1956 Syracuse Orangemen football team

1956 Syracuse Orangemen football
Eastern champion
Cotton Bowl Classic, L 27–28 vs. TCU
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 8
AP	No. 8
Record	7–2
Head coach	Ben Schwartzwalder (8th season)
Captain	Game captains [1]
Home stadium	Archbold Stadium
Seasons ←  1955 1957  →

1956 Eastern major college football independents records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 8 Syracuse			–					7	–	2	–	0
Penn State			–					6	–	2	–	1
No. 13 Pittsburgh			–					7	–	3	–	1
Army			–					5	–	3	–	1
Holy Cross			–					5	–	3	–	1
Villanova			–					5	–	4	–	0
Boston College			–					5	–	4	–	0
Colgate			–					4	–	5	–	0
Boston University			–					1	–	5	–	2
Rankings from AP poll

The 1956 Syracuse Orangemen football team represented Syracuse University in the 1956 college football season. The Orangemen were led by eighth-year head coach Ben Schwartzwalder and played their home games at Archbold Stadium in Syracuse, New York. Syracuse finished the regular season with a record of 7–1, and were ranked 8th in both final polls. They were awarded the Lambert Trophy, which signified them as champions of the East. Syracuse was invited to the 1957 Cotton Bowl, where they were defeated by TCU.

The team was led by unanimous All-American halfback Jim Brown. Brown set school records in average yards-per-carry (6.2), single-season rushing yards (986), single-game rushing touchdowns (6, vs. Colgate), and most points scored in a game (43, vs. Colgate). ^[2] He was drafted sixth overall in the 1957 NFL draft and went on to become one of the most celebrated professional athletes of all time.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 22	at No. 6 Maryland		Byrd Stadium College Park, MD	W 26–12	27,000	[3]
September 29	at No. 10 Pittsburgh	No. 7	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA	L 7–14	49,287	[4]
October 13	No. 20 West Virginia		Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY (rivalry)	W 27–20	25,000	[5]
October 20	Army	No. 13	Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY	W 7–0	40,053
October 27	at Boston University	No. 14	Boston University Field Boston, MA	W 21–7	12,182
November 3	No. 12 Penn State	No. 17	Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY (rivalry)	W 13–9	35,475
November 10	Holy Cross	No. 9	Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY	W 41–20	17,000	[6]
November 17	Colgate	No. 9	Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY (rivalry)	W 61–7	39,701	[7]
January 1	No. 14 TCU	No. 8	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX (Cotton Bowl Classic)	L 27–28	61,500–68,000	[8] [9]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^{[10] [1]}

Roster

• HB Jim Brown, Sr.
• HB Tom Sardinia, Sr.

Team players in the NFL

Player	Round	Pick	Position	Club
Jim Brown	1	6	Running back	Cleveland Browns
Jimmy Ridlon	4	39	Defensive back	49ers
Bill E. Brown	9	108	Linebacker	Chicago Bears
Jerry Cashman	14	158	Tackle	Eagle

^[11]

Awards and honors

• Jim Brown, unanimous first team All-American (AFCA, AP, UP, INS, CP, NEA, WCF, FWAA)
• Jim Brown, Cotton Bowl Classic co-Most Valuable Player

References

1. "2017 Syracuse football media guide" (PDF).. pg. 148.
2. "2017 Syracuse football media guide" (PDF).. pg. 120.
3. "Syracuse stuns Terps, 26–12". Tampa Sunday Tribune. September 23, 1956. Retrieved January 6, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
4. Chester L. Smith (September 30, 1956). "Salvaterra And Walton Score TDs". The Pittsburgh Press. p. 1, section 4. Retrieved May 7, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Syracuse strikes twice in last stanza to defeat West Virginia squad, 27–20". The Montgomery Advertiser. October 14, 1956. Retrieved January 5, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
6. Keane, Clif (November 11, 1956). "Mistakes Hurt Holy Cross; Syracuse Wins, 41 to 20". The Boston Sunday Globe . Boston, Mass. p. 46 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Werden, Lincoln A. (November 18, 1956). "Brown Scores 43 Points In Last Game for Orange". The New York Times . New York, N.Y. p. S1.
8. "Wild Cotton Bowl game won by Frogs". The Shreveport Journal. January 2, 1957. Retrieved March 21, 2025– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Cotton Bowl Classics History; 21st Classic, 1957". Cotton Bowl Classic . Retrieved March 23, 2025.
10. "1956 Syracuse Orange Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 26, 2018.
11. "Reference at www.pro-football-reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com . Archived from the original on May 1, 2009. Retrieved March 28, 2018.