1956 college football season

Last updated

The 1956 college football season was the 88th season of intercollegiate football in the United States. It finished with five teams having claim to a national championship:

Contents

At the small-college level, Montana State (9–0–1) and Saint Joseph's (8–1–1 ) played to a scoreless tie in the NAIA national championship game.

Notre Dame quarterback Paul Hornung won the Heisman Trophy, and Oklahoma's Tommy McDonald won the Maxwell Award. Individual statistical leaders in major college football included Stanford quarterback John Brodie with 1,642 yards of total offense and 1,633 passing yards, Wyoming back Jim Crawford with 1,104 rushing yards, and Oklahoma halfback Clendon Thomas with 108 points scored.

Conference and program changes

One new conference began play in 1956: Ivy League

One new program began to play in 1956: Air Force Falcons.

Season chronology

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 five 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 fifth. 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. [2] 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." [3] 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, [4] 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. [5] 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. [6] 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. [7] 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

Major conference standings

1956 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 19 Clemson $ 4 0 17 2 2
Duke 4 1 05 4 1
South Carolina 5 2 07 3 0
Maryland 2 2 12 7 1
North Carolina 2 3 12 7 1
NC State 2 4 03 7 0
Wake Forest 1 5 12 5 3
Virginia 1 4 03 7 0
Rankings from AP Poll [8]
1956 Big Seven Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 1 Oklahoma $ 6 0 010 0 0
No. 20 Colorado 4 1 18 2 1
Missouri 3 2 14 5 1
Nebraska 3 3 04 6 0
Kansas 2 4 03 6 1
Kansas State 2 4 03 7 0
Iowa State 0 6 02 8 0
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1956 Big Ten Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 3 Iowa $ 5 1 09 1 0
No. 7 Michigan 5 2 07 2 0
No. 12 Minnesota 4 1 26 1 2
No. 9 Michigan State 4 2 07 2 0
No. 15 Ohio State 4 2 06 3 0
Northwestern 3 3 14 4 1
Purdue 1 4 23 4 2
Illinois 1 4 22 5 2
Wisconsin 0 4 31 5 3
Indiana 1 5 03 6 0
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1956 Border Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Texas Western $ 5 0 09 2 0
Arizona State 3 1 09 1 0
West Texas State 2 2 08 2 0
Arizona 1 2 04 6 0
Hardin–Simmons 1 3 04 6 0
New Mexico A&M 0 4 01 9 0
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Ivy League football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 17 Yale $ 7 0 08 1 0
Princeton 5 2 07 2 0
Dartmouth 4 3 05 4 0
Penn 4 3 04 5 0
Brown 3 4 05 4 0
Columbia 2 5 03 6 0
Harvard 2 5 02 6 0
Cornell 1 6 01 8 0
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from Coaches Poll
1956 Middle Three Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Lehigh $ 2 0 07 2 0
Rutgers 1 1 03 7 0
Lafayette 0 2 06 3 0
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Missouri Valley Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Houston $ 4 0 07 2 1
Tulsa 2 1 17 2 1
Oklahoma A&M 2 1 13 5 2
Wichita 1 3 04 7 0
Detroit 0 4 02 8 0
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Pacific Coast Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 10 Oregon State $ 6 1 17 3 1
No. 18 USC 5 2 08 2 0
UCLA 5 2 07 3 0
Washington 4 4 05 5 0
Oregon 3 3 24 4 2
Stanford 3 4 04 6 0
Washington State 2 5 13 6 1
California 2 5 03 7 0
Idaho 0 4 04 5 0
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1956 Skyline Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 16 Wyoming 7 0 010 0 0
Utah 5 1 05 5 0
Denver 4 3 06 4 0
Utah State 4 3 06 4 0
Colorado A&M 2 4 12 7 1
New Mexico 2 4 04 6 0
BYU 1 5 12 7 1
Montana 1 6 01 9 0
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from Coaches Poll
1956 Southeastern Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 2 Tennessee $ 6 0 010 1 0
No. 4 Georgia Tech 7 1 010 1 0
Florida 5 2 06 3 1
Ole Miss 4 2 07 3 0
Auburn 4 3 07 3 0
Kentucky 4 4 06 4 0
Tulane 3 3 06 4 0
Vanderbilt 2 5 05 5 0
Alabama 2 5 02 7 1
Mississippi State 2 5 04 6 0
LSU 1 5 03 7 0
Georgia 1 6 03 6 1
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1956 Southern Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
West Virginia $ 5 0 06 4 0
VPI 3 0 07 2 1
No. 17 George Washington 5 1 08 1 1
Davidson 2 2 15 3 1
Furman 2 2 02 8 0
VMI 2 3 13 6 1
Richmond 2 5 04 5 0
The Citadel 1 3 03 5 1
Washington and Lee 0 1 01 7 0
William & Mary 0 5 00 9 1
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1956 Southwest Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 5 Texas A&M $ 6 0 09 0 1
No. 14 TCU 5 1 08 3 0
No. 11 Baylor 4 2 09 2 0
Arkansas 3 3 06 4 0
SMU 2 4 04 6 0
Rice 1 5 04 6 0
Texas 0 6 01 9 0
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1956 NCAA University Division independents football records
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW 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

