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1956 NCAA University Division football season

The 1956 NCAA University Division football season saw the University of Oklahoma Sooners finish a third consecutive season unbeaten and untied to again win the national championship.

1956 NCAA University Division football season
Preseason AP No. 1Oklahoma[1]
Regular seasonSeptember 22 – December 1, 1956
Number of bowls6
Bowl gamesDecember 29, 1956 – January 1, 1957
Champion(s)Oklahoma (AP, Coaches, FWAA)
HeismanPaul Hornung (quarterback, Notre Dame)

The 1956 season saw the NCAA split member schools into two divisions: larger schools were part of the University Division, later known as NCAA Division I, and smaller schools were placed in the College Division, later split into NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III.[2]

During the 20th century, the NCAA had no playoff for the major college football teams in the University Division, later known as Division I-A and now known as Division I FBS. 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 1956 consisted of the votes of as many as 198 sportswriters. 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). Because the rules of the time for Oklahoma's conference (at that time, Big 7) did not permit consecutive bowl appearances,[3] No. 1 Oklahoma did not play in the postseason, with runner-up Colorado going to the Orange Bowl instead.

Conference and program changes

Conference changes

  • One new conference began play in 1956:
    • Ivy League – active NCAA Division I FCS conference

Membership changes

School 1955 Conference 1956 Conference
Air Force Falcons new program Independent

September

In the preseason poll released on September 17, the defending champion Oklahoma Sooners, coming into the season with a 30-game winning streak, were the first place choice for 116 of 149 writers casting votes. They were followed by Michigan State, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech and Ohio State. New polls were issued weekly on Monday.

On September 22, No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 2 Michigan State were idle. No. 3 Notre Dame lost in Dallas to unranked SMU, 19–13 and dropped out of the top 5 for the season (and finished 2–8), while SMU would rise to fifth. No. 4 Georgia Tech won at Kentucky, 14–6. No. 5 Ohio State, which had not started play, fell out of the Top 5 and was replaced by No. 7 TCU, which had opened with a 32–0 win at Kansas. The first regular AP poll was No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Georgia Tech, No. 3 Michigan State, No. 4 TCU, and No. 5 SMU.

September 29, No. 1 Oklahoma opened its season with a 36–0 win over North Carolina. In Dallas, No. 2 Georgia Tech visited No. 5 SMU and narrowly won 9–7. No. 3 Michigan State won 21–7 at No. 12 Stanford. No. 4 TCU was idle and dropped to 8th, while No. 8 Ohio State rose to 4th after a 34–7 win hosting Nebraska. No. 13 Michigan, which had beaten UCLA 42–13, rose to 5th. The next poll was No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Michigan State, No. 3 Georgia Tech, No. 4 Ohio State, and No. 5 Michigan.

October

October 6 No. 1 Oklahoma registered another shutout, beating Kansas State 66–0. No. 2 Michigan State met No. 5 Michigan in the rain before a crowd of 101,001 at Ann Arbor, and MSU Coach Duffy Daugherty's "umbrella defense" forced two Michigan turnovers that led to the Spartans' 9–0 win No. 3 Georgia Tech was idle, and No. 4 Ohio State won 32–20 at home before 82,881 over Stanford.[4] The poll saw Michigan drop to 12th, while No. 8 TCU (which beat Arkansas 41–6 on national television) returned to the top five: No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Michigan State, No. 3 Georgia Tech, No. 4 TCU, and No. 5 Ohio State.

October 13 At Dallas, No. 1 Oklahoma beat Texas 45–0, having outscored its opposition 147–0 in three games. A commentator of the day wrote, "The overpowering charge of the big red-shirted Oklahoma line ahead of adroit Quarterback Jimmy Harris is just one of the reasons why Oklahoma may be the greatest college football team of all time... They showed it in the sudden, lifting charge of a line which moved all of a piece, like a wave breaking evenly along a beach."[5] No. 2 Michigan State defeated Indiana 53–6 at home. No. 3 Georgia Tech beat LSU, 39–7. No. 4 TCU won at Alabama 23–6, and No. 5 Ohio State won 26–6 at Illinois. The top five remained unchanged.

October 20 No. 1 Oklahoma gave up its first points of the season, but registered its fourth win, 34–12, at Kansas. No. 2 Michigan State stayed unbeaten with a 47–14 win at Notre Dame. No. 3 Georgia Tech beat Auburn 28–7. In a game that would ultimately determine the SWC championship, No. 4 TCU lost at No. 14 Texas A&M, 7–6. No. 5 Ohio State lost to Penn State by the same 7–6 score. No. 7 Tennessee, which had beaten Alabama 24–0, rose to 4th, and No. 8 Michigan returned to the Top 5 after its 34–20 win over Northwestern. The next poll: No. 1 Michigan State, No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Georgia Tech, No. 4 Tennessee, and No. 5 Michigan.

