AP or coaches' poll titles during the polling era (1936–present). Maryland was also the first champion of the Atlantic Coast Conference, which had been formed earlier in 1953 by seven colleges formerly with the Southern Conference.^[3] The year 1953 also saw the Michigan State Spartans, previously an independent, join the Big Nine Conference, which then became the Big Ten; MSU won the conference title in that first year and was the conference representative to the Rose Bowl, which it won 28–20 over UCLA.

During the 20th century, the NCAA had no playoff for the college football teams that would later be described as "Division I-A". The NCAA did recognize a national champion based upon the final results of "wire service" (AP and UPI) polls. The extent of that recognition came in the form of acknowledgment in the annual NCAA Football Guide of the "unofficial" national champions. The AP poll in 1953 consisted of the votes of as many as 378 sportswriters.^[4]

Though not all writers voted in every poll, each would give their opinion of the twenty best teams. Under a point system of 20 points for first place, 19 for second, etc., the "overall" ranking was determined. Although the rankings were based on the collective opinion of the representative sportswriters, the teams that remained "unbeaten and untied" were generally ranked higher than those that had not. A defeat, even against a strong opponent, tended to cause a team to drop in the rankings, and a team with two or more defeats was unlikely to remain in the Top 20. Generally, the top teams played on New Year's Day in the four major postseason bowl games: the Rose Bowl (near Los Angeles at Pasadena), the Sugar Bowl (New Orleans), the Orange Bowl (Miami), and the Cotton Bowl (Dallas).

Conference and program changes[]

Conference changes[]

• Three conferences began play in 1953:
  • Atlantic Coast Conference – an active NCAA Division I FBS conference; formed by seven former members of the Southern Conference with an eighth member, Virginia added in December 1953
  • Eastern Intercollegiate Conference – active through the 1959 season
  • Prairie College Conference – active through the 1967 season
• One conference changed its name in 1953:
  • With the addition of independent Michigan State, the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives (commonly the Big Nine Conference) once again became the Big Ten Conference (the league had 10 members before Chicago's departure in 1946). The Big Ten name was not officially adopted until 1987.

Membership changes[]

School	1952 Conference	1953 Conference
Cincinnati Bearcats	MAC	Independent
Clemson Tigers	SoCon	ACC
Duke Blue Devils	SoCon	ACC
Erskine Flying Fleet	Independent	Dropped Program
Evansville Purple Aces	Ohio Valley	Indiana Collegiate Conference
Marshall Thundering Herd	Independent	MAC
Maryland Terrapins	SoCon	ACC
Michigan State Spartans	Independent	Big Ten (was Big Nine)
Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders	VSAC	Ohio Valley
NYU Violets	Independent	Dropped Program
North Carolina Tar Heels	SoCon	ACC
NC State Wolfpack	SoCon	ACC
South Carolina Gamecocks	SoCon	ACC
Wake Forest Demon Deacons	SoCon	ACC

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 41–0. Meanwhile, at Montgomery, AL, No. 5 Alabama was shocked by Southern Mississippi, 25–19. The next day, September 19 No. 3 Georgia Tech beat Davidson, 53–0. Notre Dame and Michigan State began their seasons the following week.