Minor conference standings

1956 California Collegiate Athletic Association football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Fresno State 2 0 08 2 0
San Diego State 2 1 04 3 2
Santa Barbara 1 1 05 5 0
Los Angeles State 0 1 03 5 1
Cal Poly 0 2 07 3 0
  • No champion named for the 1956 season
1956 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
North Carolina College + 5 0 25 2 2
Delaware State + 5 0 17 1 1
Morgan State + 5 0 15 2 1
Maryland State 5 1 16 2 1
St. Augustine's 5 1 16 1 1
Bluefield State 5 1 06 3 0
Fayetteville State 4 2 04 3 0
Virginia Union 4 3 06 3 0
North Carolina A&T 3 3 04 4 0
Winston-Salem State 3 3 14 4 1
Shaw 3 4 13 4 1
Hampton 2 7 12 7 1
Johnson C. Smith 2 5 03 5 0
Virginia State 1 6 11 7 1
Lincoln (PA) 1 6 01 6 0
Howard 1 5 04 5 0
Saint Paul's (VA) 0 7 01 7 0
  • + Conference co-champions
1956 Central Intercollegiate Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
St. Benedict's $ 4 1 07 3 0
Pittsburg State 3 1 17 2 1
Southwestern (KS) 3 1 14 4 2
Washburn 3 2 03 6 0
Emporia State 1 4 02 6 1
Fort Hays State 0 5 11 8 0
  • $ Conference champion
1956 College Conference of Illinois football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Wheaton (IL) $ 7 0 07 1 0
Millikin 6 1 06 2 0
Carroll (WI) 5 2 05 3 0
Lake Forest 3 3 13 4 1
Illinois Wesleyan 3 3 13 5 1
North Central (IL) 1 6 02 6 0
Elmhurst 1 6 01 6 0
Augustana (IL) 1 6 01 7 0
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Far Western Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Humboldt State + 4 1 09 2 0
Cal Aggies + 4 1 07 2 0
San Francisco State + 4 1 05 5 0
Chico State 1 3 12 6 1
Sacramento State 1 4 03 5 1
Nevada 0 4 10 7 1
  • + Conference co-champions
1956 Gulf Coast Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
North Texas State + 2 0 17 2 1
Trinity (TX) + 2 0 15 3 1
Abilene Christian 1 2 04 6 0
Midwestern (TX) 0 3 03 7 0
  • + Conference co-champions
1956 Gulf States Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Southeastern Louisiana $ 4 1 06 3 0
Northwestern State 3 1 16 2 2
Louisiana Tech 3 1 14 3 2
Northeast Louisiana State 2 3 07 3 0
McNeese State 2 3 05 5 0
Southwestern Louisiana 1 4 04 6 0
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Hoosier Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Hanover $ 6 0 08 1 0
Anderson (IN) 5 1 06 2 0
Indiana Central 4 2 04 5 0
Franklin (IN) 3 3 05 4 0
Manchester (IN) 2 4 03 6 0
Taylor 1 5 03 6 0
Earlham 0 6 01 7 0
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Indiana Collegiate Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Saint Joseph's (IN) $^ 6 0 08 1 1
Butler 5 1 06 2 0
Valparaiso 4 2 06 4 0
Evansville 3 3 04 5 0
Ball State 2 4 04 4 0
DePauw 1 5 01 6 1
Indiana State 0 6 02 6 0
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA playoff (Aluminum Bowl) participant
1956 Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Central Michigan $ 6 0 09 0 0
Western Illinois 4 2 06 3 0
Eastern Michigan 3 3 04 4 0
Illinois State Normal 3 3 04 4 1
Southern Illinois 3 3 04 5 0
Eastern Illinois 2 4 02 7 0
Northern Illinois State 0 6 01 8 0
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Iowa Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Central (IA) $ 7 1 07 1 0
Simpson (IA) 5 2 15 2 1
Luther 5 2 15 3 1
Iowa Wesleyan 5 3 05 4 0
Dubuque 3 3 23 3 2
Parsons 3 5 05 5 0
Buena Vista 3 5 03 5 1
Upper Iowa 1 6 12 6 2
Wartburg 0 7 10 7 1
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Lone Star Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Sam Houston State $ 6 0 010 0 0
Texas A&I 5 1 07 3 0
Southwest Texas State 4 2 06 3 0
Stephen F. Austin 3 3 04 6 0
Lamar Tech 2 4 04 4 1
East Texas State 1 5 02 8 0
Sul Ross 0 6 01 9 0
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Mason–Dixon Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Johns Hopkins $ 3 0 04 3 1
Hampden–Sydney 3 1 07 2 0
Randolph–Macon 2 2 04 4 0
Gallaudet 0 0 10 5 1
Bridgewater 0 2 13 4 1
Western Maryland 0 3 01 8 0
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Hillsdale $ 6 0 09 0 0
Kalamazoo 5 1 05 3 0
Hope 4 2 04 4 0
Albion 3 3 03 5 0
Adrian 2 4 03 5 0
Alma 1 5 02 7 0
Olivet 0 6 00 8 0
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Mid-American Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Bowling Green $ 5 0 18 0 1
Miami (OH) 4 0 17 1 1
Kent State 4 2 07 2 0
Marshall 2 4 03 6 0
Ohio 2 4 02 7 0
Western Michigan 1 4 02 7 0
Toledo 1 5 01 7 1
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Mid-Ohio League football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Bluffton $ 5 0 08 1 0
Findlay 4 1 07 2 0
Wilmington (OH) 3 2 03 4 0
Ashland 2 3 03 5 0
Ohio Northern 0 4 10 7 1
Defiance 0 4 10 8 1
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Midwest Athletic Association football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 1 Tennessee A&I $ 4 0 010 0 0
No. 3 Grambling 1 1 08 1 0
No. 7 Jackson State 1 1 06 2 2
No. 14 Central State (OH) 1 1 14 3 1
Lincoln (MO) 1 2 05 4 0
Kentucky State 0 3 13 5 1
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from Pittsburgh Courier [9]
1956 Midwest Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Carleton + 6 2 06 2 0