October 27 The new No. 1 Michigan State went to Champaign, and had a 13–0 lead over unranked Illinois at halftime. Abe Woodson plunged for a score to cut the lead to 13–6 after three quarters. In the fourth, Woodson ran 70 yards from scrimmage to help tie the game 13–13. After an MSU field goal was short, Woodson ran the ball up to the Illini 18. Woodson, who had once held the world record in the 50 yard high hurdles,[6] took a short pass and dashed 82 yards for a touchdown, leaping over State's Art Johnson 30 yards from goal, to pull off the 20–13 upset. No. 2 Oklahoma was determined to prove itself number 1, and Coach Bud Wilkinson directed the team to six touchdowns for a 40–0 win at Notre Dame. No. 3 Georgia Tech beat No. 15 Tulane by the same 40–0 margin. No. 4 Tennessee beat Maryland 34–7 to stay unbeaten. No. 5 Michigan had its second loss, falling to unranked Minnesota at home, 20–7. No. 7 Texas A&M, which had extended its record to 5–0–1 with a 19–13 win at No. 8 Baylor, replaced the Wolverines. The next poll: No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Georgia Tech, No. 3 Tennessee, No. 4 Michigan State, and No. 5 Texas A&M.

November

November 3 Unbeaten No. 1 Oklahoma (5–0), met the Colorado Buffaloes (5–1) on the road, and were losing 19–6 at halftime to a team that was a four-touchdown underdog, but came back with touchdowns by Tommy McDonald and Clendon Thomas for a difficult 27–19 win.[7] The rest of top five won in shutouts: No. 2 Georgia Tech won 7–0 at Duke, No. 3 Tennessee over North Carolina 20–0, No. 4 Michigan State crushed Wisconsin 33–0, and No. 5 Texas A&M beat Arkansas 27–0. The poll remained unchanged.

November 10 While No. 1 Oklahoma registered its fifth shutout in seven games, trouncing Iowa State 44–0, No. 2 Georgia Tech and No. 3 Tennessee met in Atlanta for a game that proved to determine the SEC title. There were 23 punts altogether, and no score until midway through the third quarter, when Tennessee end Buddy Cruze noticed that Tech had stopped double-teaming him. Halfback Johnny Majors (who would later be head coach for UT) passed to Cruze at the 35–yard line, and Cruze ran 64 yards down to the Tech goal line, setting up the touchdown that won the game 6–0.[8] In the poll that followed, Tennessee was the new No. 1 by a margin of 2 points (1,446 to 1,444) over Oklahoma. No. 4 Michigan State narrowly beat Purdue, 12–9. No. 5 Texas A&M beat SMU 33–7 in Dallas, and increased its record to 7–0–1. Though on probation since 1955 for recruiting violations, coach Bear Bryant's Aggies had appealed to the NCAA to allow them to play in the postseason (as the top contenders for the Southwest Conference title, they would receive an automatic bid in the Cotton Bowl). The next day, however, the NCAA announced that Texas A&M was still banned, because of an additional recruiting violation of a basketball player.[9] The next poll: No. 1 Tennessee, No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Michigan State, No. 4 Georgia Tech, and No. 5 Texas A&M.

November 17 No. 1 Tennessee beat visiting No. 19 Ole Miss 27–7, while No. 2 Oklahoma showed off its offense in crushing Missouri 67–14, sufficiently enough to regain the top spot in the next poll. No. 3 Michigan State traveled to Minnesota, which had been No. 6 a week before, but dropped to No. 17 after a loss to Iowa. The MSU visitors lost, 14–13, and dropped to tenth place in the next poll. No. 4 Georgia Tech beat Alabama 27–0. No. 5 Texas A&M beat visiting Rice, 21–7. No. 7 Iowa, which clinched an unexpected Big Ten championship by defeating No. 6 Ohio State 6–0, took Michigan State's place in the poll that followed. The Top 5 was No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Tennessee, No. 3 Iowa, No. 4 Texas A&M, and No. 5 Georgia Tech.

November 24 No. 1 Oklahoma gained 656 net yards in a defeat of visiting Nebraska 54–6. No. 2 Tennessee beat Kentucky 20–7. No. 3 Iowa finished its season with a 48–8 non-league win over Notre Dame, then accepted a bid to the Rose Bowl to play the PCC champion, No. 11 Oregon State. No. 4 Texas A&M was idle as it prepared for its Thanksgiving Day game with Texas, which it won 34–21. In Jacksonville, No. 5 Georgia Tech beat No. 13 Florida 28–0, and traded places with A&M. Tech would be invited back to the city for the Gator Bowl at season's end. The next poll: No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Tennessee, No. 3 Iowa, No. 4 Georgia Tech, and No. 5 Texas A&M.

