1954 college football season

1954 college football season
Preseason AP No. 1	Notre Dame [1]
Number of bowls	7
Champion(s)	Ohio State (AP) UCLA (Coaches, FWAA)
Heisman	Alan Ameche (fullback, Wisconsin)
←  1953  · football seasons ·  1955  →

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. ^[2]

During the 20th century, the NCAA had no playoff for the college football teams that would later be described as "Division I-A". 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 1954 consisted of the votes of as many as 419 sportswriters. ^[3]

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).

In 1954, a limit of 10 games per season, excluding a bowl game, was imposed on all teams, with the exception that existing contracts would not be changed.

Conference and program changes

• The ACC voted to add Virginia as its eighth football-playing member in December 1953.

School	1953 Conference	1954 Conference
Virginia Cavaliers	Independent	ACC
DePauw Tigers	Independent	ICC

September

In the preseason poll released on September 13, 1954, No. 1 Notre Dame had the most points, although No. 2 Oklahoma had more first place votes (74 vs. 52). Rounding out the Top Five were defending champion No. 3 Maryland, No. 4 Texas and No. 5 Illinois. As the regular season progressed, a new poll would be issued on the Monday following the weekend's games.

September 18, No. 2 Oklahoma won at No. 12 California 27–13, and No. 3 Maryland won at Kentucky, 20–0. Notre Dame and Texas, No. 1 and No. 4, were preparing to meet at South Bend to open their seasons. Oklahoma replaced Notre Dame as No. 1 in the first regular poll. No. 7 Georgia Tech, which beat Tulane 28–0 in Atlanta, replaced Illinois in the Top Five. Defying high expectations, the Illini would lose their opener to Penn State, 14–12, and finish the season with a 1–8–0 record. The next poll: No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 Maryland, No. 4 Texas, and No. 5 Georgia Tech.

September 25 No. 2 Notre Dame hosted No. 4 Texas and won 21–0. No. 1 Oklahoma beat No. 20 Texas Christian (TCU) 21–16. No. 3 Maryland was idle, and No. 5 Georgia Tech lost to Florida, 13–12. Notre Dame took back over the top spot from O.U., and Texas, Maryland and Georgia Tech were replaced by No. 8 UCLA (32–7 over Kansas), No. 10 Wisconsin (52–14 over Marquette) and No. 11 Iowa (14–10 over No. 7 Michigan State). The poll: No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Iowa, No. 4 UCLA, and No. 5 Wisconsin.

October

In a Friday game, No. 4 UCLA beat No. 6 Maryland 12–7. The next day, October 2, No. 1 Notre Dame was upset by No. 19 Purdue, 27–14. No. 2 Oklahoma which was idle, moved to the top as Notre Dame dropped to eighth. No. 3 Iowa defeated visiting Montana, 48–6, and No. 5 Wisconsin beat No. 13 Michigan State 6–0. The next poll: No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Wisconsin, No. 4 Iowa, and No. 5 Purdue.

October 9 No. 1 Oklahoma won its annual game in Dallas against No. 15 Texas, 14–7. No. 2 UCLA edged Washington 21–20. No. 3 Wisconsin beat No. 11 Rice 13–7. No. 4 Iowa lost to unranked Michigan, 14–13, and No. 5 Purdue was tied by No. 6 Duke, 13–13. No. 10 Ohio State, which had won at Illinois 40–7, entered the Top Five: No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Wisconsin, No. 3 UCLA, No. 4 Ohio State, and No. 5 Purdue.

October 16 No. 2 Wisconsin hosted No. 5 Purdue and won 20–6. No. 1 Oklahoma visited Kansas and annihilated it, 65–0, while No. 3 UCLA went one better in beating Stanford 72–0. No. 4 Ohio State beat No. 13 Iowa 20–14. No. 7 Ole Miss, which had beaten Tulane 34–7, entered the Top Five: No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Wisconsin, No. 3 UCLA, No. 4 Ohio State, and No. 5 Mississippi.

October 23 No. 2 Wisconsin faced its second high-ranked opponent in a week, visiting Big Ten rival and No. 4 Ohio State. OSU won, 31–14, to take the No. 1 spot. No. 1 Oklahoma beat Kansas State 21–0, and No. 3 UCLA beat Oregon State 61–0. No. 5 Mississippi lost to No. 7 Arkansas at Little Rock, 6–0. No. 9 Army, which had won 67–12 at Columbia, moved up. The next poll: No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 UCLA, No. 4 Arkansas, and No. 5 Army.

