American college football season
1959 Syracuse Orangemen football Conference Independent Coaches No. 1 AP No. 1 1959 record 11–0 Head coach Ben Schwartzwalder (11th season)Captain Gerhard Schwedes [1] Home stadium Archbold Stadium Seasons
The 1959 Syracuse Orangemen football team represented Syracuse University in the 1959 NCAA University Division football season . Led by eleventh-year head coach Ben Schwartzwalder , the independent Orangemen were undefeated and won the school's only national championship in football , topping the rankings by wide margins in the final polls in early December.[2] [3] [4] [5]
They met fourth-ranked Texas in the Cotton Bowl Classic in Dallas on New Year's Day, and led 15–0 at halftime and 23–6 after the three quarters. Texas scored midway through the fourth quarter to draw to 23–14, but there was no further scoring, and Syracuse gained its first bowl win.[6] Unranked at the start of the season, Syracuse finished with an 11–0 record with five shutouts, and outscored its opponents 413–73.
Notable players included sophomore running back Ernie Davis , winner of the Heisman Trophy in 1961 and the first selection of the 1962 NFL Draft . In the Cotton Bowl Classic, he scored the first two touchdowns and threw a pass to Gerhard Schwedes for the third.[6] Davis was helped by an offensive line that included unanimous first team All-American guard Roger Davis .
The team was named national champion by AP , Billingsley , Boand , DeVold , Football News , Football Research , Football Writers , Helms , Litkenhous , NCF , NFF , Poling , Sagarin (ELO-Chess), UPI , and Williamson ,[7] leading to a consensus national champion designation.
Schedule [ ]
Date Opponent Rank Site Result Attendance Source September 26 Kansas Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY W 35–2125,000 [8]
October 3 Maryland No. 20 Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY W 29–030,000
October 10 vs. Navy No. 12 W 32–631,700 [9]
October 17 Holy Cross No. 8 Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY W 42–630,000
October 24 West Virginia No. 6 Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY W 44–035,000 [10]
October 31 at Pittsburgh No. 5 Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA W 35–025,761 [11]
November 7 at No. 7 Penn State No. 4 New Beaver Field University Park, PA W 20–1832,800 [12]
November 14 Colgate No. 1 Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY W 71–031,000 [13]
November 21 at Boston University No. 1 Boston University Field Boston, MA W 46–022,000
December 5 at No. 17 UCLA No. 1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA W 36–846,436 [14]
January 1, 1960 vs. No. 4 Texas No. 1 W 23–1475,504 [6]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
[1]
Roster [ ]
1959 Syracuse Orangemen football team roster
Players
Coaches
Offense
Pos.
#
Name
Class
HB
44
Ernie Davis
So
Defense
Special teams
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible
Injured
Redshirt
Game summaries [ ]
Kansas [ ]
Maryland [ ]
vs. Navy [ ]
Holy Cross [ ]
West Virginia [ ]
at Pittsburgh [ ]
at Penn State [ ]
Colgate [ ]
at Boston University [ ]
at UCLA [ ]
vs. Texas (Cotton Bowl Classic) [ ]
1
2 3 4 Total
• Syracuse
7
8 8 0
23
Texas
0
0 6 8
14
Date: January 1Location: Cotton Bowl , Dallas, TX Game attendance: 98,202Television network: CBS
[15]
1960 NFL Draft [ ]
Main article: 1960 NFL Draft
Player
Position
Round
Pick
NFL Club
Roger Davis
Guard
1
7
Chicago Bears
Gerhard Schwedes
Running back
4
47
Baltimore Colts
Bob Yates
Tackle
7
84
New York Giants
Dave Baker
End
17
204
New York Giants
[16]
References [ ]
^ a b 2017 Syracuse football media guide . pg. 148
^ "Orange win grid crown" . Spokesman-Review . (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 8, 1959. p. 18.
^ "Syracuse runs off with title" . Toledo Blade . (Ohio). Associated Press. December 8, 1959. p. 34.
^ "Syracuse tops final grid poll by wide margin" . Bend Bulletin . (Oregon). UPI. December 8, 1959. p. 2.
^ "Syracuse is voted national champion by coaches board" . Reading Eagle . (Pennsylvania). UPI. December 8, 1959. p. 23.
^ a b c "Syracuse tops Texas, 23–14" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). Associated Press. January 2, 1960. p. 6.
^ 2017 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF) . Indianapolis: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. July 2017. p. 113. Retrieved October 31, 2019 .
^ "Midnight strikes for KU gridders 35–21" . Lawrence Daily Journal-World . (Kansas). September 26, 1959. p. 1.
^ "Navy stopped by Syracuse" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). Associated Press. October 11, 1959. p. 3B.
^ "Syracuse breezes over WVU, 44–0" . Pittsburgh Press . October 25, 1959. p. 1, sec.7.
^ Smith, Chester L. (November 1, 1959). "Syracuse smothers Pitt, 35–0" . Pittsburgh Press . p. 1, sec.7.
^ Smith, Chester L. (November 8, 1959). "Syracuse wins 'big one,' 20–18" . Pittsburgh Press . p. 1, sec.7.
^ "Syracuse wins, 71–0, takes Cotton Bowl offer" . Reading Eagle . (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. November 15, 1959. p. 25.
^ "Syracuse easy 36–8 winner" . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). Associated Press. December 6, 1959. p. 6.
^ "LIFE at the 1960 Cotton Bowl: 'Battle of the Hard-Noses' " . Time . January 2, 2014. Archived from the original on July 6, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2020 .
^ "1960 NFL Draft" . Pro Football Reference . Retrieved January 11, 2020 .
Head coach: Ben Schwartzwalder
Assistant coach: Jim Shreve
Venues
Archbold Stadium (1907–1978)
Giants Stadium (1979)
Rich Stadium (1979)
Schoellkopf Field (1979)
Carrier Dome (1980–present)
Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore
Otto the Orange
Alma Mater
"Down the Field "
Marching band
The Express: The Ernie Davis Story
Scandal
Syracuse ISP Sports Network
Highest-scoring game
People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
1936–1949 1950s 1960s
1960 : Minnesota (AP, Coaches, NFF ) / Ole Miss (FWAA)
1961 : Alabama (AP, Coaches, NFF) / Ohio State (FWAA)
1962 : USC
1963 : Texas
1964 : Alabama (AP, Coaches) / Arkansas (FWAA) / Notre Dame (NFF)
1965 : Alabama (AP, FWAA) / Michigan State (Coaches, FWAA, NFF)
1966 : Notre Dame (AP, Coaches, FWAA, NFF) / Michigan State (NFF)
1967 : USC
1968 : Ohio State
1969 : Texas
1970s
1970 : Nebraska (AP, FWAA) / Texas (NFF, Coaches) / Ohio State (NFF)
1971 : Nebraska
1972 : USC
1973 : Notre Dame (AP, FWAA, NFF) / Alabama (Coaches)
1974 : Oklahoma (AP) / USC (FWAA, NFF, Coaches)
1975 : Oklahoma
1976 : Pittsburgh
1977 : Notre Dame
1978 : Alabama (AP, FWAA, NFF) / USC (Coaches)
1979 : Alabama
1980–1991
1980 : Georgia
1981 : Clemson
1982 : Penn State
1983 : Miami (FL)
1984 : BYU
1985 : Oklahoma
1986 : Penn State
1987 : Miami (FL)
1988 : Notre Dame
1989 : Miami (FL)
1990 : Colorado (AP, FWAA, NFF, USAT /CNN ) / Georgia Tech (Coaches)
1991 : Miami (FL) (AP) / Washington (Coaches, FWAA, UPI /NFF)