| 1954 NCAA football rankings | |
|---|---|
| Season | 1954 |
| Bowl season | 1954–55 bowl games |
| Preseason No. 1 | |
| End of season champions | Ohio State (AP) UCLA (Coaches) |
Two human polls comprised the 1954 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll.
| Increase in ranking | ||
| Decrease in ranking | ||
| Not ranked previous week | ||
| National champion | ||
(#–#) | Win–loss record | |
(Italics) | Number of first place votes | |
т | Tied with team above or below also with this symbol |
The final AP Poll was released on November 29, at the end of the 1954 regular season, weeks before the major bowls. The AP would not release a post-bowl season final poll regularly until 1968.
| Preseason Aug [1] | Week 1 Sep 20 [2] | Week 2 Sep 27 [3] | Week 3 Oct 4 [4] | Week 4 Oct 11 [5] | Week 5 Oct 18 [6] | Week 6 Oct 25 [7] | Week 7 Nov 1 [8] | Week 8 Nov 8 [9] | Week 9 Nov 15 [10] | Week 10 Nov 22 [11] | Week 11 (Final) Nov 29 [12] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Notre Dame (52) | Oklahoma (1–0) (56) | Notre Dame (1–0) (94) | Oklahoma (2–0) (77) | Oklahoma (3–0) (118) | Oklahoma (4–0) (115) | Ohio State (5–0) (64) | UCLA (7–0) (72) | UCLA (8–0) (117) | Ohio State (8–0) (87) | Ohio State (9–0) (115) | Ohio State (9–0) (204) | 1. |
| 2. | Oklahoma (74) | Notre Dame (0–0) (11) | Oklahoma (2–0) (24) | UCLA (3–0) (20) | Wisconsin (4–0) (21) | Wisconsin (4–0) (42) | Oklahoma (5–0) (74) | Ohio State (6–0) (69) | Ohio State (7–0) (80) | UCLA (8–0) (92) | UCLA (9–0) (85) | UCLA (9–0) (133) | 2. |
| 3. | Maryland (13) | Maryland (0–0) (9) | Iowa (1–0) (11) | Wisconsin (2–0) (17) | UCLA (4–0) (10) | UCLA (5–0) (23) | UCLA (6–0) (45) | Oklahoma (6–0) (42) | Oklahoma (7–0) (44) | Oklahoma (8–0) (28) | Oklahoma (9–0) (31) | Oklahoma (10–0) (35) | 3. |
| 4. | Texas (10) | Texas (1–0) (3) | UCLA (2–0) (3) | Iowa (2–0) (15) | Ohio State (3–0) (14) | Ohio State (4–0) (8) | Arkansas (5–0) (16) | Arkansas (6–0) (16) | Arkansas (7–0) (43) | Notre Dame (6–1) (2) | Notre Dame (7–1) (4) | Notre Dame (8–1) (9) | 4. |
| 5. | Illinois (2) | Georgia Tech (1–0) (2) | Wisconsin (1–0) (7) | Purdue (2–0) (22) | Purdue (2–0–1) (3) | Ole Miss (5–0) (9) | Army (4–1) (1) | Notre Dame (4–1) (4) | Notre Dame (5–1) (3) | Army (7–1) | Army (7–1) | Navy (7–2) (4) | 5. |
| 6. | Michigan State (7) | Illinois (0–0) | Maryland (1–0) (3) | Duke (2–0) (3) | Duke (2–0–1) (7) | Notre Dame (3–1) | Notre Dame (3–1) (1) | Miami (FL) (6–0) (14) | Army (6–1) (4) | Ole Miss (8–1) (7) | Navy (6–2) (2) | Ole Miss (9–1) (6) | 6. |
| 7. | Georgia Tech (5) | Michigan State (0–0) | Duke (1–0) (7) | Ole Miss (3–0) (12) | Ole Miss (4–0) (11) | Arkansas (4–0) (4) | West Virginia (4–0) (6) | Army (5–1) (1) | Ole Miss (7–1) (5) | Navy (6–2) т | Ole Miss (8–1) (6) | Army (7–2) | 7. |
| 8. | UCLA (1) | UCLA (1–0) (2) | Ole Miss (2–0) (3) | Notre Dame (1–1) | Notre Dame (2–1) (2) | Minnesota (4–0) | Wisconsin (4–1) | Purdue (4–1–1) | USC (7–1) | USC (8–1) т | Wisconsin (7–2) | Maryland (7–2–1) (4) | 8. |
| 9. | Wisconsin (1) | Ole Miss (1–0) (1) | USC (2–0) | USC (3–0) | Navy (3–0) (1) т | Army (3–1) | Purdue (3–1–1) | Ole Miss (6–1) (2) | Iowa (5–2) | Arkansas (7–1) (5) | Baylor (7–2) | Wisconsin (7–2) | 9. |
| 10. | Ole Miss (2) | Baylor (1–0) т | Penn State (1–0) | Ohio State (2–0) (1) | Penn State (3–0) (3) т | West Virginia (3–0) (9) | Miami (FL) (5–0) (6) | USC (6–1) | Navy (5–2) | Minnesota (7–1) | Maryland (6–2–1) | Arkansas (8–2) (4) | 10. |
| 11. | Iowa (1) | Wisconsin (0–0) т | Baylor (2–0) | Rice (2–0) | Minnesota (3–0) (2) | Colorado (5–0) (2) | Michigan (4–1) | Duke (4–1–1) | Miami (FL) (6–1) | SMU (5–1–1) | Miami (FL) (7–1) (2) | Miami (FL) (8–1) (7) | 11. |
| 12. | California | Iowa (0–0) | Texas (1–1) | Penn State (2–0) | Arkansas (3–0) (1) | Alabama (4–1) | Ole Miss (5–1) | Iowa (4–2) | Cincinnati (8–0) | Michigan (6–2) | West Virginia (7–1) (3) | West Virginia (8–1) (2) | 12. |
| 13. | Army | Rice (0–0) | Michigan State (0–1) | Maryland (1–1) | Iowa (2–1) | Purdue (2–1–1) | USC (5–1) | Cincinnati (7–0) | Minnesota (6–1) | Maryland (5–2–1) | Arkansas (7–2) (2) | Auburn (7–3) (1) | 13. |