Knox + 6 2 06 2 0
St. Olaf + 6 2 06 2 0
Ripon 4 3 14 3 1
Coe 4 4 04 4 0
Lawrence 4 4 04 4 0
Cornell (IA) 3 5 03 5 0
Monmouth (IL) 1 6 11 6 1
Grinnell 1 7 01 7 0
  • + Conference co-champions
1956 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
St. Thomas (MN) $ 7 0 08 0 0
Concordia (MN) 5 2 06 3 0
Macalester 4 3 05 3 0
Gustavus Adolphus 4 3 04 5 0
Minnesota–Duluth 3 4 03 4 0
Saint John's (MN) 2 4 13 4 1
Augsburg 2 4 12 5 1
Hamline 0 7 01 7 0
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Minnesota State College Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Winona State $ 3 1 04 4 0
St. Cloud State 2 1 16 2 1
Moorhead State 2 1 13 3 1
Mankato State 1 2 16 2 1
Bemidji State 0 3 12 4 2
  • $ Conference champion
  • St. Cloud State forfeited a win over Moorhead State and Moorhead State forfeited a win over Winona State.
1956 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Central Missouri State + 4 1 07 2 0
Missouri–Rolla + 4 1 06 3 0
NE Missouri State 3 2 03 5 0
SW Missouri State 3 2 03 6 0
NW Missouri State 1 4 02 7 0
SE Missouri State 0 5 02 7 0
  • + Conference co-champions
1956 North Central Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Morningside $ 4 1 16 1 1
Augustana (SD) 4 2 06 3 0
South Dakota 4 2 04 4 0
North Dakota State 3 3 05 4 0
South Dakota State 3 3 04 5 0
North Dakota 2 4 02 6 0
Iowa State Teachers 0 5 12 5 1
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Heidelberg $ 5 1 08 1 0
Hiram 4 1 05 3 0
Denison 5 2 07 2 0
Muskingum 5 2 15 2 1
Wittenberg 5 2 15 2 1
Capital 4 2 15 2 1
Wooster 4 3 15 3 1
Otterbein 3 4 04 5 0
Akron 3 5 13 5 1
Kenyon 1 3 11 5 1
Mount Union 2 5 02 6 0
Oberlin 1 4 11 6 1
Ohio Wesleyan 1 4 11 7 1
Marietta 0 5 00 7 0
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Ohio Valley Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Middle Tennessee $ 5 0 07 2 0
Murray State 4 1 06 4 0
Western Kentucky 2 3 05 4 0
Tennessee Tech 2 3 05 4 1
Eastern Kentucky 2 3 04 5 0
Morehead State 0 5 02 6 0
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Pennsylvania State Teachers College Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
West Chester $ 4 0 07 1 0
East Stroudsburg 6 1 07 2 0
Indiana (PA) 4 1 05 4 0
Slippery Rock 2 1 02 5 0
Shippensburg 5 1 06 2 0
Lock Haven 4 2 06 2 0
Edinboro 3 2 05 4 0
Clarion 2 3 02 6 0
Millersville 2 5 02 6 0
Kutztown 1 3 05 4 0
Bloomsburg 1 3 05 2 1
California (PA) 1 6 02 7 0
Mansfield 1 4 02 5 0
Cheyney 0 4 01 6 0
  • $ Conference champion
  • Conference standings were based on the Saylor system of ratings.
1956 Presidents' Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Wayne State (MI) $ 3 0 14 2 1
John Carroll 2 0 14 1 2
Western Reserve 1 2 04 3 0
Case Tech 0 4 01 6 0
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Rocky Mountain Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Montana State $^ 5 0 09 0 1
Idaho State 3 2 06 3 0
Colorado State–Greeley 3 2 05 4 0
Western State (CO) 2 3 04 6 0
Colorado Mines 1 4 03 6 0
Colorado College 1 4 02 7 0
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA playoff participant
1956 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Redlands $ 4 0 09 0 0
Pomona-Claremont 2 1 14 3 1
Whittier 2 1 14 3 3
Occidental 1 3 03 6 0
Caltech 0 4 03 5 0
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Texas Southern + 5 1 09 2 0
Wiley + 5 1 06 3 1
Southern 4 2 05 5 0
Prairie View A&M 4 2 05 5 0
Langston 2 4 03 7 0
Arkansas AM&N 0 5 12 6 1
Texas College 0 5 12 6 1
  • + Conference co-champions
1956 Virginia Little Eight Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Emory and Henry $ 2 0 09 1 0
Hampden–Sydney 2 1 07 2 0
Randolph–Macon 1 2 04 4 0
Bridgewater 0 2 03 4 1
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Wisconsin State College Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Eau Claire State + 7 0 07 1 0
Platteville State + 5 0 05 1 0
River Falls State 4 1 06 2 0
Stevens Point State 3 3 04 4 0
Whitewater State 2 3 04 4 0
Superior State 2 3 04 5 0
La Crosse State 2 3 03 6 0
Oshkosh State 2 4 03 4 0
Stout State 0 5 01 7 0
Milwaukee 0 5 00 8 0
  • + Conference co-champions
1956 Yankee Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Connecticut $ 3 0 16 2 1
Maine 3 1 05 2 0
New Hampshire 2 1 13 4 1
Vermont 1 2 02 5 0
UMass 1 3 02 5 1
Rhode Island 1 4 02 6 0
  • $ Conference champion
1956 NCAA College Division independents football records
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Alfred   8 0 0
Northern Michigan   7 0 1
St. Norbert   8 1 0
Carthage   8 2 0
Tampa   7 2 0
Cal Poly San Dimas   6 2 0
Mississippi Southern   7 2 1
Wabash   6 2 1
Hawaii   7 3 0
Hofstra   7 3 0
Xavier   7 3 0
Franklin & Marshall   5 2 1
Louisville   6 3 0
Pepperdine   6 3 0
Washington University   6 3 0
La Verne   6 4 0
Buffalo   5 3 0
Drexel   5 3 0
Long Beach State   5 3 0
Delaware   5 3 1
Memphis State   5 4 1
Arkansas State   5 4 0
Chattanooga   5 4 0
Baldwin–Wallace   4 5 0
Washington & Jefferson   3 4 1
Rose Poly   3 4 0
Bucknell   3 5 0
Carnegie Tech   3 5 0
Temple   3 5 0
Howard (AL)   2 5 2
Sewanee   1 6 1
UC Riverside   1 6 0