December 1 No. 1 Oklahoma closed its season with a 53–0 win over Oklahoma A&M, finishing 10–0, and with a 466–51 finish in points. Only one of its ten opponents (Colorado) finished 1956 with a winning record. In Nashville, No. 2 Tennessee beat Vanderbilt 27–7 to close with a 10–0 record and a spot in the Sugar Bowl, where it would face 8–2 Baylor. No. 4 Georgia Tech closed with a 35–0 win at Georgia. Unbeaten and once-tied (9–0–1), No. 5 Texas A&M won the Southwest Conference title, but the ban against post-season play sent runner-up TCU to the Cotton Bowl instead. The top five teams in the final poll remained the same from the previous week.

Conference standings

1956 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 19 Clemson $ 4 0 1 7 2 2
Duke 4 1 0 5 4 1
South Carolina 5 2 0 7 3 0
Maryland 2 2 1 2 7 1
North Carolina 2 3 1 2 7 1
NC State 2 4 0 3 7 0
Wake Forest 1 5 1 2 5 3
Virginia 1 4 0 3 7 0
Rankings from AP Poll[10]
1956 Big Seven Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Oklahoma $ 6 0 0 10 0 0
No. 20 Colorado 4 1 1 8 2 1
Missouri 3 2 1 4 5 1
Nebraska 3 3 0 4 6 0
Kansas 2 4 0 3 6 1
Kansas State 2 4 0 3 7 0
Iowa State 0 6 0 2 8 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1956 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 Iowa $ 5 1 0 9 1 0
No. 7 Michigan 5 2 0 7 2 0
No. 12 Minnesota 4 1 2 6 1 2
No. 9 Michigan State 4 2 0 7 2 0
No. 15 Ohio State 4 2 0 6 3 0
Northwestern 3 3 1 4 4 1
Purdue 1 4 2 3 4 2
Illinois 1 4 2 2 5 2
Wisconsin 0 4 3 1 5 3
Indiana 1 5 0 3 6 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1956 Border Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Texas Western $ 5 0 0 9 2 0
Arizona State 3 1 0 9 1 0
West Texas State 2 2 0 8 2 0
Arizona 1 2 0 4 6 0
Hardin–Simmons 1 3 0 4 6 0
New Mexico A&M 0 4 0 1 9 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1956 Ivy League football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Yale $ 7 0 0 8 1 0
Princeton 5 2 0 7 2 0
Dartmouth 4 3 0 5 4 0
Penn 4 3 0 4 5 0
Brown 3 4 0 5 4 0
Columbia 2 5 0 3 6 0
Harvard 2 5 0 2 6 0
Cornell 1 6 0 1 8 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1956 Middle Three Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Lehigh $ 2 0 0 7 2 0
Rutgers 1 1 0 3 7 0
Lafayette 0 2 0 6 3 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1956 Missouri Valley Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Houston $ 4 0 0 7 2 1
Tulsa 2 1 1 7 2 1
Oklahoma A&M 2 1 1 3 5 2
Wichita 1 3 0 4 7 0
Detroit 0 4 0 2 8 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1956 Pacific Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 10 Oregon State $ 6 1 1 7 3 1
No. 18 USC 5 2 0 8 2 0
UCLA 5 2 0 7 3 0
Washington 4 4 0 5 5 0
Oregon 3 3 2 4 4 2
Stanford 3 4 0 4 6 0
Washington State 2 5 1 3 6 1
California 2 5 0 3 7 0
Idaho 0 4 0 4 5 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1956 Skyline Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Wyoming 7 0 0 10 0 0
Utah 5 1 0 5 5 0
Denver 4 3 0 6 4 0
Utah State 4 3 0 6 4 0
Colorado A&M 2 4 1 2 7 1
New Mexico 2 4 0 4 6 0
BYU 1 5 1 2 7 1
Montana 1 6 0 1 9 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1956 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Tennessee $ 6 0 0 10 1 0
No. 4 Georgia Tech 7 1 0 10 1 0
Florida 5 2 0 6 3 1
Ole Miss 4 2 0 7 3 0
Auburn 4 3 0 7 3 0
Kentucky 4 4 0 6 4 0
Tulane 3 3 0 6 4 0
Vanderbilt 2 5 0 5 5 0
Alabama 2 5 0 2 7 1
Mississippi State 2 5 0 4 6 0
LSU 1 5 0 3 7 0
Georgia 1 6 0 3 6 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1956 Southern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
West Virginia $ 5 0 0 6 4 0
VPI 3 0 0 7 2 1
No. 17 George Washington 5 1 0 8 1 1
Davidson 2 2 1 5 3 1
Furman 2 2 0 2 8 0
VMI 2 3 1 3 6 1
Richmond 2 5 0 4 5 0
The Citadel 1 3 0 3 5 1
Washington and Lee 0 1 0 1 7 0
William & Mary 0 5 0 0 9 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1956 Southwest Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 5 Texas A&M $ 6 0 0 9 0 1
No. 14 TCU 5 1 0 8 3 0
No. 11 Baylor 4 2 0 9 2 0
Arkansas 3 3 0 6 4 0
SMU 2 4 0 4 6 0
Rice 1 5 0 4 6 0
Texas 0 6 0 1 9 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1956 NCAA University Division independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 6 Miami (FL)     8 1 1
No. 16 Navy     6 1 2
No. 8 Syracuse     7 2 0
Air Force     6 2 1
Penn State     6 2 1
No. 13 Pittsburgh     7 3 1
Pacific (CA)     6 3 1
Army     5 3 1
Holy Cross     5 3 1
Villanova     5 4 0
Boston College     5 4 0
Florida State     5 4 1
Cincinnati     4 5 0
Colgate     4 5 0
Dayton     4 6 0
Drake     3 6 0
San Jose State     2 7 1
Texas Tech     2 7 1
Notre Dame     2 8 0
Boston University     1 5 2
Marquette     0 9 0
Rankings from AP Poll