October 30 No. 1 Ohio State won at Northwestern, 14–7. No. 2 Oklahoma won 13–6 at Colorado. No. 3 UCLA won at California 27–6 and was given top billing in the next poll. No. 4 Arkansas won 14–7 at Texas A&M. No. 5 Army, which got to stay home, edged Virginia 21–20. No. 6 Notre Dame, which beat No. 15 Navy 6–0 in Baltimore, moved up. The next poll: No. 1 UCLA, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 Arkansas, and No. 5 Notre Dame.

November

November 6 No. 1 UCLA won at Oregon 41–0. No. 2 Ohio State beat visiting No. 20 Pittsburgh, 26–0. No. 3 Oklahoma won at Iowa State 40–0. No. 4 Arkansas, playing at Little Rock, beat No. 15 Rice 28–15, and No. 5 Notre Dame won at Penn, 42–7. The top five remained the same.

November 13 No. 1 UCLA had the week off, while No. 2 Ohio State won at Purdue 28–6 and got back the top rung. No. 3 Oklahoma beat Missouri 34–13. No. 4 Arkansas lost to No. 19 SMU, 21–14. No. 5 Notre Dame beat North Carolina, 42–13. No. 6 Army, which at won at Penn 35–0, came back to the Top Five: No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 Notre Dame, and No. 5 Army.

November 20 No. 1 Ohio State beat No. 12 Michigan 21–7. In Los Angeles, No. 2 UCLA beat its crosstown rival, No. 7 USC, 34–0. No. 3 Oklahoma beat Nebraska 55–7. No. 4 Notre Dame won at No. 19 Iowa 34–18. No. 5 Army had the day off, preparing for the Army-Navy game. The top five remained the same.

November 27 No. 1 Ohio State and No. 2 UCLA had finished their seasons, both of them undefeated and untied. No. 3 Oklahoma also finished with a perfect record, winning its annual season-closer at Oklahoma A&M 14–0. No. 4 Notre Dame beat No. 17 USC 23–17. In Philadelphia, No. 5 Army was beaten by No. 6 Navy, 27–20. The AP's final top five were No. 1 Ohio State, No. 2 UCLA, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 Notre Dame, and No. 5 Navy, although the Coaches Poll selected UCLA as its top team. Under normal circumstances the Buckeyes and Bruins would have met in the Rose Bowl for a national championship showdown, but the Pacific Coast Conference's short-lived "no-repeat" rule forced UCLA to stay home because they had played in the previous year's Rose Bowl. ^[2] Instead, Ohio State matched up with No. 17 USC, whom they defeated 20–7.

Conference standings

Major conference standings

For this article, major conferences defined as those including at least one state flagship public university and the Ivy League.

1954 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 14 Duke $ 4 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 1 No. 8 Maryland 4 – 0 – 1 7 – 2 – 1 North Carolina 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 1 South Carolina 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Clemson 1 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Wake Forest 1 – 4 – 1 2 – 7 – 1 Virginia 0 – 2 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 NC State 0 – 4 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll [4]	1954 Big Seven Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 3 Oklahoma $ 6 – 0 – 0 10 – 0 – 0 Nebraska 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Colorado 3 – 2 – 1 7 – 2 – 1 Missouri 3 – 2 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 Kansas State 3 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Iowa State 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Kansas 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1954 Big Ten Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 1 Ohio State $ 7 – 0 – 0 10 – 0 – 0 No. 9 Wisconsin 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 No. 15 Michigan 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Minnesota 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Iowa 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Purdue 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 1 Indiana 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Michigan State 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Northwestern 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Illinois 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll
1954 Border Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Texas Tech $ 4 – 0 – 0 7 – 2 – 1 Arizona State 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Texas Western 4 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Arizona 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Hardin–Simmons 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 West Texas State 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 New Mexico A&M 0 – 4 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1954 Far Western Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T San Francisco State $ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Chico State 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Humboldt State 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Nevada 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 5 – 0 Cal Aggies 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 Sacramento State 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion * – Second San Francisco State vs. Nevada game did not count in conference standings	1954 Ivy League football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Yale 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 1 Cornell 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Brown 2 – 1 – 1 6 – 2 – 1 Harvard 3 – 2 – 1 4 – 3 – 1 Princeton 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 1 Dartmouth 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Columbia 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 Penn 0 – 2 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 The Ivy League did not crown an official champion until 1956 when full league play began.
1954 Mid-American Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Miami (OH) $ 4 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Kent State 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Ohio 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Toledo 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 1 Western Michigan 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Western Reserve 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 4 – 1 Marshall 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Bowling Green 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1954 Middle Three Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Lehigh + 1 – 1 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Rutgers + 1 – 1 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Lafayette + 1 – 1 – 0 2 – 5 – 2 + – Conference co-champions	1954 North Central Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T South Dakota State + 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Morningside + 5 – 1 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 South Dakota 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 North Dakota 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Iowa State Teachers 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 North Dakota State 1 – 4 – 1 1 – 7 – 1 Augustana (SD) 0 – 5 – 1 1 – 7 – 1 + – Conference co-champions
1954 Pacific Coast Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 2 UCLA $ 6 – 0 – 0 9 – 0 – 0 No. 17 USC ^ 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 4 – 0 Oregon 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 California 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Washington State 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Stanford 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Idaho 1 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Washington 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Oregon State 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion ^ – Selected as Rose Bowl representative UCLA won rivalry game over USC, but no-repeat rule was in effect Rankings from AP Poll	1954 Skyline Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 18 Denver $ 6 – 1 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 Wyoming 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Utah State 4 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 New Mexico 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Utah 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Colorado A&M 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Montana 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 BYU 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from Coaches Poll	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
1954 Southern Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 12 West Virginia $ 3 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Furman 2 – 0 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 No. 16 VPI 3 – 0 – 1 8 – 0 – 1 Davidson 2 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 VMI 4 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Richmond 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 William & Mary 1 – 2 – 2 4 – 4 – 2 George Washington 0 – 4 – 1 1 – 7 – 1 The Citadel 0 – 4 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1954 Southwest Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 10 Arkansas $ 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 SMU 4 – 1 – 1 6 – 3 – 1 No. 19 Rice 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 No. 18 Baylor 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Texas 2 – 3 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 TCU 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Texas A&M 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1954 Yankee Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T New Hampshire $ 4 – 0 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 Rhode Island 3 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Maine 2 – 2 – 0 5 – 2 – 0 Vermont 1 – 1 – 0 5 – 1 – 1 UMass 1 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Connecticut 0 – 4 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion

Independents

1954 Eastern college football independents records v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Hobart   –   8 – 0 – 0 Juniata   –   8 – 0 – 0 Pennsylvania Military   –   7 – 0 – 0 Trinity (CT)   –   7 – 0 – 0 Worcester Tech   –   6 – 0 – 0 Carnegie Tech   –   7 – 0 – 1 Boston College   –   8 – 1 – 0 Boston University   –   7 – 2 – 0 Hofstra   –   7 – 2 – 0 No. 20 Penn State   –   7 – 2 – 0 Tufts   –   6 – 2 – 0 Brown   –   6 – 2 – 1 Drexel   –   5 – 2 – 0 Bucknell   –   6 – 3 – 0 Colgate   –   5 – 2 – 2 Princeton   –   5 – 3 – 1 Yale   –   5 – 3 – 1 Cornell   –   5 – 4 – 0 Harvard   –   4 – 3 – 1 Syracuse   –   4 – 4 – 0 Pittsburgh   –   4 – 5 – 0 Franklin & Marshall   –   3 – 5 – 0 Temple   –   3 – 5 – 0 Dartmouth   –   3 – 6 – 0 Holy Cross   –   3 – 7 – 0 Buffalo   –   2 – 7 – 0 Fordham   –   1 – 7 – 1 Columbia   –   1 – 8 – 0 Villanova   –   1 – 9 – 0 Penn   –   0 – 9 – 0 Rankings from AP Poll	1954 Midwestern college football independents records v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Omaha   –   10 – 0 – 0 No. 4 Notre Dame   –   9 – 1 – 0 Wabash   –   7 – 1 – 1 Cincinnati   –   8 – 2 – 0 Youngstown   –   7 – 2 – 0 Washington University   –   6 – 3 – 0 Carthage   –   5 – 3 – 0 Dayton   –   5 – 5 – 0 Marquette   –   3 – 5 – 1 Wayne   –   3 – 5 – 1 John Carroll   –   3 – 5 – 0 Rose Poly   –   2 – 5 – 0 Drake   –   2 – 7 – 0 Xavier   –   2 – 8 – 0 Baldwin–Wallace   –   1 – 8 – 0 Rankings from AP Poll	1954 Southern college football independents records v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 9 Miami (FL)   –   8 – 1 – 0 Delaware   –   8 – 2 – 0 No. 5 Navy   –   8 – 2 – 0 Tampa   –   8 – 2 – 0 Florida State   –   8 – 4 – 0 Abilene Christian   –   6 – 3 – 1 Chattanooga   –   6 – 4 – 0 Mississippi Southern   –   6 – 4 – 0 Memphis State   –   3 – 4 – 3 Louisville   –   3 – 6 – 0 Arkansas State   –   1 – 8 – 0 Sewanee   –   0 – 8 – 0 Rankings from AP Poll
1954 Western college football independents records v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Pepperdine   –   6 – 2 – 0 San Jose State   –   7 – 3 – 0 Pacific (CA)   –   4 – 5 – 0 Hawaii   –   4 – 4 – 0 La Verne   –   2 – 6 – 0 Cal Poly San Dimas   –   1 – 8 – 0