NAIA standings

1956 Badger-Illini Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Milton $ 5 0 06 0 0
Lakeland 3 2 03 4 0
Northwestern (WI) 3 2 0 ?  ?  ?
Wisconsin Tech 3 2 0 ?  ?  ?
Concordia (IL) 1 4 01 6 0
St. Procopius 0 5 00 5 0
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Central Church College Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Tarkio $ 3 0 07 1 0
Westmar 2 1 02 4 2
Concordia (NE) 1 2 02 6 0
Dana 0 3 00 6 0
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Central Intercollegiate Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
St. Benedict's $ 4 1 07 3 0
Pittsburg State 3 1 17 2 1
Southwestern (KS) 3 1 14 4 2
Washburn 3 2 03 6 0
Emporia State 1 4 02 6 1
Fort Hays State 0 5 11 8 0
  • $ Conference champion
1956 College Conference of Illinois football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Wheaton (IL) $ 7 0 07 1 0
Millikin 6 1 06 2 0
Carroll (WI) 5 2 05 3 0
Lake Forest 3 3 13 4 1
Illinois Wesleyan 3 3 13 5 1
North Central (IL) 1 6 02 6 0
Elmhurst 1 6 01 6 0
Augustana (IL) 1 6 01 7 0
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Evergreen Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Puget Sound $ 6 0 08 0 1
Eastern Washington 3 2 15 2 1
Whitworth 3 3 05 4 0
Pacific Lutheran 3 3 03 3 1
Central Washington 2 3 13 4 1
Western Washington 2 4 02 6 0
UBC 1 5 0 ?  ?  ?
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Frontier Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Arizona State–Flagstaff + 3 0 08 2 0
New Mexico Military + 3 0 06 3 0
New Mexico Highlands 2 2 05 2 1
New Mexico Western 1 3 05 4 0
Panhandle A&M 0 4 03 7 0
  • + Conference co-champions
1956 Indiana Collegiate Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Saint Joseph's (IN) $^ 6 0 08 1 1
Butler 5 1 06 2 0
Valparaiso 4 2 06 4 0
Evansville 3 3 04 5 0
Ball State 2 4 04 4 0
DePauw 1 5 01 6 1
Indiana State 0 6 02 6 0
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA playoff (Aluminum Bowl) participant
1956 Iowa Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Central (IA) $ 7 1 07 1 0
Simpson (IA) 5 2 15 2 1
Luther 5 2 15 3 1
Iowa Wesleyan 5 3 05 4 0
Dubuque 3 3 23 3 2
Parsons 3 5 05 5 0
Buena Vista 3 5 03 5 1
Upper Iowa 1 6 12 6 2
Wartburg 0 7 10 7 1
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Kansas Wesleyan $ 7 0 08 1 0
College of Emporia 6 1 07 2 0
McPherson 5 2 05 4 0
Bethel (KS) 4 3 04 5 0
Baker 3 4 04 5 0
Friends 2 5 02 6 1
Bethany (KS) 1 6 01 7 0
Ottawa 0 7 00 9 0
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Hillsdale $ 6 0 09 0 0
Kalamazoo 5 1 05 3 0
Hope 4 2 04 4 0
Albion 3 3 03 5 0
Adrian 2 4 03 5 0
Alma 1 5 02 7 0
Olivet 0 6 00 8 0
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Mid-Ohio League football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Bluffton $ 5 0 08 1 0
Findlay 4 1 07 2 0
Wilmington (OH) 3 2 03 4 0
Ashland 2 3 03 5 0
Ohio Northern 0 4 10 7 1
Defiance 0 4 10 8 1
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Midwest Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Carleton + 6 2 06 2 0
Knox + 6 2 06 2 0
St. Olaf + 6 2 06 2 0
Ripon 4 3 14 3 1
Coe 4 4 04 4 0
Lawrence 4 4 04 4 0
Cornell (IA) 3 5 03 5 0
Monmouth (IL) 1 6 11 6 1
Grinnell 1 7 01 7 0
  • + Conference co-champions
1956 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
St. Thomas (MN) $ 7 0 08 0 0
Concordia (MN) 5 2 06 3 0
Macalester 4 3 05 3 0
Gustavus Adolphus 4 3 04 5 0
Minnesota–Duluth 3 4 03 4 0
Saint John's (MN) 2 4 13 4 1
Augsburg 2 4 12 5 1
Hamline 0 7 01 7 0
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Minnesota State College Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Winona State $ 3 1 04 4 0
St. Cloud State 2 1 16 2 1
Moorhead State 2 1 13 3 1
Mankato State 1 2 16 2 1
Bemidji State 0 3 12 4 2
  • $ Conference champion
  • St. Cloud State forfeited a win over Moorhead State and Moorhead State forfeited a win over Winona State.
1956 Missouri College Athletic Union football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
William Jewell $ 1 0 16 3 1
Tarkio 2 1 07 1 0
Missouri Valley 0 0 18 2 1
Culver–Stockton 1 1 06 3 0
Central (MO) 0 2 01 8 0
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Montana Collegiate Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Carroll (MT) $ 4 0 06 2 0
Eastern Montana 2 1 13 2 1
Rocky Mountain 2 2 02 4 1
Western Montana 1 3 0 ?  ?  ?
Montana Mines 0 3 1 ?  ?  ?
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Nebraska College Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Kearney State $ 7 0 09 0 0
Hastings 5 1 05 2 0
Peru State 5 2 06 3 0
Chadron State 3 2 15 2 1
Nebraska Wesleyan 3 4 03 7 0
Doane 2 4 14 4 1
Midland 1 6 02 6 0
Wayne State (NE) 0 7 01 8 0
  • $ Conference champion
1956 North Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Jamestown $ 4 1 14 2 1
Mayville State 4 2 04 3 0
Dickinson State 4 2 04 2 0
Wahpeton Science 3 2 14 2 1
Minot State 3 2 13 3 1
Bismarck JC 3 3 03 3 0