Bowl games

Major bowls

Tuesday, January 1, 1957

Bowl Winner Runner-up
Orange No. 20 Colorado Buffaloes 27 No. 19 Clemson Tigers 21
Cotton No. 14 TCU Horned Frogs 28   No. 8 Syracuse Orangemen 27
Sugar No. 11 Baylor Bears 13   No. 2 Tennessee Volunteers 7
Rose   No. 3 Iowa Hawkeyes 35 No. 10 Oregon State Beavers 19

Other bowls

Bowl Location Date Winner Score Runner-up
Gator Jacksonville, FL December 29   No. 4 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 21–14 No. 13 Pittsburgh Panthers
Sun El Paso, TX January 1 No. 17 George Washington Colonials 13–0        Texas Western Miners

Minor bowls

Rankings

Final polls

Final polls were released at the end of the regular season. Records include bowl games.

Heisman Trophy

  1. Paul Hornung, QB - Notre Dame, 1,066 points
  2. Johnny Majors, RB - Tennessee, 994
  3. Tommy McDonald, WR - Oklahoma, 973
  4. Jerry Tubbs, C-LB - Oklahoma, 724
  5. Jim Brown, HB - Syracuse, 561
  6. Ron Kramer, E - Michigan, 518
  7. John Brodie, QB - Stanford, 281
  8. Jim Parker, G - Ohio State, 248
  9. Ken Ploen, QB - Iowa, 150
  10. Jon Arnett, HB - USC, 128
  11. Joe Walton, E - Pittsburgh, 97
  12. Jim Swink, HB - TCU, 84

Source:[11][12]

See also

References

  1. ^ . Archived from the original on 2012-02-17. Retrieved 2009-01-18.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ "Small schools and the Heisman".
  3. ^ ESPN Sports Almanac, 2001, p161
  4. ^ Sports Illustrated, October 15, 1956, p70
  5. ^ "Football:Fourth Week, Sports Illustrated, October 15, 1956, p14
  6. ^ "In the Midwest: Illinois Hurdles Over State," Sports Illustrated, Nov. 5, 2006, p16
  7. ^ "Sooners Scared By Buffs, Rally For 27–19 Win," Oakland Tribune, Nov. 4, 1956, p53
  8. ^ "A Day of Decision", Sports Illustrated, Nov. 19, 1956, p28
  9. ^ "Ban Fails To Lift For Aggie Bowl Bid," Amarillo Globe-Times, Nov. 14, 1956, p19
  10. ^ "1956 Atlantic Coast Conference Year Summary". sports-reference.com. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  11. ^ "Hornung gains award as best player of '56". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. December 5, 1956. p. 2, sec. 4.
  12. ^ "Paul Hornung". Heisman Trophy. 1956. Retrieved January 27, 2017.