On September 26 No. 1 Notre Dame won 28–21 at No. 6 Oklahoma. No. 2 Michigan State won at Iowa, 21–7. No. 3 Georgia Tech went to No. 15 Florida and was held to a 0–0 tie. No. 4 UCLA beat Kansas 19–7. Still at No. 5, Alabama, trying to salvage some respect against a second unranked opponent, went to 0–1–1 after a 7–7 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 52–0 at Washington and Lee, rose to third, and previously unranked Michigan (a 50–0 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 26–7 at home, the other top teams won on the road: No. 1 Notre Dame at Purdue, 37–7, No. 2 Michigan State at Minnesota 21–0, No. 3 Maryland at Clemson, 20–0, and No. 5 UCLA defeated Oregon 12–0 in an away game. No. 6 Ohio State, which won 33–19 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 26–19 win over TCU. No. 4 Maryland won 40–13 over Georgia and No. 5 Michigan edged Iowa 14–13. The night before, No. 3 Ohio State had lost 40–21 to Illinois, while No. 6 UCLA returned to the top bracket with a 13–0 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 23–14. No. 2 Michigan State defeated Indiana 47–18. No. 3 Maryland won 26–0 at North Carolina. No. 4 UCLA lost at Stanford, 21–20. No. 5 Michigan beat Northwestern 20–12. No. 6 Georgia Tech, which beat Auburn 36–6, 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 27–14 win over No. 4 Georgia Tech. No. 2 Michigan State lost 6–0 at Purdue and No. 5 Michigan lost at Minnesota 22–0. No. 3 Maryland won a Friday game at Miami, 30–0. Coming into the Top Five were No. 6 Baylor (14–13 over No. 15 Texas A&M), No. 7 Illinois (20–13 over Syracuse), and No. 8 West Virginia (52–20 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 38–7. No. 2 Maryland beat South Carolina 24–6. No. 3 Baylor beat TCU 25–7. No. 4 Illinois defeated Purdue 21–0. No. 5 West Virginia won at Penn State 20–19. No. 6 Michigan State, which beat Oregon State 34–6, 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 28–20 at Penn. No. 2 Maryland beat George Washington University 27–6 at a game in Washington, DC. No. 3 Baylor lost at No. 19 Texas, 21–20. No. 4 Illinois beat No. 17 Michigan 9–3. No. 5 Michigan State won 28–13 at No. 16 Ohio State, and No. 6 Georgia Tech beat Clemson 20–7. 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, 34–14, and No. 2 Maryland beat No. 11 Mississippi 38–0 as both stayed unbeaten and untied. No. 4 Michigan State beat Michigan 14–6. On the other hand, No. 3 Illinois lost to Wisconsin, 34–7 and No. 5 Georgia Tech fell 13–6 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 (47–0) and Washington (22–6), 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 14–14 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.^[5] No. 2 Maryland closed its season with a 21–0 win over No. 11 Alabama to finish the season unbeaten and untied at 10–0–0. No. 3 Michigan State closed with a 21–15 win over Marquette. No. 4 Oklahoma beat Nebraska 30–7, and No. 5 UCLA beat No. 9 USC, 13–0. 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 48–14 win at No. 20 USC, and No. 4 Oklahoma (42–7 over Oklahoma A&M) were the only Top Five members who hadn't closed their seasons. The following Saturday, December 5, Notre Dame beat visiting SMU 40–14.

In the final AP Poll, released November 30, No. 1 Maryland, the only unbeaten and untied team, received 187 first place votes, and unbeaten, but once-tied No. 2 Notre Dame had 141 votes. ACC member Maryland accepted a bid to the Orange Bowl to meet once-beaten (8–1–1), 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 [1], 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.[2]

Conference standings[]

Major conference standings[]