Valley City State 1 2 31 4 3
Ellendale 2 4 02 4 0
Bottineau 0 6 00 6 0
  • $ Conference champion
1956 North State Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Lenoir Rhyne $ 6 0 010 0 0
Catawba 4 2 05 4 1
Elon 4 2 05 5 0
Appalachian State 3 3 03 6 0
East Carolina 2 3 02 7 1
Guilford 0 4 01 7 0
Western Carolina 0 5 01 9 0
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Northwest Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Linfield $ 3 1 16 1 2
Lewis & Clark 3 2 07 3 0
Willamette 2 1 22 4 2
Whitman 2 2 14 4 1
College of Idaho 2 3 04 5 0
[[{{{school}}}|Pacific (OR)]]1 4 03 6 0
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Oklahoma Collegiate Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
[[{{{school}}}|Northeastern State]] + 4 1 08 2 0
[[{{{school}}}|Central State (OK)]] + 4 1 07 2 0
[[{{{school}}}|SW Oklahoma State]]3 1 15 3 1
[[{{{school}}}|East Central]]2 3 02 7 0
[[{{{school}}}|SE Oklahoma State]]1 3 14 3 0
[[{{{school}}}|NW Oklahoma State]]0 5 04 5 0
  • + Conference co-champions
1956 Oregon Collegiate Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
[[{{{school}}}|Eastern Oregon]] $ 4 0 05 3 0
[[{{{school}}}|Southern Oregon]]2 2 04 5 0
[[{{{school}}}|Oregon College]]2 2 03 4 0
[[{{{school}}}|Portland State]]1 3 02 5 1
[[{{{school}}}|Oregon Tech]]1 3 04 4 1
  • $ Conference champion
1956 Pennsylvania State Teachers College Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
West Chester $ 4 0 07 1 0
East Stroudsburg 6 1 07 2 0
Indiana (PA) 4 1 05 4 0
Slippery Rock 2 1 02 5 0
Shippensburg 5 1 06 2 0
Lock Haven 4 2 06 2 0
Edinboro 3 2 05 4 0
Clarion 2 3 02 6 0
Millersville 2 5 02 6 0
Kutztown 1 3 05 4 0
Bloomsburg 1 3 05 2 1
California (PA) 1 6 02 7 0
Mansfield 1 4 02 5 0
Cheyney 0 4 01 6 0
  • $ Conference champion
  • Conference standings were based on the Saylor system of ratings.
1956 Rocky Mountain Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Montana State $^ 5 0 09 0 1
Idaho State 3 2 06 3 0
Colorado State–Greeley 3 2 05 4 0
Western State (CO) 2 3 04 6 0
Colorado Mines 1 4 03 6 0
Colorado College 1 4 02 7 0
  • $ Conference champion
  • ^ – NAIA playoff participant
1956 South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
[[{{{school}}}|Huron]] $ 7 0 08 1 0
[[{{{school}}}|Southern State (SD)]]6 1 08 1 0
[[{{{school}}}|Northern State]]4 2 06 3 0
[[{{{school}}}|Black Hills]]3 3 04 4 0
[[{{{school}}}|Dakota Wesleyan]]4 4 04 4 0
[[{{{school}}}|Yankton]]3 3 03 4 1
[[{{{school}}}|General Beadle]]1 3 13 4 1
[[{{{school}}}|South Dakota Mines]]0 6 10 7 1
[[{{{school}}}|Sioux Falls]]0 6 00 7 0
  • $ Conference champion
  • Northern state forfeited wins over Huron and Southern State.
1956 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Texas Southern + 5 1 09 2 0
Wiley + 5 1 06 3 1
Southern 4 2 05 5 0
Prairie View A&M 4 2 05 5 0
Langston 2 4 03 7 0
Arkansas AM&N 0 5 12 6 1
Texas College 0 5 12 6 1
  • + Conference co-champions
1956 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
[[{{{school}}}|West Liberty State]] $ 5 0 07 2 0
[[{{{school}}}|Fairmont State]]7 1 07 1 0
[[{{{school}}}|Shepherd]]4 1 06 2 0
[[{{{school}}}|Potomac State]]6 2 06 2 0
[[{{{school}}}|Salem]]4 3 04 4 0
[[{{{school}}}|Glenville State]]2 6 02 6 0
[[{{{school}}}|West Virginia Tech]]1 3 04 4 1
[[{{{school}}}|West Virginia Wesleyan]]1 4 03 5 0
[[{{{school}}}|Davis & Elkins]]0 6 01 7 0
[[{{{school}}}|Concord]]0 7 00 9 0
[[{{{school}}}|Morris Harvey]] * 1 0 05 4 0
[[{{{school}}}|Bethany (WV)]] * 2 0 06 2 0
[[{{{school}}}|West Virginia State]] * 1 0 04 3 0
Bluefield State * 0 1 06 3 0
  • $ Conference champion
  • * – Did not qualify for conference standings
    Conference standings based on power ratings
1956 Wisconsin State College Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Eau Claire State + 7 0 07 1 0
Platteville State + 5 0 05 1 0
River Falls State 4 1 06 2 0
Stevens Point State 3 3 04 4 0
Whitewater State 2 3 04 4 0
Superior State 2 3 04 5 0
La Crosse State 2 3 03 6 0
Oshkosh State 2 4 03 4 0
Stout State 0 5 01 7 0
Milwaukee 0 5 00 8 0
  • + Conference co-champions

Bowl games

Major bowls

Tuesday, January 1, 1957

BowlWinnerRunner-up
Orange No. 20 Colorado Buffaloes 27No. 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 35No. 10 Oregon State Beavers 19

1956 Aluminum Bowl

Championship
December 22, 1956
1956 Aluminum Bowl
   
Saint Joseph's (IN) 0
Montana State 0

Other bowls

BowlLocationDateWinnerScoreRunner-up
Gator Jacksonville, FLDecember 29  No. 4 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 21–14No. 13 Pittsburgh Panthers
Sun El Paso, TXJanuary 1No. 17 George Washington Colonials 13–0        Texas Western Miners

Minor bowls

BowlWinnerRunner-up
Tangerine West Texas State 20 Mississippi Southern 13
Burley Memphis State 32 East Tennessee State 12
Refrigerator Sam Houston State 27 Middle Tennessee State 13

Final polls

Final polls were released in the first week of December.