Minor conferences

Conference	Champion(s)	Record
California Collegiate Athletic Association	Fresno State Normal	4–0
Central Church College Conference	Concordia (NE)	3–0
Central Intercollegiate Athletics Association	North Carolina College	6–0–1
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Kansas State Teachers–Hays Washburn	4–1
College Conference of Illinois	Millikin Wheaton (IL)	5–1
Evergreen Conference	Whitworth	6–0
Far Western Conference	San Francisco State	5–0
Frontier Conference	Carroll (MT)	4–0
Gulf Coast Conference	Trinity (TX)	2–0
Indiana Collegiate Conference	Valparaiso	5–1
Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Luther	6–0
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference	College of Emporia	7–0
Lone Star Conference	East Texas State Teachers Southwest Texas State Teachers	5–0–1
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association	Hillsdale	6–0
Mid-American Conference	Miami (OH)	4–0
Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference	Carleton	8–0
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Gustavus Adolphus	6–0
Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association	Northeast Missouri State	5–0
Nebraska College Conference	Hastings	7–0
New Mexico Intercollegiate Conference	Panhandle A&M	5–0
North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Morningside South Dakota State College	5–1
North Dakota College Athletic Conference	Minot State Teachers Valley City State	6–0
Ohio Athletic Conference	Heidelberg	5–0–1
Ohio Valley Conference	Eastern Kentucky State	5–0
Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference	Central State College (OK) Southwestern State College (OK)	4–1
Oregon Collegiate Conference	Unknown	—
Pacific Northwest Conference	College of Idaho Lewis & Clark Willamette	4–1
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference	East Stroudsburg State Teachers Shippensburg State Teachers	4–1 5–1
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference	Western State	7–1
South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference	Southern State Teachers (USD–Springfield)	6–1
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Pomona-Pitzer	4–0
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Florida A&M	4–0
Southwestern Athletic Conference	Prairie View A&M College	6–0
State Teacher's College Conference of Minnesota	St. Cloud State Teachers	4–0
Texas Collegiate Athletic Conference	Howard Payne	2–0
Wisconsin State College Conference	Wisconsin State–La Crosse	4–0–1

