1958 college football season explained

Year:1958
Preseason Ap:Ohio State Buckeyes[1]
Regular Season:September 13 – November 29, 1958
Number Of Bowls:8
Bowl Start:December 13, 1958
Bowl End:January 1, 1959
Champion:LSU (AP, Coaches)
Iowa (FWAA)
Heisman:Pete Dawkins, (halfback, Army)

The 1958 college football season was the 90th season of intercollegiate football in the United States. It concluded with two teams having claim to the major college national championship:

Three small college teams also claimed national championships:

Army halfback Pete Dawkins won the Heisman Trophy and the Maxwell Award as the best player in college football. Pacific fullback Dick Bass led all major college football players with 1,448 yards of total offense, 1,361 rushing yards, and 116 points scored.

On January 13, 1958, the eleven-man NCAA Rules Committee unanimously approved a resolution to allow teams to choose between kicking an extra point after a touchdown, or running or passing from the three-yard line for a two-point conversion.[4] [5] University of Michigan athletic director Fritz Crisler said at the meeting in Fort Lauderdale, "It's a progressive step which will make football more interesting for the spectators," adding that the rule "will add drama to what has been the dullest, most stupid play in the game."[6] [7]

Conference and program changes

Conference changes

Membership changes

Season chronology

September

In the preseason poll released on September 15, 1958, the Buckeyes of Ohio State University were the first place choice for 46 of 99 writers casting votes, followed by Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Michigan State and 1957's champion, Auburn.[8] As the regular season progressed, a new poll would be issued on the Monday following the weekend's games.

Most teams did not begin play until September 27. On September 13, Kentucky beat Hawaii 51–0 in a game in Louisville, and attempted the 2-point conversion, but without success.[9] One of the first successful 2-point conversions in an NCAA game happened when Iowa State Teachers College hosted Bradley University at Cedar Falls, Iowa on September 13. Max Huffman carried the ball over twice on conversion attempts to give the Panthers of Iowa Teachers a 29–12 win over the Braves.[10] On September 20, No. 6 Mississippi and No. 8 Texas Christian were among the winners, beating Memphis State (17–0) and Kansas (42–0) respectively, but the Top Five schools had not yet started play. The poll for the five 0–0 teams was No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2. Oklahoma, No. 3 Auburn, No. 4 Michigan State, and No. 5 Notre Dame.

September 27 No. 1 Ohio State narrowly beat No. 20 SMU at home, 23–20, and fell to third in the next poll. No. 2 Oklahoma, on the other hand, rolled over visiting No. 13 West Virginia 47–14, and rose to first place. No. 3 Auburn beat Tennessee in Birmingham, 13–0, and No. 4 Michigan State beat California 32–12. No. 5 Notre Dame beat Indiana 18–0, but fell to 7th, while No. 8 Army, which beat South Carolina 45–8, took the place of the Irish. The next poll: No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Auburn, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Michigan State, and No. 5 Army.

October

October 4 No. 1 Oklahoma got past visiting Oregon, 6–0, and dropped to second. No. 2 Auburn, which beat UT-Chattanooga 30–8 at home, moved up to the top spot. No. 3 Ohio State beat Washington at home, 12–7. No. 4 Michigan State played No. 16 Michigan to a 12–12 tie, and fell to 9th. No. 5 Army beat Penn State 26–0. No. 7 Notre Dame, which beat No. 17 SMU in Dallas, 14–6, returned to the Top Five. The next poll: No. 1 Auburn, No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Army, No. 4 Notre Dame, and No. 5 Ohio State.

October 11No. 1 Auburn won at Kentucky, 8–0. No. 2 Oklahoma sustained a 15–14 loss at Dallas in their annual meeting with the No. 16 Texas Longhorns. In South Bend, Indiana, the visiting No. 3 Army Cadets beat No. 4 Notre Dame, 14–2, and were voted No. 1 in the next poll. No. 5 Ohio State won at Illinois, 19–13. No. 6 Wisconsin, which beat Purdue 31–6, and No. 9 Michigan State, which beat No. 10 Pittsburgh 22–8, rose in the polls, to put three Big Ten schools in the top five. The next poll: No. 1 Army, No. 2 Auburn, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Wisconsin, and No. 5 Michigan State.

On October 18 at West Point, New York, No. 1 Army beat Virginia 35–6. No. 2 Auburn tied with Georgia Tech 7–7 in Atlanta and fell in the polls. No. 3 Ohio State beat Indiana 49–8. No. 4 Wisconsin lost to No. 13 Iowa at home, 20–9, and No. 5 Michigan State began a five-game losing streak with a 14–6 defeat at Purdue. The Spartans would finish the season with a 3–5–1 record after starting 2–0–1. No. 7 Texas (24–6 over Arkansas) and No. 9 LSU (32–7 over Kentucky) rose in the polls. The next poll: No. 1 Army, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 LSU, No. 4 Texas, and No. 5 Auburn.