1956, ncaa, university, division, football, season, university, oklahoma, sooners, finish, third, consecutive, season, unbeaten, untied, again, national, championship, preseason, 1oklahoma, regular, seasonseptember, december, 1956number, bowls6bowl, gamesdecem. The 1956 NCAA University Division football season saw the University of Oklahoma Sooners finish a third consecutive season unbeaten and untied to again win the national championship 1956 NCAA University Division football seasonPreseason AP No 1Oklahoma 1 Regular seasonSeptember 22 December 1 1956Number of bowls6Bowl gamesDecember 29 1956 January 1 1957Champion s Oklahoma AP Coaches FWAA HeismanPaul Hornung quarterback Notre Dame 1955 University Division football seasons 1957 The 1956 season saw the NCAA split member schools into two divisions larger schools were part of the University Division later known as NCAA Division I and smaller schools were placed in the College Division later split into NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III 2 During the 20th century the NCAA had no playoff for the major college football teams in the University Division later known as Division I A and now known as Division I FBS 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 1956 consisted of the votes of as many as 198 sportswriters 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 Because the rules of the time for Oklahoma s conference at that time Big 7 did not permit consecutive bowl appearances 3 No 1 Oklahoma did not play in the postseason with runner up Colorado going to the Orange Bowl instead Contents 1 Conference and program changes 1 1 Conference changes 1 2 Membership changes 2 September 3 October 4 November 5 Conference standings 6 Bowl games 6 1 Major bowls 6 2 Other bowls 7 Rankings 7 1 Final polls 8 Heisman Trophy 9 See also 10 ReferencesConference and program changes EditConference changes Edit One new conference began play in 1956 Ivy League active NCAA Division I FCS conferenceMembership changes Edit School 1955 Conference 1956 ConferenceAir Force Falcons new program IndependentSeptember EditIn the preseason poll released on September 17 the defending champion Oklahoma Sooners coming into the season with a 30 game winning streak were the first place choice for 116 of 149 writers casting votes They were followed by Michigan State Notre Dame Georgia Tech and Ohio State New polls were issued weekly on Monday On September 22 No 1 Oklahoma and No 2 Michigan State were idle No 3 Notre Dame lost in Dallas to unranked SMU 19 13 and dropped out of the top 5 for the season and finished 2 8 while SMU would rise to fifth No 4 Georgia Tech won at Kentucky 14 6 No 5 Ohio State which had not started play fell out of the Top 5 and was replaced by No 7 TCU which had opened with a 32 0 win at Kansas The first regular AP poll was No 1 Oklahoma No 2 Georgia Tech No 3 Michigan State No 4 TCU and No 5 SMU September 29 No 1 Oklahoma opened its season with a 36 0 win over North Carolina In Dallas No 2 Georgia Tech visited No 5 SMU and narrowly won 9 7 No 3 Michigan State won 21 7 at No 12 Stanford No 4 TCU was idle and dropped to 8th while No 8 Ohio State rose to 4th after a 34 7 win hosting Nebraska No 13 Michigan which had beaten UCLA 42 13 rose to 5th The next poll was No 1 Oklahoma No 2 Michigan State No 3 Georgia Tech No 4 Ohio State and No 5 Michigan October EditOctober 6 No 1 Oklahoma registered another shutout beating Kansas State 66 0 No 2 Michigan State met No 5 Michigan in the rain before a crowd of 101 001 at Ann Arbor and MSU Coach Duffy Daugherty s umbrella defense forced two Michigan turnovers that led to the Spartans 9 0 win No 3 Georgia Tech was idle and No 4 Ohio State won 32 20 at home before 82 881 over Stanford 4 The poll saw Michigan drop to 12th while No 8 TCU which beat Arkansas 41 6 on national television returned to the top five No 1 Oklahoma No 2 Michigan State No 3 Georgia Tech No 4 TCU and No 5 Ohio State October 13 At Dallas No 1 Oklahoma beat Texas 45 0 having outscored its opposition 147 0 in three games A commentator of the day wrote The overpowering charge of the big red shirted Oklahoma line ahead of adroit Quarterback Jimmy Harris is just one of the reasons why Oklahoma may be the greatest college football team of all time They showed it in the sudden