Minor conference standings

1954 California Collegiate Athletic Association football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Fresno State $ 4 – 0 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Cal Poly 3 – 1 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 San Diego State 2 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Santa Barbara 1 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Los Angeles State 0 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1954 Central Church College Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Concordia (NE) $ 3 – 0 – 0 7 – 1 – 1 Tarkio 2 – 1 – 0 4 – 3 – 1 Westmar 1 – 2 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Dana 0 – 3 – 0 1 – 5 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1954 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 5 North Carolina College $ 6 – 0 – 1 7 – 1 – 1 No. 6 Maryland State 5 – 0 – 1 6 – 1 – 1 No. 8 Virginia State 7 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 No. 10 Bluefield State 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 No. 18 St. Augustine's 6 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Delaware State 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 No. 12 Virginia Union 5 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 No. 23 Morgan State 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Hampton 4 – 5 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 Lincoln (PA) 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 3 – 1 No. 24 North Carolina A&T 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Winston-Salem State 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Johnson C. Smith 1 – 4 – 1 1 – 5 – 2 West Virginia State 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Fayetteville State 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Saint Paul's (VA) 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Howard 0 – 5 – 1 2 – 6 – 1 Shaw 0 – 6 – 1 0 – 7 – 1 $ – Conference champion Rankings from Associated Negro Press [5]
1954 Central Intercollegiate Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Fort Hays State + 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Washburn + 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Pittsburg State 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 St. Benedict's 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 5 – 1 Emporia State 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Southwestern (KS) 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1954 College Conference of Illinois football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Wheaton (IL) + 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Millikin + 5 – 1 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Illinois Wesleyan 4 – 1 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Lake Forest 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Augustana (IL) 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 North Central (IL) 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Elmhurst 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1954 Evergreen Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Whitworth $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 0 – 0 Puget Sound 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Pacific Lutheran 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Western Washington 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Central Washington 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Eastern Washington 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 UBC 0 – 6 – 0  ? –  ? –  ? $ – Conference champion
1954 Gulf Coast Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Trinity (TX) $ 2 – 0 – 0 9 – 0 – 0 North Texas State 1 – 1 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Midwestern (TX) 0 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1954 Gulf States Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Southeastern Louisiana $ 6 – 0 – 0 9 – 0 – 0 Northwestern State 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Louisiana Tech 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Southwestern Louisiana 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Louisiana College 1 – 4 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 McNeese State 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Northeast Louisiana State 0 – 5 – 1 1 – 8 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1954 Hoosier Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Indiana Central $ 6 – 0 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Taylor 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Hanover 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Franklin (IN) 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 4 – 1 Anderson (IN) 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Manchester (IN) 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Earlham 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1954 Indiana Collegiate Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Valparaiso $ 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 1 Ball State 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Evansville 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Butler 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Saint Joseph's (IN) 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Indiana State 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 DePauw 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 7 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1954 Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Michigan State Normal + 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Central Michigan + 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Western Illinois 3 – 1 – 2 6 – 1 – 3 Illinois State Normal 3 – 2 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Eastern Illinois 1 – 4 – 1 2 – 6 – 1 Southern Illinois 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Northern Illinois State 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1954 Iowa Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Luther $ 6 – 0 – 0 9 – 0 – 0 Wartburg 5 – 1 – 0 5 – 2 – 1 Dubuque 4 – 1 – 1 4 – 3 – 1 Iowa Wesleyan 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Buena Vista 3 – 2 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Parsons 1 – 4 – 1 2 – 4 – 2 Central (IA) 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Simpson 0 – 4 – 2 1 – 5 – 2 Upper Iowa 0 – 5 – 1 1 – 5 – 1 $ – Conference champion
1954 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T College of Emporia $ 7 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 Ottawa 5 – 1 – 1 6 – 2 – 1 Kansas Wesleyan 4 – 2 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Bethel (KS) 4 – 2 – 1 4 – 3 – 1 McPherson 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Baker 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Bethany (KS) 1 – 5 – 1 1 – 6 – 1 Friends 0 – 7 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1954 Lone Star Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Southwest Texas State + 5 – 0 – 1 6 – 3 – 1 East Texas State + 5 – 0 – 1 6 – 3 – 1 Stephen F. Austin 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Sam Houston State 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Texas A&I 2 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Sul Ross 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0 Lamar Tech 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1954 Mason–Dixon Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Hampden–Sydney $ 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Randolph–Macon 2 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Western Maryland 1 – 1 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Bridgewater 1 – 2 – 0 2 – 4 – 1 Johns Hopkins 1 – 2 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Gallaudet 0 – 1 – 0 0 – 5 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1954 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Hillsdale $ 6 – 0 – 0 7 – 1 – 1 Kalamazoo 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Albion 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Hope 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Alma 2 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Adrian 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Olivet 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 7 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1954 Mid-Ohio League football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Ashland $ 4 – 0 – 0 7 – 0 – 0 Findlay 3 – 2 – 0 3 – 4 – 0 Wilmington (OH) 1 – 1 – 0 4 – 3 – 0 Bluffton 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Defiance 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Ohio Northern 0 – 4 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1954 Midwest Athletic Association football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 1 Tennessee A&I $ 4 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0 No. 22 Grambling 1 – 0 – 1 4 – 3 – 2 No. 13 Texas Southern 2 – 1 – 1 5 – 4 – 2 No. 16 Lincoln (MO) 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 3 – 1 No. 19 Central State (OH) 1 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 No. 20 Kentucky State 1 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Jackson 0 – 4 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from Associated Negro Press [6]
1954 Midwest Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Carleton $ 8 – 0 – 0 8 – 0 – 0 Lawrence 6 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 St. Olaf 5 – 1 – 2 5 – 1 – 2 Coe 4 – 3 – 1 4 – 3 – 1 Grinnell 2 – 4 – 2 2 – 4 – 2 Ripon 2 – 4 – 2 2 – 4 – 2 Cornell (IA) 2 – 5 – 1 2 – 5 – 1 Monmouth (IL) 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Knox 1 – 7 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1954 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Gustavus Adolphus $ 6 – 0 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Concordia (MN) 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 1 – 1 Saint John's (MN) 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Minnesota–Duluth 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 St. Thomas (MN) 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Hamline 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 3 – 0 Macalester 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Augsburg 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 Saint Mary's (MN) 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1954 Minnesota Teachers College Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T St. Cloud State $ 4 – 0 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Winona State 2 – 1 – 1 5 – 4 – 1 Moorhead State 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 3 – 1 Mankato State 1 – 3 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Bemidji State 0 – 3 – 1 1 – 5 – 1 $ – Conference champion