| 14. | Alabama | Texas Tech (1–0) (1) | Ohio State (1–0) (1) | Florida (2–1) (1) | West Virginia (2–0) (6) | Virginia Tech (4–0) | Virginia Tech (5–0) (1) | Minnesota (5–1) | Wisconsin (5–2) | West Virginia (6–1) | Michigan (6–3) | Duke (7–2–1) | 14. |
| 15. | Duke (2) | USC (1–0) | South Carolina (1–0) (1) | Texas (2–1) | Rice (2–1) | Georgia Tech (4–1) | Navy (4–1) | Rice (4–2) | Virginia Tech (6–0–1) | Virginia Tech (6–0–1) | Auburn (7–2) | Michigan (6–3) | 15. |
| 16. | Rice | Oregon (1–0) | Rice (1–0) | West Virginia (1–0) (5) | Virginia Tech (3–0) | Miami (FL) (4–0) | Duke (3–1–1) | Wisconsin (4–2) | West Virginia (5–1) (2) | Miami (FL) (6–1) | Virginia Tech (7–0–1) | Virginia Tech (8–0–1) | 16. |
| 17. | USC | California (0–1) | Texas Tech (2–0) | Stanford (3–0) | Colorado (4–0) (1) | USC (4–1) | TCU (4–2) | West Virginia (4–1) (1) | Maryland (4–2–1) | Wisconsin (6–2) | USC (8–2) | USC (8–3) | 17. |
| 18. | Oregon | Army (0–0) | California (1–1) | Minnesota (2–0) | Army (2–1) | Florida (3–2) | SMU (3–1) | Virginia Tech (5–0–1) | Baylor (6–2) | Auburn (7–1) | Kentucky (7–3) | Baylor (7–3) | 18. |
| 19. | Texas Tech | Duke (0–0) | Purdue (1–0) | Navy (2–0) т | Georgia Tech (3–1) | Duke (2–1–1) | Rice (3–2) | Navy (4–2) | SMU (4–1–1) | Iowa (5–3) | Penn State (7–2) | Rice (7–3) | 19. |
| 20. | Ohio State (1) | TCU (1–0) | Florida (1–1) | Virginia Tech (3–0) т | Texas Tech (3–0–1) | TCU (3–2) | Cincinnati (6–0) |
| Georgia (6–1–1) | Baylor (6–2) |
| Penn State (7–2) | 20. |
| Preseason Aug [13] | Week 1 Sep 20 [14] | Week 2 Sep 27 [15] | Week 3 Oct 4 [16] | Week 4 Oct 11 [17] | Week 5 Oct 18 [18] | Week 6 Oct 25 [19] | Week 7 Nov 1 [20] | Week 8 Nov 8 [21] | Week 9 Nov 15 [22] | Week 10 Nov 22 [23] | Week 11 (Final) Nov 29 [24] | ||
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The final UP Coaches Poll was released prior to the bowl games, on November 29. [25]
UCLA received 21 of the 35 first-place votes; Ohio State received eleven, and one each to Oklahoma, Notre Dame, and Navy. [25]
| Ranking | Team | Conference | Bowl |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | UCLA | Pacific Coast | none |
| 2 | Ohio State | Big Ten | Won Rose, 20–7 |
| 3 | Oklahoma | Big Seven | none |
| 4 | Notre Dame | Independent | |
| 5 | Navy | Independent | Won Sugar, 21–0 |
| 6 | Ole Miss | SEC | Lost Sugar, 0–21 |
| 7 | Army | Independent | none |
| 8 | Arkansas | Southwest | Lost Cotton, 6–14 |
| 9 | Miami (FL) | Independent | none |
| 10 | Wisconsin | Big Ten | |
| 11 | USC | Pacific Coast | Lost Rose, 7–20 |
| 12 | Maryland | ACC | none |
| 13 | Georgia Tech | SEC | Won Cotton, 14–6 |
| 14 | Duke | ACC | Won Orange, 34–7 |
| 15 | Michigan | Big Ten | none |
| Penn State | Independent | ||
| 17 | SMU | Southwest | |
| 18 | Denver | Skyline | |
| Rice | Southwest | ||
| 20 | Minnesota | Big Ten |
The Litkenhous Ratings released in mid-December 1954 provided numerical rankings to over 600 college football programs. The top 50 ranked teams were: [29]
1. UCLA
2. Ohio State
3. Oklahoma
4. Maryland
5. Notre Dame
6. Wisconsin
7. Iowa
8. Ole Miss
9. Purdue
10. Michigan
11. Miami (FL)
12. Navy
13. Arkansas
14. Baylor
15. Minnesota
16. Auburn
17. Army
18. Michigan State
19. Rice
20. USC
21. SMU
22. Colorado
23. Georgia Tech
24. Texas Tech
25. Texas
26. California
27. TCU
28. Indiana
29. Duke
30. Miami (OH)
31. Northwestern
32. Florida
33. Penn State
34. Pittsburgh
35. Nebraska
36. Kentucky
37. West Virginia
38. Southeastern Louisiana
39. Alabama
40. Arizona
41. Mississippi State
42. Wichita
43. Cincinnati
44. Missouri
45. LSU
46. Oregon
47. Illinois
48. Georgia
49. Texas A&M
50. Oklahoma A&M
The Pittsburgh Courier , a leading African American newspaper, ranked the top 1954 teams from historically black colleges and universities in an era when college football was largely segregated. The rankings were published on December 11: [30]
The Associated Negro Press also published rankings on December 25: [31]
The 1976 NCAA Division I football season ended with a championship for the Panthers of the University of Pittsburgh. Led by head coach Johnny Majors, the Pitt Panthers brought a college football championship to the home of the defending pro football champions, the Steelers. Pitt also had the Heisman Trophy winner, Tony Dorsett; the Panthers had been ranked ninth in the preseason AP poll.