lifting charge of a line which moved all of a piece like a wave breaking evenly along a beach 5 No 2 Michigan State defeated Indiana 53 6 at home No 3 Georgia Tech beat LSU 39 7 No 4 TCU won at Alabama 23 6 and No 5 Ohio State won 26 6 at Illinois The top five remained unchanged October 20 No 1 Oklahoma gave up its first points of the season but registered its fourth win 34 12 at Kansas No 2 Michigan State stayed unbeaten with a 47 14 win at Notre Dame No 3 Georgia Tech beat Auburn 28 7 In a game that would ultimately determine the SWC championship No 4 TCU lost at No 14 Texas A amp M 7 6 No 5 Ohio State lost to Penn State by the same 7 6 score No 7 Tennessee which had beaten Alabama 24 0 rose to 4th and No 8 Michigan returned to the Top 5 after its 34 20 win over Northwestern The next poll No 1 Michigan State No 2 Oklahoma No 3 Georgia Tech No 4 Tennessee and No 5 Michigan October 27 The new No 1 Michigan State went to Champaign and had a 13 0 lead over unranked Illinois at halftime Abe Woodson plunged for a score to cut the lead to 13 6 after three quarters In the fourth Woodson ran 70 yards from scrimmage to help tie the game 13 13 After an MSU field goal was short Woodson ran the ball up to the Illini 18 Woodson who had once held the world record in the 50 yard high hurdles 6 took a short pass and dashed 82 yards for a touchdown leaping over State s Art Johnson 30 yards from goal to pull off the 20 13 upset No 2 Oklahoma was determined to prove itself number 1 and Coach Bud Wilkinson directed the team to six touchdowns for a 40 0 win at Notre Dame No 3 Georgia Tech beat No 15 Tulane by the same 40 0 margin No 4 Tennessee beat Maryland 34 7 to stay unbeaten No 5 Michigan had its second loss falling to unranked Minnesota at home 20 7 No 7 Texas A amp M which had extended its record to 5 0 1 with a 19 13 win at No 8 Baylor replaced the Wolverines The next poll No 1 Oklahoma No 2 Georgia Tech No 3 Tennessee No 4 Michigan State and No 5 Texas A amp M November EditNovember 3 Unbeaten No 1 Oklahoma 5 0 met the Colorado Buffaloes 5 1 on the road and were losing 19 6 at halftime to a team that was a four touchdown underdog but came back with touchdowns by Tommy McDonald and Clendon Thomas for a difficult 27 19 win 7 The rest of top five won in shutouts No 2 Georgia Tech won 7 0 at Duke No 3 Tennessee over North Carolina 20 0 No 4 Michigan State crushed Wisconsin 33 0 and No 5 Texas A amp M beat Arkansas 27 0 The poll remained unchanged November 10 While No 1 Oklahoma registered its fifth shutout in seven games trouncing Iowa State 44 0 No 2 Georgia Tech and No 3 Tennessee met in Atlanta for a game that proved to determine the SEC title There were 23 punts altogether and no score until midway through the third quarter when Tennessee end Buddy Cruze noticed that Tech had stopped double teaming him Halfback Johnny Majors who would later be head coach for UT passed to Cruze at the 35 yard line and Cruze ran 64 yards down to the Tech goal line setting up the touchdown that won the game 6 0 8 In the poll that followed Tennessee was the new No 1 by a margin of 2 points 1 446 to 1 444 over Oklahoma No 4 Michigan State narrowly beat Purdue 12 9 No 5 Texas A amp M beat SMU 33 7 in Dallas and increased its record to 7 0 1 Though on probation since 1955 for recruiting violations coach Bear Bryant s Aggies had appealed to the NCAA to allow them to play in the postseason as the top contenders for the Southwest Conference title they would receive an automatic bid in the Cotton Bowl The next day however the NCAA announced that Texas A amp M was still banned because of an additional recruiting violation of a basketball player 9 The next poll No 1 Tennessee No 2 Oklahoma No 3 Michigan State No 4 Georgia Tech and No 5 Texas A amp M November 17 No 1 Tennessee beat visiting No 19 Ole Miss 27 7 while No 2 Oklahoma showed off its offense in crushing Missouri 67 14 sufficiently enough to regain the top spot in the next poll No 3 Michigan State traveled to Minnesota which had been No 6 a week before but dropped to No 17 after a loss to Iowa The MSU visitors lost 14 13 and dropped to tenth place in the next poll No 4 Georgia Tech beat Alabama 27 0 No 5 Texas A amp M beat visiting Rice 21 7 No 7 Iowa which clinched an unexpected Big Ten championship by defeating No 6 Ohio