Heisman Trophy voting

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

PlayerSchoolPosition1st2nd3rdTotal
Paul Hornung Notre Dame QB1971621511,066
Johnny Majors Tennessee HB172171136994
Tommy McDonald Oklahoma HB205122114973
Jerry Tubbs OklahomaC12113787724
Jim Brown Syracuse HB1186871518
Ron Kramer Michigan E70104100518
John Brodie Stanford QB395260281
Jim Parker Ohio State G345144248
Ken Ploen Iowa QB361022150
Jon Arnett USC HB202518128

Source: [14] [15]

Statistical leaders

Individual

Total offense

The following players were the individual leaders in total offense during the 1956 season:

Major college

RankPlayerTeamGamesPlaysTotal YdsTdR [16]
1 John Brodie Stanford 102951,64214
2 Paul Hornung Notre Dame 102051,33710
3 Bob Newman Washington State 102131,1779
4 Tom Flores Pacific 101711,16718
5Guy Martin Colgate 92081,16510
6 Jim Crawford Wyoming 102021,11415
7 Johnny Majors Tennessee 101671,10112
8 Billy Stacy Mississippi State 102091,0779
9Bob Reinhart San Jose State 102121,06812
10 Jim Brown Syracuse 81621,06215

[17]

Small college

RankPlayerTeamGamesPlaysTotal Yds
1 Dick Jamieson Bradley 102401925
2John "Yommie" CostelloPennsylvania Military91671739
3Jim StehlinBrandeis93161566
4Edward "Bo" Murray Grambling 91641418
5Bill EngelhardtOmaha92731398
6WilliamsWestern Reserve72581218
7Bob WebbSt. Ambrose91791211
8 Bill Rhodes Colorado Western101341200
9Joe OrtizCollege of Emporia91401182
10Ron ParrishLinfield91991146

[18]

Passing

The following players were the individual leaders in pass completions during the 1956 season:

Major college

RankPlayerTeamGamesCompl.Att.Pct.
Compl.
Yds.Int.TDs
1 John Brodie Stanford10139240.57916331412
2 Bob Newman Washington State1091170.535124088
3Bob ReinhartSan Jose State1090172.5231138510
4Guy MartinColgate988170.5181100159
5Gene SaurHardin-Simmons1078133.586968108
6Ralph HunsakerArizona1075148.507823124
7 Joe Clements Texas1074151.490793167
8 Tom Flores Pacific1073127.5751119811
9Charlie ArnoldSMU1071157.452964148
10Carroll JohnstonBYU1071167.425945158

[19]

Small college

RankPlayerTeamGamesCompl.Att.Pct.
Compl.
Yds.Int.TDs
1Jim StehlinBrandeis9116206.5631155116
2 Dick Jamieson Bradley1095192.49517961221
3 Jack Kemp Occidental992184.500112387
4GardaLebanon Valley883163.509874127
5WilliamsWestern Reserve778150.520872108
6Bob WebbSt. Ambrose977147.5241278714
7 Robert Anastas Amer Intern974147.504833199
7John "Yommie" CostelloPennsylvania Military974149.49717021017
9Frank SudockAlbright972170.424993143
10Ron ParrishLinfeld963143.441889137

[20]

Rushing

The following players were the individual leaders in rushing yards during the 1956 season:
Major college

RankPlayerTeamGamesYdsRushesAvg
1 Jim Crawford Wyoming101,1042005.52
2 Billy Ray Barnes Wake Forest101,0101686.01
3 Jim Brown Syracuse89861586.24
4HillUtah State109201406.57
5 Jim Bakhtiar Virginia108792034.33
6Mel DillardPurdue98731934.52
7 Tommy McDonald Oklahoma108531197.17
8 Clendon Thomas Oklahoma108171047.86
9 Don Clark Ohio State97971395.73
10 C. R. Roberts USC107751206.46
11Ed SuttonNorth Carolina107481206.23
12 Don Bosseler Miami (FL)107231614.49
13Bobby MulgadoArizona State107211076.74
14Jim RoseboroOhio State97121524.68
15Bob KyaskyArmy97071295.48
16Tommy LorinoAuburn10692828.44
17Jerry BrownNebraska106901295.35
18 Joel Wells Clemson106781564.35
19 Jim Swink TCU106651584.21
20 Pete Hart Hardin-Simmons106641315.07

[21]

Small college

RankPlayerTeamGamesYdsRushesAvg
1 Bill Rhodes Colorado Western1012001309.23
2Walter LivingstonHeidelberg910861756.21
3James C. "Pancho" VillaAllegheny810731348.01
4Edward "Bo" MurrayGrambling910281109.35
5Tom DingleWooster910271755.87
6JarockSt. Norbert910001258.00
7AddlemanCollege of Emporia99641486.51
8KimmelYoungstown89401685.60
9SmithDenison99131585.78
10TaylorGeneva98691376.34

[22]

Receiving

The following players were the individual leaders in receptions during the 1956 season:

Major college

RankPlayerTeamReceptionsReceiving
Yards
Touchdowns
1 Art Powell San Jose State405835
2 Bill Steiger Washington State396075
3BairdHardin-Simmons374551
4Brad BombaIndiana314071
5AldrichIdaho304091
5JamesMissouri303623
7JamisonColgate292896
8CameraStanford283502
9 Farrell Funston Pacific275635
9EllingsenWashington State274551
9WilsonDenver273834

[23]

Small college

RankPlayerTeamReceptionsReceiving
Yards
Touchdowns
1 Tom Rychlec Amer Inter403533
2HillPennsylvania Military3985210
3Don CarothersBradley3369710
4 Jim E. Mora Occidental323281
5AndersonLos Angeles State306037
6Bob SchembsWhitman293923
6SteinBrandeis292070
8WestmeyerSt. Ambrose285385
8PayneWilliam Jewell283433
10Tom ZesigerOhio Wesleyan275135
10CiminoOmaha274855

[24]

Scoring

The following players were the individual leaders in scoring during the 1956 season:

Major college

RankPlayerTeamPtsTDPATFG
1 Clendon Thomas Oklahoma1081800
2 Jim Brown Syracuse10614220
3 Jack Hill Utah State10515150
4 Tommy McDonald Oklahoma1021700
5 Jim Crawford Wyoming9614120
6Bob KyaskyArmy851410
7John BayukColorado661100
7 Jack Call Colgate661100
9 Dean Derby Washington637181
10Hewes AgnewPrinceton611010
11 Mike Brown Dartmouth601000
11 John David Crow Texas A&M601000
11Lou ValliStanford601000
11 Del Shofner Baylor601000
15 Jim Taylor LSU59881
16Bobby MulgadoArizona State56880
16Buford WaterhouseDrake56920
16 Paul Hornung Notre Dame567140
19Bobby JordanVMI55870
20Dennis McGillYale54900
20Charlie McCueKansas54900

[25]

Small college

RankPlayerTeamPtsTDPATFG
1Larry HoudekKansas Wesleyan1141900
2John SteffenRiver Falls State11114270
3 Al Frazier Florida A&M10915190
4Tom SchwalbachNorthern Michigan10314190
5George KelleherTrinity (CT)9914150
5Bob "Spinner" MartinBates991590
7LarsonCarthage971570
8VillaAllegheny961600
8BullardLenoir-Rhyne961600
8GarberCapital96 points1600

[25]

Team

Total offense

The following teams were the leaders in total offense during the 1956 season:

Major college

RankTeamGames
played
Total
plays
Yards
gained
Yards
per game
1 Oklahoma 107754817481.7
2 Hardin-Simmons 107863912391.2
3 Auburn 106703749374.9
4 Pacific 106843645364.5
5 Arizona State 106253609360.9
6 Michigan State 95853231359.0
7 TCU 107183563356.3
8 Virginia Tech 107263559355.9
9 Yale 95743199355.4
10 Denver 106763505350.5

[26]

Small college

RankTeamGames
played
Total
plays
Yards
gained
Yards
per game
1 Florida A&M 84183800475.0
2Tufts74503083440.4
3 Tennessee A&I 95643803422.6
4Bradley106424110411.0
5College of Emporia95763687409.7
6 Grambling 95053618402.0
7 Alfred 74072800400.0
8 Texas Southern 106453959395.9
9 Montana State 96243488387.6
10 Bowling Green 96153434381.6

[27]

Rushing offense

The following teams were the leaders in rushing offense during the 1956 season:

Major college

RankTeamYards
per game
1 Oklahoma 391.0
2 VPI 283.5
3 Auburn 276.0
3 Army 276.0
5 Ohio State 274.2
6 USC 269.5
7 Washington 268.8
8 Yale 264.7
9 Texas A&M 263.8
10 Michigan State 256.9

[26]

Small college

RankTeamYards
per game
1Tufts359.9
2 Florida A&M 347.9
3 Montana State 339.1
4College of Emporia322.4
5 West Texas State 319.9
6 Bowling Green 318.3
7Denison315.4
8 Texas Southern 298.6
9Colorado Western289.1
10Lewis and Clark283.8

[27]

Passing offense

The following teams were the leaders in passing offense during the 1956 season:

Major college

RankTeamYards
per game
1 Washington State 206.8
2 Stanford 204.4
3 Pacific 188.9
4 San Jose State 188.1
5 Hardin-Simmons 156.9
6 Rice 137.3
7 Navy 133.0
8 Texas 130.3
9 Colgate 129.0
10 BYU 128.6

[26]

Small college

RankTeamYards
per game
1Pennsylvania Military207.7
2Bradley196.4
3St. Ambrose183.0
4Brandeis169.2
5Loras153.3
6 Buffalo 142.1
7 Tennessee A&I 141.7
8Hamilton138.7
9Occidental137.6
10New Haven State136.9

[27]

Total defense

The following teams were the leaders in total defense during the 1956 season:

Major college

RankTeamGames
played
Total
plays
Yards
gained
Yards
per game
1 Miami (FL) 105901894189.4
2 Oklahoma 106341938193.8
3 Ole Miss 105721955195.5
4 South Carolina 105581998199.8
5 Georgia Tech 105372003200.3
6 Navy 95431840204.4
7 Auburn 105402083208.3
8 Texas A&M 106012088208.8
9 Penn State 95341903211.4
10 Pittsburgh 105912154215.4

[26]

Small college

RankTeamGames
played
Total
plays
Yards
gained
Yards
per game
1 Tennessee A&I 94631070118.9
2Hillsdale94671128125.3
3 Westminster 84411105138.1
4Capital84241203150.4
5Moravian83941208151.0
6Allen93781367151.9
7 Florida A&M 84051259157.4
8Juniata73781120160.0
9 Montana State 94921506167.3
10South Carolina State94651531170.1