1953 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 1 Maryland + 3 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0 No. 18 Duke + 4 – 0 – 0 7 – 2 – 1 South Carolina 2 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 North Carolina 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Wake Forest 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 1 Clemson 1 – 2 – 0 3 – 5 – 1 NC State 0 – 3 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll[6]	1953 Big Seven Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 4 Oklahoma $ 6 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 1 Missouri 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Kansas State 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 1 Colorado 2 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Nebraska 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 1 Kansas 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Iowa State 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1953 Big Ten Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 3 Michigan State + 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 No. 7 Illinois + 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 1 No. 15 Wisconsin 4 – 1 – 1 6 – 2 – 1 Ohio State 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Minnesota 3 – 3 – 1 4 – 4 – 1 No. 20 Michigan 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 No. 9 Iowa 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 1 Purdue 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Indiana 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Northwestern 0 – 6 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll
1953 Border Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 12 Texas Tech $ 5 – 0 – 0 11 – 1 – 0 Hardin–Simmons 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Texas Western 4 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Arizona 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 1 Arizona State 1 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 1 New Mexico A&M 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 West Texas State 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 8 – 1 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1953 Middle Three Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Rutgers $ 1 – 0 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Lafayette 1 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Lehigh 0 – 1 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1953 Missouri Valley Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Oklahoma A&M + 3 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Detroit + 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Wichita 1 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 1 Houston 1 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 1 Tulsa 1 – 3 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 + – Conference co-champions
1953 Pacific Coast Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 5 UCLA $ 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 No. 19 Stanford 5 – 1 – 1 6 – 3 – 1 USC 4 – 2 – 1 6 – 3 – 1 California 2 – 2 – 2 4 – 4 – 2 Washington State 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Oregon State 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Washington 2 – 4 – 1 3 – 6 – 1 Oregon 2 – 5 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 Idaho 0 – 3 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1953 Rocky Mountain Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Idaho State $ 5 – 0 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Montana State 4 – 1 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Western State (CO) 2 – 2 – 1 5 – 2 – 1 Colorado College 1 – 2 – 2 2 – 4 – 2 Colorado Mines 1 – 3 – 1 3 – 4 – 1 Colorado State–Greeley 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 5 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1953 Skyline Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Utah $ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Utah State 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Wyoming 4 – 2 – 1 5 – 4 �� 1 New Mexico 3 – 2 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Colorado A&M 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Montana 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Denver 1 – 5 – 1 3 – 5 – 2 BYU 1 – 5 – 1 2 – 7 – 1 $ – Conference champion
1953 Southeastern Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 13 Alabama $ 4 – 0 – 3 6 – 3 – 3 No. 8 Georgia Tech 4 – 1 – 1 9 – 2 – 1 No. 16 Kentucky 4 – 1 – 1 7 – 2 – 1 Ole Miss 4 – 1 – 1 7 – 2 – 1 No. 17 Auburn 4 – 2 – 1 7 – 3 – 1 Mississippi State 3 – 1 – 3 5 – 2 – 3 Tennessee 3 – 2 – 1 6 – 4 – 1 LSU 2 – 3 – 3 5 – 3 – 3 Florida 1 – 3 – 2 3 – 5 – 2 Vanderbilt 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Georgia 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Tulane 0 – 7 – 0 1 – 8 – 1 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1953 Southern Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 10 West Virginia $ 4 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Furman 2 – 0 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 George Washington 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 William & Mary 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 1 Richmond 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 1 VPI 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 VMI 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Washington and Lee 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 The Citadel 1 – 3 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Davidson 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1953 Southwest Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 6 Rice + 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 No. 11 Texas + 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Baylor 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 SMU 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Arkansas 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Texas A&M 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 1 TCU 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

Independents[]