October 25 For the top-ranked teams, a tie was only slightly better than a loss. No. 1 Army played to a 14–14 tie against the Panthers at Pittsburgh, and No. 2 Ohio State tied with Wisconsin at home 7–7. No. 3 LSU beat Florida 10–7, and the win was enough to propel the Tigers to first place. No. 4 Texas lost to the Rice Owls in Houston, 34–7. No. 5 Auburn beat Maryland at home, 20–7. No. 7 Iowa, which beat Northwestern 26–20, rose to 2nd in the next poll: No. 1 LSU, No. 2 Iowa, No. 3 Army, No. 4 Auburn, and No. 5 Ohio State.

November

November 1 No. 1 LSU beat No. 6 Ole Miss 14–0. No. 2 Iowa won at Michigan, 37–14. No. 3 Army crushed Colgate, 68–6. No. 4 Auburn won 6–5 at Florida. In Columbus, No. 5 Ohio State was upset by visiting No. 11 Northwestern, 21–0. The next poll was: No. 1 LSU, No. 2 Iowa, No. 3 Army, No. 4 Northwestern, and No. 5 Auburn.

November 8 No. 1 LSU beat Duke 50–18. No. 2 Iowa won at Minnesota 28–6. No. 3 Army beat the No. 13 Rice Owls in Houston, 14–7. No. 4 Northwestern lost at Madison to No. 7 Wisconsin, 17–13. No. 5 Auburn beat Mississippi State 33–14 at home. The next poll was: No. 1 LSU, No. 2 Iowa, No. 3 Army, No. 4 Auburn, and No. 5 Wisconsin.

November 15 No. 1 LSU beat Mississippi State at Jackson 7–6. No. 2 Iowa lost at home to No. 16 Ohio State 38–28. No. 3 Army beat Villanova 26–0. No. 4 Auburn met the Georgia Bulldogs halfway in Columbus, Georgia, and won 21–6. No. 5 Wisconsin won 31–12 at Illinois. No. 6 Oklahoma, which beat Missouri 39–0, rose to 4th. The next poll was: No. 1 LSU, No. 2 Auburn, No. 3 Army, No. 4 Oklahoma, and No. 5 Wisconsin.

November 22 In New Orleans, the No. 1 LSU Tigers crushed Tulane 62–0, scoring 56 points in the second half, to close their season 10–0–0. They would face the Clemson Tigers in the Sugar Bowl. Behind them were the No. 2 Auburn Tigers, who beat Wake Forest at home 21–7. No. 3 Army was idle as it prepared for the annual Army-Navy game. No. 4 Oklahoma crushed Nebraska 40–7. No. 5 Wisconsin beat Minnesota to close its season at 7–1–1. No. 6 Iowa, which beat No. 15 Notre Dame 31–21, returned to the Top Five: No. 1 LSU, No. 2 Auburn, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 Iowa, and No. 5 Army.

On November 29 No. 2 Auburn defeated Alabama 14–8 in Birmingham to finish its season at 9–0–1, but they were on probation for recruiting violations and ineligible for a bowl game.[11] No. 3 Oklahoma won at Oklahoma State 7–0. The Sooners (who had not lost a conference game since 1946) won the Big 7 title and headed to the Orange Bowl. In Philadelphia, No. 5 Army beat Navy, 22–6, to finish its season 8–0–1.

The final AP Poll was released on December 1, and the No. 1 LSU Tigers, at 10–0–0, won the AP Trophy with 130 of the first place votes. The other 73 votes were spread among 12 schools, including No. 2 Iowa (17), No. 3 Army (13), No. 4 Auburn (9), No. 5 Oklahoma (10), No. 6 Air Force (2), No. 7 Wisconsin (13), No. 8 Ohio State (3), and No. 9 Syracuse (1). LSU finished the 1958 season as the only undefeated and untied team in college football. Army, Air Force, and Auburn were also undefeated but they each had one game that ended in a tie. [12] The United States Air Force Academy football team, nicknamed the Falcons, had a 9–0–1 record in only their second year of playing college football, and accepted a bid to face No. 10 Texas Christian in the Cotton Bowl. Oklahoma was the only team to beat a top 10 team in all of the bowl games when they defeated number 9 Syracuse in the Orange Bowl. [13]

Conference standings

Small college

Bowl games

See main article: 1958–59 NCAA football bowl games.