1954 Missouri College Athletic Union football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Missouri Valley + 2 – 0 – 1 7 – 1 – 2 William Jewell + 2 – 0 – 1 6 – 1 – 2 Tarkio 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 3 – 0 Central (MO) 1 – 3 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Culver–Stockton 0 – 2 – 0 2 – 5 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1954 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T NE Missouri State $ 5 – 0 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 SE Missouri State 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Missouri–Rolla 3 – 2 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Central Missouri State 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 NW Missouri State 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 SW Missouri State 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1954 Missouri Valley Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Wichita $ 4 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 Houston 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Oklahoma A&M 2 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Detroit 1 – 3 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Tulsa 0 – 4 – 0 0 – 11 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1954 Montana Collegiate Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Carroll (MT) $ 4 – 0 – 0 5 – 2 – 1 Western Montana 3 – 1 – 0  ? –  ? –  ? Rocky Mountain 2 – 2 – 0 2 – 4 – 0 Eastern Montana 1 – 3 – 0  ? –  ? –  ? Montana Mines 0 – 4 – 0  ? –  ? –  ? $ – Conference champion	1954 Nebraska College Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Hastings $ 7 – 0 – 0 9 – 0 – 0 Peru State 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Kearney State 4 – 2 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Midland 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Wayne State (NE) 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Doane 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Nebraska Wesleyan 2 – 4 – 1 3 – 6 – 1 Chadron State 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion Doane forfeited a conference win over Midland.	1954 New Mexico Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Panhandle A&M $ 5 – 0 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Adams State 3 – 2 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 New Mexico Highlands 2 – 2 – 1 5 – 2 – 1 New Mexico Western 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 New Mexico Military 1 – 3 – 1 1 – 5 – 1 Arizona State–Flagstaff 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1954 North Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Valley City State + 6 – 0 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 Minot State + 6 – 0 – 0 6 – 1 – 0 Jamestown 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Wahpeton Science 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 2 – 0 Dickinson State 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 4 – 0 Ellendale 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 3 – 1 Mayville State 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 5 – 0 Bottineau 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 5 – 0 Bismarck JC 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 6 – 0 + – Conference co-champions Valley City State beat Jamestown on November 4 in a non-conference game.	1954 North State Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Appalachian State $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Elon 4 – 1 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 East Carolina 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 1 Western Carolina 2 – 2 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 Catawba 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Guilford 1 – 3 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 Lenoir Rhyne 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1954 Northwest Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Lewis & Clark + 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 College of Idaho + 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Willamette + 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Whitman 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Pacific (OR) 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 4 – 0 Linfield 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 + – Conference co-champions
1954 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Heidelberg $ 5 – 0 – 1 7 – 1 – 1 Muskingum 5 – 1 – 1 6 – 2 – 1 Denison 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 1 Ohio Wesleyan 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Capital 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Wooster 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Wittenberg 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Akron 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Oberlin 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 5 – 1 Otterbein 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Marietta 1 – 3 – 1 4 – 3 – 1 Hiram 1 – 3 – 1 2 – 4 – 1 Mount Union 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Kenyon 0 – 4 – 0 0 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1954 Ohio Valley Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Eastern Kentucky $ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 1 Western Kentucky 3 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Murray State 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Middle Tennessee 2 – 2 – 1 4 – 4 – 2 Tennessee Tech 1 – 3 – 1 4 – 4 – 2 Morehead State 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1954 Oklahoma Collegiate Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T SW Oklahoma State + 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Central State (OK) + 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 1 East Central 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 SE Oklahoma State 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 1 Northeastern State 1 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 NW Oklahoma State 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 + – Conference co-champions
1954 Oregon Collegiate Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Oregon Tech + 3 – 1 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Oregon College + 3 – 1 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Portland State 2 – 2 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Southern Oregon 2 – 2 – 0 2 – 5 – 0 Eastern Oregon 0 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 1 + – Conference co-champions	1954 Pennsylvania State Teachers College Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Bloomsburg + 3 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 East Stroudsburg + 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 West Chester + 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Shippensburg 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 Clarion 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 2 – 0 California (PA) 4 – 3 – 0 4 – 3 – 0 Lock Haven 4 – 3 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Indiana (PA) 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Mansfield 2 – 3 – 1 2 – 4 – 1 Millersville 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Slippery Rock 1 – 3 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 Edinboro 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 6 – 0 Kutztown 1 – 3 – 0 3 – 3 – 1 Cheyney 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions Conference standings were based on the Saylor system of ratings.	1954 Rocky Mountain Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Montana State $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Western State (CO) 7 – 1 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 Idaho State 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Colorado Mines 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Colorado State–Greeley 1 – 6 – 1 1 – 7 – 1 Colorado College 0 – 7 – 1 1 – 8 – 1 $ – Conference champion
1954 South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Southern State + 6 – 1 – 0 6 – 1 – 0 Northern State + 6 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Huron 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Dakota Wesleyan 5 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 South Dakota Mines 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Black Hills 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Yankton 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Sioux Falls 1 – 5 – 0 0 – 7 – 0 General Beadle 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 6 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1954 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Pomona-Claremont $ 4 – 0 – 0 8 – 0 – 0 Redlands 2 – 1 – 1 5 – 4 – 1 Occidental 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 1 Whittier 1 – 2 – 1 3 – 6 – 1 Caltech 0 – 4 – 0 0 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion Pomona-Claremont played Redlands, Occidental, and Caltech each twice; each game counted as one-half in the standings.	1954 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 3 Prairie View A&M $ 6 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0 No. 4 Southern 5 – 1 – 0 10 – 1 – 0 Langston 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 1 Texas College 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Wiley 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Arkansas AM&N 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 2 Bishop 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from Associated Negro Press [7]
1954 Texas Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Howard Payne $ 2 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 McMurry 1 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 1 [[{{{school}}}|Eastern New Mexico]] 0 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1954 Virginia Little Seven Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T [[{{{school}}}|Emory and Henry]] $ 2 – 0 – 0 4 – 3 – 3 Hampden–Sydney 2 – 1 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Randolph–Macon 1 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Bridgewater 0 – 2 – 0 2 – 4 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1954 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T [[{{{school}}}|Morris Harvey]] $ 4 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Concord]] 5 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 1 [[{{{school}}}|West Virginia Tech]] 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Shepherd]] 2 – 1 – 1 5 – 2 – 1 [[{{{school}}}|Potomac State]] 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 3 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|West Liberty State]] 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Glenville State]] 2 – 3 – 1 3 – 3 – 1 [[{{{school}}}|Fairmont State]] 3 – 5 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|West Virginia Wesleyan]] 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 4 – 1 [[{{{school}}}|Salem]] 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Bethany (WV)]] * 1 – 0 – 0 2 – 5 – 0 $ – Conference champion * – Did not qualify for conference standings Conference standings based on power ratings
1954 Wisconsin State College Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T [[{{{school}}}|La Crosse State]] $ 4 – 0 – 1 6 – 2 – 1 [[{{{school}}}|Platteville State]] 3 – 1 – 1 4 – 1 – 2 [[{{{school}}}|Eau Claire State]] 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Stevens Point State]] 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 2 – 1 [[{{{school}}}|River Falls State]] 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Milwaukee State]] 2 – 2 – 1 4 – 4 – 1 [[{{{school}}}|Oshkosh State]] 2 – 2 – 2 2 – 2 – 2 [[{{{school}}}|Stout State]] 1 – 3 – 1 2 – 5 – 1 [[{{{school}}}|Superior State]] 0 – 5 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 [[{{{school}}}|Whitewater State]] 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion

Rankings

Main article: 1954 NCAA football rankings

Final AP Poll

AP ranked Ohio State as No. 1, while the UPI coaches' poll gave the top spot to UCLA. Both wire services' rankings were made at the end of the regular season, and were unaffected by the postseason bowl games. Ohio State and UCLA had two common opponents in 1954; Cal and USC. Ohio State defeated Cal 21–13 and USC 20–7, while UCLA defeated Cal 27–6 and USC 34–0.

Ranking	Team	Record	Conference
1	Ohio State	9–0–0	Big 10
2	UCLA	9–0–0	PCC
3	Oklahoma	10–0–0	Big 7
4	Notre Dame	8–1–0	Indep.
5	Navy	7–2–0	Indep.
6	Mississippi	9–1–0	SEC
7	Army	7–2–0	Indep.
8	Maryland	7–2–1	ACC
9	Wisconsin	7–2–0	Big 10
10	Arkansas	8–2–0	SWC
11	Miami (Florida)	8–1–0	Indep.
12	West Virginia	8–1–0	Southern
13	Auburn	7–3–0	SEC
14	Duke	7–2–1	ACC
15	Michigan	6–3–0	Big 10
16	Virginia Tech	8–0–1	Southern
17	USC	8–3–0	PCC
18	Baylor	7–3–0	SWC
19	Rice	7–3–0	SWC
20	Penn State	7–2–0	Indep.