[28]

Rushing defense

The following teams were the leaders in rushing defense during the 1956 season:

Major college

RankTeamYards
per game
1 Miami (FL) 106.9
2 Navy 113.1
3 Holy Cross 123.3
4 Georgia Tech 128.4
5 Boston College 130.1
6 Texas A&M 130.2
7 West Virginia 136.9
8 Oklahoma 138.3
9 Iowa 142.8
10 Ole Miss 144.9

[26]

Small college

RankTeamYards
per game
1Hillsdale51.1
2 Tennessee A&I 52.9
3New Haven State56.6
4Gettysburg73.7
5 Mississippi Southern 75.1
6 Florida A&M 79.3
7Juniata80.6
8Capital82.0
9Allen87.1
10Moravian88.4

[27]

Passing defense

The following teams were the leaders in passing defense during the 1956 season:

Major college

RankTeamYards
per game
1 Villanova 43.8
2 Dartmouth 45.3
3 South Carolina 47.6
4 Penn State 48.2
5 TCU 49.7
5 Wake Forest 49.7
7 Ole Miss 50.6
8 Clemson 52.6
9 Auburn 52.8
10 NC State 53.0

[26]

Small college

RankTeamYards
per game
1West Virginia Tech29.1
2Mankato State30.3
3Virginia Union36.3
4Concordia41.8
5 Davidson 42.7
6 North Dakota 43.0
7Colorado State43.6
8 Akron 45.6
9Idaho State47.1
10 Westminster 47.6

[27]

See also

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The 1954 college football season was the 86th season of intercollegiate football in the United States. It saw three major college teams finish unbeaten and untied:

The 1953 college football season was marked by the NCAA Rules Committee's revocation of the two-platoon system and unlimited substitution rules 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 traditional "iron man" game.

The 1952 college football season was the 84th season of intercollegiate football in the United States. It ended with Oklahoma halfback Billy Vessels winning the Heisman Trophy and Notre Dame halfback Johnny Lattner winning the Maxwell Award. Two teams claim the 1952 national championship:

The 1951 college football season was the 83rd season of intercollegiate football in the United States. It finished with Princeton halfback Dick Kazmaier winning the Heisman Trophy and the Maxwell Award. Five teams have laid claim to the 1951 national championship:

The 1950 college football season was the 82nd season of intercollegiate football in the United States. It concluded with four teams having a claim to the national championship:

The 1947 college football season finished with Notre Dame, Michigan, and Penn State all unbeaten and untied, but the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame were the first place choice for 107 of the 142 voters in the final AP Poll in early December, and repeated as national champions. Michigan was selected for the top spot by six contemporary math systems.

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.

The 1939 college football season concluded with the Aggies of The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas being named as the national champions by the voters in the Associated Press writers' poll. Led by consensus All-American fullback John Kimbrough, the Aggies went undefeated at 11–0 and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 212 to 31, with the defense allowing just 54 first downs and 763 yards all season, or 1.71 yards per play. On New Year's Day, Texas A&M defeated Tulane, 14–13 in the Sugar Bowl.

The 1941 college football regular season was the 73rd 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 1942 college football season was the 74th 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 was the first after the entry of the United States into World War II.

The 1945 college football season was the 77th 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 Southwest Conference, and numerous smaller conferences and independent programs. The season followed the end of World War II in August 1945, though many college players remained in military service.

References

  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 17, 2012. Retrieved January 18, 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. Sports Illustrated, October 15, 1956, p70
  3. "Football:Fourth Week, Sports Illustrated, October 15, 1956, p14
  4. "In the Midwest: Illinois Hurdles Over State," Sports Illustrated, Nov. 5, 2006, p16
  5. "Sooners Scared By Buffs, Rally For 27–19 Win," Oakland Tribune, Nov. 4, 1956, p53
  6. "A Day of Decision", Sports Illustrated, Nov. 19, 1956, p28
  7. "Ban Fails To Lift For Aggie Bowl Bid," Amarillo Globe-Times, Nov. 14, 1956, p19
  8. "1956 Atlantic Coast Conference Year Summary". sports-reference.com. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
  9. "Courier Rates Top Football Teams". The Pittsburgh Courier . December 15, 1956. p. 27 via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Negro Teams Clash For Title," The Bee (Danville, VA), Nov. 28, 1956, pD-3
  11. "Tennessee State Tigers Edge Rattlers 41-39 in Orange Blossom Classic," Fort Pierce News-Tribune, Dec. 9, 1956, p9-C
  12. "Sooners Repeat As Nation's Best". The Austin Statesman. December 4, 1956. p. A16 via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Aggies Rated 5th in Nation". The Austin Statesman. December 4, 1956. p. A16 via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Hornung gains award as best player of '56". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. December 5, 1956. p. 2, sec. 4.
  15. "Paul Hornung". Heisman Trophy. 1956. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  16. Touchdowns-for-which-responsible is player's total of touchdowns scored and touchdown passes thrown
  17. Official Collegiate Football Record Book. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 1957. p. 61.
  18. Official Collegiate Football Record Book. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 1957. p. 69.
  19. Official Collegiate Football Record Book. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 1957. p. 61.
  20. Official Collegiate Football Record Book. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 1957. p. 70.
  21. Official Collegiate Football Record Book. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 1957. p. 61.
  22. Official Collegiate Football Record Book. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 1957. p. 69.
  23. Official Collegiate Football Record Book. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 1957. p. 63.
  24. Official Collegiate Football Record Book. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 1957. p. 70.
  25. 1 2 Official Collegiate Football Record Book. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 1957. p. 66.
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Official Collegiate Football Record Book. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 1957. p. 65.
  27. 1 2 3 4 5 Official Collegiate Football Record Book. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 1957. p. 71.
  28. Official Collegiate Football Record Book. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 1957. p. 71.