The 1955 college football season saw the Oklahoma Sooners win the national championship after going 10–0–0. Although the final poll was taken before the postseason bowl games, Oklahoma played against the nation's other unbeaten and untied (10–0–0) team, the Maryland Terrapins, at the Orange Bowl in Miami, and won 20–6.
The 1954 college football season saw three teams finish unbeaten and untied, with Ohio State Buckeyes and the UCLA Bruins sharing the national championship as the No. 1 picks of the AP Poll and the UPI Poll, respectively. Although the winners of the Big Ten and the Pacific conferences normally met in the Rose Bowl, a "no repeat" rule prevented the two champions from meeting. UCLA, which had been in the Rose Bowl earlier in the year, was replaced by conference runner-up USC.
The 1953 college football season was marked by the surprising abandonment of the two-platoon system and unlimited substitution by the NCAA rules committee in January in favor of the historic one-platoon system with its highly restrictive substitution rules. This radical rules shift made the 1953 season "The Year of the Great Adjustment," in the words of sportswriter Tommy Devine of the Detroit Free Press, in which teams scrambled to tighten their rosters and alter their strategies in accord with the more conservative "iron man" game.
The 1946 college football season was the 78th season of intercollegiate football in the United States. Competition included schools from the Big Ten Conference, the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC), the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the Big Six Conference, the Southern Conference, the Southwestern Conference, and numerous smaller conferences and independent programs. The season saw the return of many programs which had suspended play during World War II, and also the enrollment of many veterans returning from the war.
One human poll comprised the 1939 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll. The Coaches' Poll began operation in 1950; in addition, the AP Poll did not begin conducting preseason polls until that same year.
One human poll comprised the 1940 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll. The Coaches' Poll began operation in 1950; in addition, the AP Poll did not begin conducting preseason polls until that same year.
One human poll comprised the 1944 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll. The Coaches' Poll began operation in 1950; in addition, the AP Poll did not begin conducting preseason polls until that same year.
One human poll comprised the 1945 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll. The Coaches' Poll began operation in 1950; in addition, the AP Poll did not begin conducting preseason polls until that same year.
One human poll comprised the 1946 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll. The Coaches' Poll began operation in 1950; in addition, the AP Poll did not begin conducting preseason polls until that same year.
One human poll comprised the 1947 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies.
One human poll comprised the 1948 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll. The Coaches' Poll began operation in 1950; in addition, the AP Poll did not begin conducting preseason polls until that same year.
One human poll comprised the 1949 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll. The Coaches' Poll began operation in 1950; in addition, the AP Poll did not begin conducting preseason polls until that same year.
Two human polls comprised the 1950 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll.
Two human polls comprised the 1951 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll.
Two human polls comprised the 1952 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll.
Two human polls comprised the 1953 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll.
Two human polls comprised the 1955 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll.
Two human polls comprised the 1956 NCAA University Division football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll.
Two human polls comprised the 1957 NCAA University Division football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll.