1954 Mississippi State Maroons football team

The 1954 Mississippi State Maroons football team represented Mississippi State College during the 1954 college football season. This was the first season as head coach for Darrell Royal, who had previously served as an assistant for the Maroons.^[1] Royal would later win three national championships as head coach of Texas. Center Hal Easterwood was named to the FWAA/Look All-America team. Halfback Art Davis was named SEC "Player of the Year" by the Nashville Banner and Atlanta Constitution.

1954 Mississippi State Maroons football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	6–4 (3–3 SEC)
Head coach	Darrell Royal (1st season)
Home stadium	Scott Field
Seasons ← 1953 1955 →

1954 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 6 Ole Miss $	5	–	0	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
Georgia Tech	6	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
Florida	5	–	2	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Kentucky	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Georgia	3	–	2	–	1			6	–	3	–	1
No. 13 Auburn	3	–	3	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
Mississippi State	3	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Alabama	3	–	3	–	2			4	–	5	–	2
LSU	2	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Tulane	1	–	6	–	1			1	–	6	–	3
Vanderbilt	1	–	5	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
Tennessee	1	–	5	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 18	Memphis State*	Scott Field Starkville, MS	W 27–7	9,000	^[2]
September 25	vs. Tennessee	Crump Stadium Memphis, TN	L 7–19	28,523	^[3]
October 2	Arkansas State*	Scott Field Starkville, MS	W 46–13	9,000	^[4]
October 9	at Tulane	Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA	W 14–0	18,000	^[5]
October 15	at Miami (FL)*	Burdine Stadium Miami, FL	L 13–27	40,836	^[6]
October 23	at No. 12 Alabama	Denny Stadium Tuscaloosa, AL (rivalry)	W 12–7	30,000	^[7]
October 30	at Florida	Florida Field Gainesville, FL	L 0–7		^[8]
November 6	North Texas State*	Scott Field Starkville, MS	W 48–26	10,000	^[9]
November 13	at LSU	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)	W 25–0	20,000	^[10]
November 27	at No. 7 Ole Miss	Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS (Egg Bowl)	L 0–14	36,000	^[11]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[12]

References

1. Haisten, Bill (November 15, 2000). "Royal's roots still run deep". TulsaWorld.com. Tulsa World.
2. "Miss. State romps to easy 27–7 victory in opener". The Clarion-Ledger. September 19, 1954. Retrieved September 21, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Vols shine brightly in 19 to 7 trouncing of Mississippi State". The Commercial Appeal. September 26, 1954. Retrieved March 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Maroons win but discover breather is not so restful". Monroe Morning World. October 3, 1954. Retrieved October 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Mississippi State downs Tulane Greenies by 14–0". Jackson Daily News. October 10, 1954. Retrieved September 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Unbeaten UM 'runs' by Mississippi State, 27–13". The Miami Herald. October 16, 1954. Retrieved October 6, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Watkins, Ed (October 22, 1954). "Miss. State spoils Alabama's homecoming, 12 to 7". The Tuscaloosa News. Google News Archives. p. 1. Retrieved November 3, 2012.
8. "Florida edges past Maroons". The Charlotte Observer. October 31, 1954. Retrieved October 6, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "State outdoes Eagles 48 to 26". The Clarion-Ledger. November 7, 1954. Retrieved November 4, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Maroons chill LSU; Davis hot". The Orlando Sentinel. November 14, 1954. Retrieved October 6, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Ole Miss, Navy to Sugar Bowl". The Chattanooga Times. November 28, 1954. Retrieved October 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
12. College Football @ Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 26, 2015