1953 Eastern college football independents records v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 14 Army   –   7 – 1 – 1 Harvard   –   6 – 2 – 0 Franklin & Marshall   –   5 – 2 – 0 Hofstra   –   6 – 3 – 0 Penn State   –   6 – 3 – 0 Yale   –   5 – 2 – 2 Carnegie Tech   –   5 – 3 – 0 Boston College   –   5 – 3 – 1 Boston University   –   5 – 3 – 1 Syracuse   –   5 – 3 – 1 Princeton   –   5 – 4 – 0 Tufts   –   4 – 3 – 0 Cornell   –   4 – 3 – 2 Holy Cross   –   5 – 5 – 0 Temple   –   4 – 4 – 1 Colgate   –   3 – 4 – 2 Columbia   –   4 – 5 – 0 Fordham   –   4 – 5 – 0 Villanova   –   4 – 6 – 0 Drexel   –   2 – 3 – 1 Brown   –   3 – 5 – 1 Penn   –   3 – 5 – 1 Pittsburgh   –   3 – 5 – 1 Dartmouth   –   2 – 7 – 0 Buffalo   –   1 – 5 – 1 Bucknell   –   1 – 8 – 0 Rankings from AP Poll	1953 Midwestern college football independents records v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 2 Notre Dame   –   9 – 0 – 1 Cincinnati   –   9 – 1 – 0 Carthage   –   8 – 1 – 0 Youngstown   –   7 – 1 – 0 John Carroll   –   7 – 2 – 0 Washington University   –   7 – 2 – 0 Rose Poly   –   6 – 2 – 0 Wabash   –   6 – 2 – 1 Marquette   –   6 – 3 – 1 Baldwin–Wallace   –   4 – 4 – 0 Drake   –   4 – 4 – 0 Wayne   –   3 – 4 – 1 Dayton   –   3 – 5 – 1 Xavier   –   2 – 7 – 1 Rankings from AP Poll	1953 Southern college football independents records v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Delaware   –   7 – 1 – 0 Maryland State   –   7 – 1 – 0 Mississippi Southern   –   9 – 2 – 0 Navy   –   4 – 3 – 2 Memphis State   –   6 – 4 – 0 Florida State   –   5 – 5 – 0 Tampa   –   6 – 6 – 0 Miami (FL)   –   4 – 5 – 0 Sewanee   –   3 – 5 – 0 Marshall   –   2 – 5 – 2 Chattanooga   –   3 – 7 – 0 Louisville   –   1 – 7 – 0 Virginia   –   1 – 8 – 0
1953 Western college football independents records v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Pacific (CA)   –   4 – 4 – 2 San Jose State   –   4 – 4 – 1 Hawaii   –   5 – 6 – 0 Nevada   –   2 – 3 – 0 La Verne   –   3 – 7 – 0 Cal Poly San Dimas   –   2 – 6 – 0

Minor conferences[]

Conference	Champion(s)	Record
California Collegiate Athletic Association	Cal Poly–San Luis Obispo	5–0
Central Church College Conference	Dana	3–1
Central Intercollegiate Athletics Association	North Carolina College	5–1
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Saint Benedict's Washburn	4–1
College Conference of Illinois	Wheaton (IL)	4–0
Evergreen Conference	Puget Sound Whitworth	5–1
Far Western Conference	Chico State College	1–0–1
Frontier Conference	Carroll (MT)	4–0
Gulf Coast Conference	Trinity (TX)	2–0
Indiana Collegiate Conference	Butler	5–0
Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Iowa Wesleyan	4–0
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference	College of Emporia	7–0
Lone Star Conference	East Texas State Teachers	5–0
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association	Hope	5–1
Mid-American Conference	Ohio	5–0–1
Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference	Saint Olaf	6–0
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Gustavus Adolphus	6–0
Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association	Northeast Missouri State	5–0
Nebraska College Conference	Peru State Teachers	6–0
New Mexico Intercollegiate Conference	Panhandle A&M	6–0
North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	South Dakota State College	5–0–1
North Dakota College Athletic Conference	Valley City State	6–0
Ohio Athletic Conference	Ohio Wesleyan	7–0
Ohio Valley Conference	Tennessee Tech	5–0
Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference	Northeastern State College (OK)	4–0–1
Oregon Collegiate Conference	Unknown	—
Pacific Northwest Conference	College of Idaho	5–0
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference	Shippensburg State Teachers West Chester State Teachers	6–0 4–0
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference	Idaho State College	5–0
South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference	Northern State Teachers	6–0
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Pomona-Pitzer	3–1
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Florida A&M	6–0
Southwestern Athletic Conference	Prairie View A&M College	6–0
State Teacher's College Conference of Minnesota	St. Cloud State Teachers	4–0
Texas Collegiate Athletic Conference	Abilene Christian McMurry (TX) Texas A&I College	3–1
Wisconsin State College Conference	Wisconsin State–La Crosse Wisconsin State–Platteville	5–0 4–0

Minor conference standings[]

1953 California Collegiate Athletic Association football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Cal Poly $ 5 – 0 – 0 9 – 0 – 0 San Diego State 3 – 1 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Fresno State 2 – 2 – 1 4 – 4 – 2 Pepperdine 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Santa Barbara 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 1 Los Angeles State 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1953 Central Church College Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Dana $ 3 – 1 – 0 4 – 3 – 1 Concordia (NE) 2 – 1 – 1 7 – 1 – 1 Tarkio 0 – 3 – 1 2 – 5 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1953 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T North Carolina College $ 5 – 1 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Virginia State 5 – 2 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Morgan State 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 North Carolina A&T 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 1 West Virginia State 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Hampton 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 1 Johnson C. Smith 5 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Howard 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 5 – 1 Shaw 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 St. Augustine's 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 4 – 1 Virginia Union 2 – 4 – 1 5 – 4 – 1 Lincoln (PA) 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Winston-Salem State 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 1 Delaware State 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Bluefield State 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Saint Paul's (VA) 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1953 Central Intercollegiate Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Washburn + 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 St. Benedict's + 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Pittsburg State 2 – 2 – 1 6 – 3 – 1 Fort Hays State 2 – 2 – 1 3 – 4 – 1 Emporia State 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 5 – 1 Southwestern (KS) 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	1953 College Conference of Illinois football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Wheaton (IL) $ 4 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Lake Forest 4 – 1 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Augustana (IL) 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Millikin 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 North Central (IL) 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Illinois Wesleyan 1 – 3 – 1 1 – 7 – 1 Elmhurst 1 – 3 – 0 3 – 4 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1953 Evergreen Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Puget Sound + 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 Whitworth + 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 Eastern Washington 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Pacific Lutheran 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Western Washington 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 4 – 2 Central Washington 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 UBC 0 – 6 – 0 ? – ? – ? + – Conference co-champions
1953 Far Western Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Chico State $ 4 – 0 – 1 6 – 3 – 1 Humboldt State 2 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Cal Aggies 1 – 2 – 1 1 – 6 – 1 San Francisco State 0 – 1 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Southern Oregon 0 – 3 – 0 3 – 4 – 0 $ – Conference champion Conference record includes both Chico State vs. Northern Branch games	1953 Hoosier Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Indiana Central $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 0 – 0 Earlham 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Hanover 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 1 Anderson (IN) 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Taylor 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Franklin (IN) 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 Manchester (IN) 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1953 Gulf Coast Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Trinity (TX) $ 2 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 North Texas State 1 – 1 – 0 3 – 6 – 1 Midwestern (TX) 0 – 2 – 0 2 – 8 – 1 $ – Conference champion
1953 Gulf States Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Northwestern State + 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Louisiana Tech + 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Southeastern Louisiana + 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Southwestern Louisiana 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 McNeese State 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Louisiana College 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Northeast Louisiana State 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1953 Indiana Collegiate Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Butler $ 5 – 0 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Valparaiso 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 2 – 1 Ball State 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 2 – 1 Indiana State 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Evansville 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Saint Joseph's (IN) 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 DePauw 0 – 0 – 0 0 – 7 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1953 Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Central Michigan $ 5 – 0 – 1 7 – 1 – 1 Western Illinois 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Michigan State Normal 4 – 1 – 1 7 – 1 – 1 Illinois State Normal 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Southern Illinois 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Northern Illinois State 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 Eastern Illinois 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1953 Iowa Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Northern Division Wartburg xy 3 – 0 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Luther 2 – 1 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Upper Iowa 1 – 2 – 0 3 – 4 – 0 Buena Vista 