State 6 0 took Michigan State s place in the poll that followed The Top 5 was No 1 Oklahoma No 2 Tennessee No 3 Iowa No 4 Texas A amp M and No 5 Georgia Tech November 24 No 1 Oklahoma gained 656 net yards in a defeat of visiting Nebraska 54 6 No 2 Tennessee beat Kentucky 20 7 No 3 Iowa finished its season with a 48 8 non league win over Notre Dame then accepted a bid to the Rose Bowl to play the PCC champion No 11 Oregon State No 4 Texas A amp M was idle as it prepared for its Thanksgiving Day game with Texas which it won 34 21 In Jacksonville No 5 Georgia Tech beat No 13 Florida 28 0 and traded places with A amp M Tech would be invited back to the city for the Gator Bowl at season s end The next poll No 1 Oklahoma No 2 Tennessee No 3 Iowa No 4 Georgia Tech and No 5 Texas A amp M December 1 No 1 Oklahoma closed its season with a 53 0 win over Oklahoma A amp M finishing 10 0 and with a 466 51 finish in points Only one of its ten opponents Colorado finished 1956 with a winning record In Nashville No 2 Tennessee beat Vanderbilt 27 7 to close with a 10 0 record and a spot in the Sugar Bowl where it would face 8 2 Baylor No 4 Georgia Tech closed with a 35 0 win at Georgia Unbeaten and once tied 9 0 1 No 5 Texas A amp M won the Southwest Conference title but the ban against post season play sent runner up TCU to the Cotton Bowl instead The top five teams in the final poll remained the same from the previous week Conference standings Edit1956 Atlantic Coast Conference football standingsvte Conf OverallTeam W L T W L TNo 19 Clemson 4 0 1 7 2 2Duke 4 1 0 5 4 1South Carolina 5 2 0 7 3 0Maryland 2 2 1 2 7 1North Carolina 2 3 1 2 7 1NC State 2 4 0 3 7 0Wake Forest 1 5 1 2 5 3Virginia 1 4 0 3 7 0Rankings from AP Poll 10 1956 Big Seven Conference football standingsvte Conf OverallTeam W L T W L TNo 1 Oklahoma 6 0 0 10 0 0No 20 Colorado 4 1 1 8 2 1Missouri 3 2 1 4 5 1Nebraska 3 3 0 4 6 0Kansas 2 4 0 3 6 1Kansas State 2 4 0 3 7 0Iowa State 0 6 0 2 8 0 Conference championRankings from AP Poll 1956 Big Ten Conference football standingsvte Conf OverallTeam W L T W L TNo 3 Iowa 5 1 0 9 1 0No 7 Michigan 5 2 0 7 2 0No 12 Minnesota 4 1 2 6 1 2No 9 Michigan State 4 2 0 7 2 0No 15 Ohio State 4 2 0 6 3 0Northwestern 3 3 1 4 4 1Purdue 1 4 2 3 4 2Illinois 1 4 2 2 5 2Wisconsin 0 4 3 1 5 3Indiana 1 5 0 3 6 0 Conference championRankings from AP Poll1956 Border Conference football standingsvte Conf OverallTeam W L T W L TTexas Western 5 0 0 9 2 0Arizona State 3 1 0 9 1 0West Texas State 2 2 0 8 2 0Arizona 1 2 0 4 6 0Hardin Simmons 1 3 0 4 6 0New Mexico A amp M 0 4 0 1 9 0 Conference champion 1956 Ivy League football standingsvte Conf OverallTeam W L T W L TYale 7 0 0 8 1 0Princeton 5 2 0 7 2 0Dartmouth 4 3 0 5 4 0Penn 4 3 0 4 5 0Brown 3 4 0 5 4 0Columbia 2 5 0 3 6 0Harvard 2 5 0 2 6 0Cornell 1 6 0 1 8 0 Conference champion 1956 Middle Three Conference football standingsvte Conf OverallTeam W L T W L TLehigh 2 0 0 7 2 0Rutgers 1 1 0 3 7 0Lafayette 0 2 0 6 3 0 Conference champion1956 Missouri Valley Conference football standingsvte Conf OverallTeam W L T W L THouston 4 0 0 7 2 1Tulsa 2 1 1 7 2 1Oklahoma A amp M 2 1 1 3 5 2Wichita 1 3 0 4 7 0Detroit 0 4 0 2 8 0 Conference champion 1956 Pacific Coast Conference football standingsvte Conf OverallTeam W L T W L TNo 10 Oregon State 6 1 1 7 3 1No 18 USC 5 2 0 8 2 0UCLA 5 2 0 7 3 0Washington 4 4 0 5 5 0Oregon 3 3 2 4 4 2Stanford 3 4 0 4 6 0Washington State 2 5 1 3 6 1California 2 5 0 3 7 0Idaho 0 4 0 4 5 0 Conference championRankings from AP Poll 1956 Skyline Conference football standingsvte Conf OverallTeam W L T W L TWyoming 7 0 0 10 0 0Utah 5 1 0 5 5 0Denver 4 3 0 6 4 0Utah State 4 3 0 6 4 0Colorado A amp M 2 4 1 2 7 1New Mexico 2 4 0 4 6 0BYU 1 5 1 2 7 1Montana 1 6 0 1 9 0 Conference champion1956 Southeastern Conference football standingsvte Conf OverallTeam W L T W L TNo 2 Tennessee 6 0 0 10 1 0No 4 Georgia Tech 7 1 0 10 1 0Florida 5 2 0 6 3 1Ole Miss 4 2 0 7 3 0Auburn 4 3 0 7 3 0Kentucky 4 4 0 6 4 0Tulane 3 3 0 6 4 0Vanderbilt 2 5 0 5 5 0Alabama 2 5 0 2 7 1Mississippi State 2 5 0 4 6 0LSU 1 5 0 3 7 0Georgia 1 6 0 3 6 1 Conference championRankings from AP Poll 1956 Southern Conference football standingsvte Conf OverallTeam W L T W L TWest Virginia 5 0 0 6 4 0VPI 3 0 0 7 2 1No 17 George Washington 5 1 0 8 1 1Davidson 2 2 1 5 3 