Major bowls

Thursday, January 1, 1959

Bowl
216
70
No. 10 TCU Horned Frogs (tie)0No. 6 Air Force Falcons (tie)0
3812

Other bowls

BowlLocation DateWinnerScoreLoser
SunEl Paso, TXDecember 31Wyoming14–6Hardin–Simmons
GatorJacksonville, FLDecember 27No. 11 Ole Miss  7–3No. 14 Florida
TangerineOrlando, FLDecember 2726–7
BluegrassLouisville, KYDecember 13Oklahoma State15–6Florida State

Notably, the Tangerine Bowl initially extended a bid to Buffalo. However, when the bowl organizers told the school that its two black players would not be allowed to play, the team unanimously voted to turn down the bid.[14] The Bulls did not appear in a bowl game until a half century later, in 2008.

NAIA postseason

Rankings

Major college

See main article: 1958 major college football rankings.

Final polls were released in the first week of December.

AP Poll
RankTeam1stPoints
11391,904
2Iowa171,459
3Army131,429
491,398
5101,200
62800
713797
83571
91340
10-311
112303
121246
13-196
14-134
15-101
16-78
17Notre Dame161
18-52
19-49
20146
UPI poll
RankTeam1stPoints
1LSU29331
2Iowa 4275
3Army1255
4Auburn-224
5Oklahoma-174
6Wisconsin-170
7Ohio State-117
8Air Force 175
9TCU -74
10Syracuse-64
11Purdue54
12Ole Miss 41
13Clemson24
14Notre Dame22
15Florida 9
16California 8
17Northwestern6
18SMU2

Small college

See main article: 1958 small college football rankings.

In 1958, United Press International (UPI) conducted a "small college" coaches' poll for the first time. Mississippi Southern, which had beaten NC State and VPI en route to a 9–0 record,[15] was ranked first from start to finish.[16]

United Press International (coaches) final poll
Published on December 4[17]

RankSchool RecordNo. 1
votes
Total
points
1 9–0 36 403
2 6–3 215
3 10–0 2 209
4 9–0 1 205
5 9–1 172
6 8–1 148
7 8–0 1 107
8 5–5 105
9 10–0 92
10 8–1 91

NAIA rankings

The top teams in the NAIA football rankings were as follows:

  1. Northeastern State, 11-0, 180 points
  2. Arizona State–Flagstaff, 11-1, 162 points
  3. , 8-1, 116 points
  4. , 10-1, 112 points
  5. , 8-1, 104 points
  6. , 8-1, 100 points
  7. , 7-1, 98 points
  8. Kearney, 9-0, 85 points
  9. Middle Tennessee, 8-2, 42 points
  10. , 9-1, 41 points
  11. Cal Poly, 9-1
  12. Tampa, 6-4
  13. Lamar Tech, 6-2
  14. , 6-1-1
  15. California (PA), 8-0
  16. , 8-0
  17. , 7-2
  18. , 7-0-1
  19. Southern Illinois, 7-2
  20. , 5-2

[18]

Award season

Heisman Trophy voting

The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player

Player School Position 1st 2nd 3rd Total
Pete Dawkins Army HB 296 195 116 1,394
QB 194 157 125 1,021
HB 198 140 101 975
FB 40 88 69 365
QB 47 27 32 227
FB 26 41 37 197
OL 26 37 35 187
HB 14 17 20 96
QB 10 12 21 75
FB 8 14 18 70
Source: [19] [20]

All-Americans

See main article: 1958 College Football All-America Team.

See main article: 1958 Little All-America college football team. For the year 1958, the NCAA recognizes six published All-American teams as "official" designations for purposes of its consensus determinations. The following chart identifies the NCAA-recognized consensus All-Americans and displays which first-team designations they received.

NamePositionSchoolNumberOfficialOther
Billy CannonHalfbackLSU6/6AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, SN, UPICP, Time, WC
Randy DuncanQuarterbackIowa6/6AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, SN, UPICP, WC
Pete DawkinsHalfbackArmy6/6AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, SN, UPICP, WC
Buddy DialEndRice5/6AP, FWAA, NEA, SN, UPITime, WC
Ted BatesTackleOregon State5/6AFCA, AP, NEA, SN, UPICP, WC
Bob HarrisonCenterOklahoma5/6AP, FWAA, NEA, SN, UPICP, WC
Bob WhiteFullbackOhio State4/6FWAA, NEA, SN, UPICP, Time, WC
John GuzikGuardPittsburgh4/6FWAA, NEA, SN, UPITime, WC
Zeke SmithGuardAuburn3/6AP, FWAA, NEACP, Time, WC
George DeiderichGuardVanderbilt3/6AP, AFCA, FWAA--
Sam WilliamsEndMichigan State2/6AFCA, UPITime, WC
Brock StromTackleAir Force2/6AP, UPIWC