0 – 3 – 0 2 – 6 – 1 Southern Division Iowa Wesleyan xy$ 4 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 Central (IA) 3 – 1 – 0 4 – 3 – 1 Dubuque 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 3 – 0 Parsons 1 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Simpson 0 – 4 – 0 0 – 8 – 0 Championship: Iowa Wesleyan 33, Wartburg 14 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant	1953 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T College of Emporia $ 7 – 0 – 0 8 – 0 – 0 McPherson 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Bethany (KS) 4 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Kansas Wesleyan 3 – 3 – 1 3 – 5 – 1 Baker 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Friends 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Ottawa 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Bethel (KS) 0 – 6 – 1 1 – 7 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1953 Lone Star Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T East Texas State $ 5 – 0 – 0 10 – 0 – 1 Sam Houston State 4 – 1 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 Southwest Texas State 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Lamar Tech 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Sul Ross 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Stephen F. Austin 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1953 Mason–Dixon Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Hampden–Sydney $ 3 – 0 – 1 5 – 1 – 1 Western Maryland 2 – 0 – 1 4 – 3 – 1 Randolph–Macon 2 – 2 – 0 3 – 4 – 2 Bridgewater 1 – 2 – 0 3 – 3 – 0 Gallaudet 0 – 1 – 0 2 – 2 – 0 Johns Hopkins 0 – 3 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion Conference standings were based on the Dickinson Scoring System.	1953 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Hope $ 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Albion 4 – 1 – 1 5 – 2 – 1 Alma 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Hillsdale 3 – 1 – 2 4 – 2 – 2 Olivet 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Adrian 1 – 4 – 1 2 – 5 – 1 Kalamazoo 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1953 Mid-American Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Ohio $ 5 – 0 – 1 6 – 2 – 1 Miami (OH) 3 – 0 – 1 7 – 1 – 1 Kent State 3 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Toledo 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Western Reserve 1 – 2 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Western Michigan 0 – 4 – 1 1 – 6 – 1 Bowling Green 0 – 4 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1953 Mid-Ohio League football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Defiance $ 4 – 0 – 0 8 – 0 – 0 Findlay 2 – 2 – 0 3 – 4 – 0 Bluffton 2 – 2 – 0 3 – 4 – 0 Ohio Northern 1 – 3 – 0 1 – 7 – 1 Ashland 1 – 3 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1953 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Gustavus Adolphus + 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Saint John's (MN) + 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Concordia (MN) 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Macalester 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Minnesota–Duluth 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 4 – 0 Hamline 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 3 – 0 St. Thomas (MN) 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Augsburg 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Saint Mary's (MN) 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 7 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1953 Missouri College Athletic Union football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T William Jewell $ 4 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 Missouri Valley 3 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 1 Tarkio 2 – 2 – 0 2 – 5 – 1 Central Methodist 1 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Culver–Stockton 0 – 4 – 0 0 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1953 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T NE Missouri State $ 5 – 0 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 SW Missouri State 3 – 2 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 NW Missouri State 2 – 2 – 1 3 – 4 – 1 Missouri–Rolla 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 SE Missouri State 1 – 2 – 2 4 – 3 – 2 Central Missouri State 0 – 4 – 1 0 – 7 – 2 $ – Conference champion	1953 Montana Collegiate Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Carroll (MT) $ 4 – 0 – 0 5 – 2 – 1 Rocky Mountain 3 – 1 – 0 ? – ? – ? Eastern Montana 1 – 2 – 1 2 – 3 – 1 Montana Mines 1 – 2 – 1 ? – ? – ? Western Montana 0 – 4 – 0 ? – ? – ? $ – Conference champion	1953 Nebraska College Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Peru State $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 0 – 0 Wayne State (NE) 4 – 2 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Kearney State 3 – 2 – 1 3 – 5 – 1 Doane 3 – 2 – 2 4 – 3 – 2 Midland 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Hastings 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Nebraska Wesleyan 1 – 4 – 2 2 – 4 – 3 Chadron State 0 – 7 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1953 New Mexico Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Panhandle A&M $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 1 New Mexico Military 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 3 – 0 Arizona State–Flagstaff 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Eastern New Mexico 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Adams State 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 New Mexico Western 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 New Mexico Highlands 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1953 North Central Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T South Dakota State $ 5 – 0 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Iowa State Teachers 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 North Dakota 4 – 1 – 1 6 – 1 – 1 Morningside 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 North Dakota State 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 South Dakota 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Augustana (SD) 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1953 North Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Valley City State $ 6 – 0 