Final Coaches Poll

The United Press International poll, taken from a panel of 35 coaches, had UCLA as the number one team beginning with the poll released on October 26. A rival to the AP poll, the UPI prefaced its release with the statement, "The men who know the game the best, the coaches themselves, voted UCLA to the top spot by the slender margin of seven points over Ohio State, the perfect record champions of the Big 10 Conference," ^[8] The UPI poll was a Top Ten, with a first place vote by a coach being worth 10 points, second worth 9 points, etc. With 350 being the maximum number of points, and 315 being the total for 35 second place votes, the panel was split on whether UCLA or Ohio State was the best team in the nation. The UPI Top Ten ^[9] Ohio State and UCLA had two common opponents in 1954; Cal and USC. Ohio State defeated Cal 21–13 and USC 20–7, while UCLA defeated Cal 27–6 and USC 34–0.

Ranking	Team
1	UCLA
2	Ohio State
3	Oklahoma
4	Notre Dame
5	Navy
6	Mississippi
7	Army
8	Arkansas
9	Miami (Fla.)
10	Wisconsin
11 (t)	USC
11 (t)	Maryland
11 (t)	Georgia Tech
14	Duke
15	Michigan
16	Penn State
17	SMU
18	Denver
19	Rice
20	Minnesota

Undefeated seasons

Team	Record	Notes
1954 Ohio State Buckeyes football team	10–0	AP national champion
1954 UCLA Bruins football team	9–0	UP national champion
1954 Oklahoma Sooners football team	10–0	Big 7 champion, AP No. 3
1954 VPI Gobblers football team	8–0–1	AP No. 16
1954 Omaha Indians football team	10–0	Tangerine Bowl champion
1954 Trinity Tigers football team	9–0	Gulf Coast champion
1954 Juniata Indians football team	8–0	Part of seven-year run from 1953 to 1959 during which Juniata compiled a record of 50–2–2, including five undefeated seasons
1954 Whitworth Pirates football team	8–0	Evergreen champion, 21-game winning streak
1954 Worcester Tech Engineers football team	6–0

Other undefeated teams: Ashland, Carleton, Carnegie Tech, Hastings (NE), Hobart, Luther, Pennsylvania Military, Pomona, Southeastern Louisiana, Trinity (CT), Western Colorado, Worcester Tech

Bowl games

Major bowls

Bowl game	Winning team		Losing team
Rose Bowl	No. 1 Ohio State	20	No. 17 USC	7
Sugar Bowl	No. 5 Navy	21	No. 6 Ole Miss	0
Cotton Bowl	Georgia Tech	14	No. 10 Arkansas	6
Orange Bowl	No. 14 Duke	34	Nebraska	7

No. 2 UCLA (9–0) and No. 3 Oklahoma (10–0) were idle in bowl season due to conference "no-repeat" rules.

Other bowls

Bowl game	Winning team		Losing team
Gator Bowl	No. 13 Auburn	33	No. 18 Baylor	13
Refrigerator Bowl	Delaware	19	Kent State	7
Tangerine Bowl	Omaha	7	Eastern Kentucky	6

Heisman Trophy voting

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

Player	School	Position	1st	2nd	3rd	Total
Alan Ameche	Wisconsin	FB	214	157	112	1,068
Kurt Burris	Oklahoma	C	180	111	76	838
Howard Cassady	Ohio State	HB	137	139	121	810
Ralph Guglielmi	Notre Dame	QB	112	128	99	691
Paul Larson	California	QB	50	42	37	271
Dicky Moegle	Rice	HB	36	53	44	258
Jack Ellena	UCLA	OT	23	40	44	193
George Shaw	Oregon	QB	32	33	20	182
Pete Vann	Army	QB	20	22	30	134
Bob McNamara	Minnesota	HB	16	15	26	104

Source: ^{[10] [11]}

See also

• 1954 College Football All-America Team
• 1954 NCAA football rankings

References

1. "1954 Preseason AP Football Poll". CollegePollArchive.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
2. "Missing Memories : '54 Bruins Might Have Been Best Ever, but They Didn't Reach the Rose Bowl - Los Angeles Times". Los Angeles Times . November 14, 1994.
3. appollarchive.com/football/ap
4. "1954 Atlantic Coast Conference Year Summary". sports-reference.com. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
5. "Pigskin Huddle". Baltimore Afro-American . December 25, 1954. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Pigskin Huddle". Baltimore Afro-American . December 25, 1954. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Pigskin Huddle". Baltimore Afro-American . December 25, 1954. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "UP Names UCLA Top In Nation", Aiken (S.C.) Standard and Review, November 30, 1954, p5
9. "UCLA Edges Buckeyes In Last UP Grid Poll," The Vidette-Messenger (Valparaison, IN), December 1, 1954, p6
10. "Ameche gets grid award". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. December 1, 1954. p. 29.
11. "Wisconsin's Ameche wins grid award". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. December 1, 1954. p. 46.