Other awards

Statistical leaders

Individual

Total offense

The following players were the individual leaders in total offense during the 1958 season:

Major college

RankPlayerTeamGamesPlaysTotal YdsPtR[21]
1Dick BassPacific102181440128
2Randy DuncanIowa9207140692
3Buddy HumphreyBaylor10247139170
4Charlie MilsteadTexas A&M10279133272
5Joe KappCalifornia10239123160
6Bill HolsclawVirginia Tech10230122792
7Dick LongfellowWest Virginia10242120282
8Don MeredithSMU10190119296
9Dwight NicholsIowa State10277117218
10Jack CummingsNorth Carolina10154114872
[22]

Minor college

RankPlayerTeamGamesPlaysTotal Yds
1Stan JacksonCal Poly Pomona103242478
2Gary CampbellWhittier92241659
3WebbSt. Ambrose82641592
4BradyBaldwin-Wallace92481534
5GideonTrinity92091520
[23]

Passing

The following players were the individual leaders in pass completions during the 1958 season:

Major college

RankPlayerTeamGamesCompl.Att.Pct.
Compl.
Yds.Int.TDs
1Buddy HumphreyBaylor10112195.574131687
2Ralph HunsakerArizona10106191.5551129135
3Randy DuncanIowa9101172.5871347911
4Rich MayoAir Force1098174.5631019611
5Charlie MilsteadTexas A&M1088167.5271135115
6Dick LongfellowWest Virginia1079156.506943126
7Bob NicoletStanford1077146.52772453
8Dick NormanStanford1076133.57171773
9Arnold DempseyVirginia1074152.487697112
10Jack LeeCincinnati1071130.546951115
[22]

Minor college

RankPlayerTeamGamesCompl.Att.Pct.
Compl.
Yds.Int.TDs
1Stan JacksonCal Poly Pomona10123256.48019941416
2AlvaroCollege of Idaho10112225.4981485179
3NewhouseSt. Norbert9104211.49313101813
4WebbSt. Ambrose8100202.4951494710
5JohnsonNew Mexico A&M1097179.5421184119
6BradyBaldwin-Wallace989183.48614901516
9CampbellWhittier987139.6261237713

Rushing

The following players were the individual leaders in rushing yards during the 1958 season:
Major college

RankPlayerTeamGamesYds RushesAvg
1Dick BassPacific1013612056.63
2Bob WhiteOhio State98592183.94
3Dwight NicholsIowa State108152203.70
4Pete HartHardin-Simmons107851634.81
5Bill AustinRutgers97471455.15
6Jake CrouthamelDartmouth97221235.86
7Weldon JacksonBYU106981016.91
8Billy CannonLSU106861155.96
9Larry HickmanBaylor106701514.43
10Johnny SaundersSouth Carolina106531285.10
[22]

Minor college

RankPlayerTeamGamesYds RushesAvg
1Dale MillsNortheast Missouri State918613587.30
2Brad HustadLuther920613546.57
3Elbert DubenionBluffton915112908.54
4George DixonBridgeport915511067.14
5Ed MeadorArkansas Tech913510968.12
14FinderSt. Benedict's101009179.17
[23]

Scoring

The following players were the individual leaders in scoring during the 1958 season:

Major college

RankPlayerTeamPtsTDPATFG
1Dick BassPacific1161880
2Bill AustinRutgers10616100
3Ron BurtonNorthwestern761240
4Billy CannonLSU741180
5Frank FinneyBrown7410140
6Pete DawkinsArmy741220
7Bob WhiteOhio State721200
8Leon BurtonArizona State701140
9Calvin BirdKentucky651050
10Bob SimmsRutgers649100
[24]

Minor college

RankPlayerTeamPtsTDPATFG
1Carl HerakovichRose Poly16825180
2Corky BridgesCentral Washington14821220
3Bill ShockleyWest Chester13215420
4Dale MillsNortheast Missouri1222020
5Claire BoroffKearney State12114370

Team

Total offense

The following teams were the leaders in total offense during the 1958 season:

Major college

RankTeamGames
played
Total
plays
Yards
gained
Yards
per game
1Iowa96493653405.9
2Pacific106573804380.4
3Arizona State106943795379.5
4Army96303380375.6
5Notre Dame107103697369.7
6Air Force107323605360.5
7Oklahoma107623517351.7
8Baylor107153356335.6
9Brown96223019335.4
10West Virginia107203319331.9
[25]