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Minot State 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Wahpeton Science 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 2 – 0 Mayville State 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 2 – 0 Jamestown 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 4 – 0 Bismarck JC 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 4 – 0 Dickinson State 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 5 – 0 Ellendale 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 6 – 0 Bottineau 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1953 North State Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T East Carolina $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Catawba 4 – 1 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 Appalachian State 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Lenoir–Rhyne 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Guilford 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Elon 1 – 4 – 1 1 – 6 – 1 Western Carolina 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1953 Northwest Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T College of Idaho $ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Linfield 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Willamette 2 – 2 – 1 2 – 5 – 1 Whitman 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 3 – 0 Lewis & Clark 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Pacific (OR) 0 – 4 – 1 2 – 4 – 2 $ – Conference champion	1953 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Ohio Wesleyan $ 7 – 0 – 0 8 – 0 – 1 Heidelberg 4 – 1 – 1 7 – 1 – 1 Otterbein 5 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Denison 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Akron 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Capital 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Wooster 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Muskingum 3 – 3 – 1 3 – 4 – 1 Mount Union 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Wittenberg 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Kenyon 1 – 3 – 0 3 – 4 – 0 Oberlin 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 6 – 1 Hiram 0 – 4 – 0 1 – 6 – 0 Marietta 0 – 4 – 0 1 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1953 Ohio Valley Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Tennessee Tech $ 5 – 0 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Eastern Kentucky 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Middle Tennessee 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Western Kentucky 2 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Murray State 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Morehead State 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1953 Oklahoma Collegiate Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Northeastern State $ 4 – 0 – 1 7 – 1 – 1 SE Oklahoma State 3 – 1 – 1 3 – 4 – 1 Central State (OK) 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 East Central 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 SW Oklahoma State 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 NW Oklahoma State 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1953 Oregon Collegiate Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Oregon College $ 3 – 0 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Portland State 2 – 1 – 0 5 – 2 – 0 Oregon Tech 1 – 2 – 0 1 – 4 – 0 Eastern Oregon 0 – 3 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1953 South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Northern State $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 0 – 0 Huron 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Southern State 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 South Dakota Mines 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 1 Dakota Wesleyan 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Yankton 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Sioux Falls 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 5 – 0 Black Hills 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 General Beadle 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1953 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Pomona-Claremont + 3 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 Occidental + 3 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Whittier 2 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 1 Redlands 2 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Caltech 0 – 4 – 0 0 – 7 – 0 + – Conference co-champions Caltech played Pomona-Claremont and Redlands each two times; each game counted as one-half in the standings.	1953 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Prairie View A&M $ 6 – 0 – 0 12 – 0 – 0 Southern 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 Texas College 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Arkansas AM&N 2 – 3 – 1 3 – 5 – 2 Langston 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Bishop 1 – 4 – 1 2 – 6 – 1 Wiley 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1953 Texas Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T McMurry + 3 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 1 Abilene Christian + 3 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Texas A&I + 3 – 1 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Howard Payne 1 – 3 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Austin 0 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1953 Yankee Conference football standings v t Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T New Hampshire + 3 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Rhode Island + 3 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Connecticut 2 – 1 – 1 3 – 4 – 1 Maine 1 – 2 – 1 4 – 2 – 1 Vermont 0 – 1 – 0 3 – 3 – 1 UMass 0 – 3 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 + – Conference co-champions

Rankings[]

Bowl games[]

Bowl game	Winning team		Losing team
Cotton Bowl Classic	No. 6 Rice	28	No. 13 Alabama	6
Gator Bowl	No. 12 Texas Tech'	35	No. 17 Auburn	13
Orange Bowl	No. 4 Oklahoma	7	No. 1 Maryland	0
Rose Bowl	No. 3 Michigan State	28	No. 5 UCLA Bruins	20
Sugar Bowl	No. 8 Georgia Tech	42	No. 10 West Virginia	19
Sun Bowl	Texas Western	37	Mississippi Southern	14
Tangerine Bowl	Arkansas State	7	East Texas State	7

See also[]

• 1953 College Football All-America Team

References[]