1Furman 2 2 0 2 8 0VMI 2 3 1 3 6 1Richmond 2 5 0 4 5 0The Citadel 1 3 0 3 5 1Washington and Lee 0 1 0 1 7 0William amp Mary 0 5 0 0 9 1 Conference championRankings from AP Poll 1956 Southwest Conference football standingsvte Conf OverallTeam W L T W L TNo 5 Texas A amp M 6 0 0 9 0 1No 14 TCU 5 1 0 8 3 0No 11 Baylor 4 2 0 9 2 0Arkansas 3 3 0 6 4 0SMU 2 4 0 4 6 0Rice 1 5 0 4 6 0Texas 0 6 0 1 9 0 Conference championRankings from AP Poll1956 NCAA University Division independents football recordsvte Conf OverallTeam W L T W L TNo 6 Miami FL 8 1 1No 16 Navy 6 1 2No 8 Syracuse 7 2 0Air Force 6 2 1Penn State 6 2 1No 13 Pittsburgh 7 3 1Pacific CA 6 3 1Army 5 3 1Holy Cross 5 3 1Villanova 5 4 0Boston College 5 4 0Florida State 5 4 1Cincinnati 4 5 0Colgate 4 5 0Dayton 4 6 0Drake 3 6 0San Jose State 2 7 1Texas Tech 2 7 1Notre Dame 2 8 0Boston University 1 5 2Marquette 0 9 0Rankings from AP PollBowl games EditMajor bowls Edit Tuesday January 1 1957 Bowl Winner Runner upOrange No 20 Colorado Buffaloes 27 No 19 Clemson Tigers 21Cotton No 14 TCU Horned Frogs 28 No 8 Syracuse Orangemen 27Sugar No 11 Baylor Bears 13 No 2 Tennessee Volunteers 7Rose No 3 Iowa Hawkeyes 35 No 10 Oregon State Beavers 19Other bowls Edit Bowl Location Date Winner Score Runner upGator Jacksonville FL December 29 No 4 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 21 14 No 13 Pittsburgh PanthersSun El Paso TX January 1 No 17 George Washington Colonials 13 0 Texas Western MinersMinor bowls Bowl Winner Runner upTangerine West Texas State 20 Mississippi Southern 13Burley Memphis State 32 East Tennessee State 12Refrigerator Sam Houston State 27 Middle Tennessee State 13Rankings EditMain article 1956 NCAA University Division football rankings Final polls Edit Final polls were released at the end of the regular season Records include bowl games AP Poll Rank Team Record Conference Bowl1 Oklahoma 10 0 Big Seven none2 Tennessee 10 1 SEC Lost Sugar 7 133 Iowa 9 1 Big Ten Won Rose 35 194 Georgia Tech 10 1 SEC Won Gator 21 145 Texas A amp M 9 0 1 Southwest none6 Miami FL 8 0 1 Independent none7 Michigan 7 2 Big Ten none8 Syracuse 7 2 Independent Lost Cotton 28 279 Michigan State 7 2 Big Ten none10 Oregon State 7 3 1 PCC Lost Rose 19 3511 Baylor 9 2 Southwest Won Sugar 13 712 Minnesota 6 1 2 Big Ten none13 Pittsburgh 7 3 1 Independent Lost Gator 14 2114 TCU 8 3 Southwest Won Cotton 28 2715 Ohio State 6 3 Big Ten none16 Navy 6 1 2 Independent none17 George Washington 8 1 1 Southern Won Sun 13 018 USC 8 2 PCC none19 Clemson 7 2 2 ACC Lost Orange 21 2720 Colorado 8 2 1 Big Seven Won Orange 27 21 Coaches poll Rank Team1 Oklahoma2 Tennessee3 Iowa4 Georgia Tech5 Texas A amp M6 Miami FL 7 Michigan8 Syracuse9 Minnesota10 Michigan State11 Baylor12 Pittsburgh13 Oregon State14 TCU15 USC16 Wyoming17 Yale18 Colorado19 Navy20 DukeHeisman Trophy EditPaul Hornung QB Notre Dame 1 066 points Johnny Majors RB Tennessee 994 Tommy McDonald WR Oklahoma 973 Jerry Tubbs C LB Oklahoma 724 Jim Brown HB Syracuse 561 Ron Kramer E Michigan 518 John Brodie QB Stanford 281 Jim Parker G Ohio State 248 Ken Ploen QB Iowa 150 Jon Arnett HB USC 128 Joe Walton E Pittsburgh 97 Jim Swink HB TCU 84Source 11 12 See also Edit1956 College Football All America TeamReferences Edit Archived copy Archived from the original on 2012 02 17 Retrieved 2009 01 18 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint archived copy as title link Small schools and the Heisman ESPN Sports Almanac 2001 p161 Sports Illustrated October 15 1956 p70 Football Fourth Week Sports Illustrated October 15 1956 p14 In the Midwest Illinois Hurdles Over State Sports Illustrated Nov 5 2006 p16 Sooners Scared By Buffs Rally For 27 19 Win Oakland Tribune Nov 4 1956 p53 A Day of Decision Sports Illustrated Nov 19 1956 p28 Ban Fails To Lift For Aggie Bowl Bid Amarillo Globe Times Nov 14 1956 p19 1956 Atlantic Coast Conference Year Summary sports reference com Retrieved January 16 2013 Hornung gains award as best player of 56 Chicago Tribune Associated Press December 5 1956 p 2 sec 4 Paul Hornung Heisman Trophy 1956 Retrieved January 27 2017 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1956 NCAA University Division football season amp oldid 1075113834, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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