Rushing offense

The following teams were the leaders in rushing offense during the 1958 season:

Major college

RankTeamYards
per game
1Pacific259.6
2Oklahoma257.4
3Arizona State253.9
4BYU249.7
5Colorado249.5
[25]

Passing offense

The following teams were the leaders in passing offense during the 1958 season:

Major college

RankTeamYards
per game
1Army172.2
2Iowa170.0
3San Jose State169.8
4Baylor168.7
5SMU165.2
[25]

Total defense

The following teams were the leaders in total defense during the 1958 season:

Major college

RankTeamGames
played
Total
plays
Yards
gained
Yards
per game
1Auburn105211575157.5
2Purdue94851590176.7
3Army95611643182.6
4Harvard95121720191.1
5LSU106241934193.4
6Boston College105581942194.2
7Pittsburgh105691961196.1
8North Texas State105422017201.7
9Georgia Tech105522018201.8
10Tulsa105952030203.0
[25]

Rushing defense

The following teams were the leaders in rushing defense during the 1958 season:

Major college

RankTeamYards
per game
1Auburn79.6
2Tulsa82.5
3Pittsburgh91.3
4Army93.0
5Syracuse94.3
[25]

Passing defense

The following teams were the leaders in passing defense during the 1958 season:

Major college

RankTeamYards
per game
1Iowa State39.0
2Brown44.8
3Georgia Tech57.1
4Harvard58.4
5Colorado59.0
[25]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Archived copy . 2009-01-11 . https://web.archive.org/web/20111002010506/http://www.appollarchive.com/football/ap/seasons.cfm?appollid=211 . 2011-10-02 . dead .
  2. Web site: October 27, 1958 Football Polls | College Poll Archive .
  3. Houlgate, Deke (1954). The Football Thesaurus: 85 Years on the American Gridiron. Los Angeles, California: Houlgate House. In the Huddle with Deke Houlgate: College Football from 1869 through 1953; Annual Supplements for 1954–1958
  4. News: NCAA announces new point-after scoring . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon) . Associated Press . January 13, 1958 . 2B.
  5. News: Colleges get PAT bonus for run or pass . Deseret News . (Salt Lake City, Utah) . INS . January 13, 1958 . B3.
  6. News: New two-point rule to kill kick attempts . Bend Bulletin . (Oregon) . United Press . Down . Fred . January 13, 1958 . 2.
  7. "Pass or Run Conversion Worth Two Points Now," San Antonio Express, January 13, 1958, p9-A
  8. Web site: Archived copy . 2009-01-11 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111002010550/http://www.appollarchive.com/football/ap/ . 2011-10-02 .
  9. "Kentucky Rips Hawaii 51–0," The Lima News, September 14, 1958, p37.
  10. "Damron Directs T Teachers to 29–12 Win Before 6,800," Waterloo Sunday Courier, September 14, 1958, p37
  11. News: AUBURN ON PROBATION; Southeastern Conference Bars College from Bowl Games. The New York Times. 23 May 1958.
  12. Web site: 1958 Final Football Polls | College Poll Archive .
  13. Web site: Orange Bowl - Syracuse vs Oklahoma Box Score, January 1, 1959 .
  14. Web site: OTL: All or Nothing.
  15. Web site: Welcome cfbdatawarehouse.com - BlueHost.com. 2019-02-26. 2018-09-28. https://web.archive.org/web/20180928170300/http://www.cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/active/s/southern_mississippi/1955-1959_yearly_results.php. dead.
  16. "Southern Small College Champ; Axers Third," Yuma Daily Sun, Dec. 4, 1958, p9
  17. News: Miss. Southern Tops Final Poll Of Grid Powers . . subscription . . . newspapers.com . December 4, 1958 . February 26, 2017.
  18. News: Kearney, Chadron Listed: Antelopes 8th, Eagles 16th. The Lincoln Star. November 12, 1958. 13. Newspapers.com.
  19. News: Dawkins completes double; named to Heisman award . Eugene Register-Guard . (Oregon). UPI . December 3, 1958 . 2C.
  20. Web site: Pete Dawkins . Heisman Trophy . 1958 . January 29, 2017.
  21. Points-for-which-responsible is player's total of points scored and points passes for
  22. Book: Official Collegiate Record Book. 1959. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 65.
  23. Book: Official Collegiate Record Book. 1959. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 72.
  24. Book: Official Collegiate Record Book. 1959. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 65.
  25. Book: Official Collegiate Record Book. 1959. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 69.