College Football 1957

The preseason Associated Press (AP) poll in 1957 made Oklahoma an overwhelming #1. Texas A&M, in Bear Bryant's third season, was #2. Bud Wilkinson's Sooners were a no-brainer for the top spot because they had won 40 games in a row to eclipse by one the previous record set by Washington in 1908-14. College football continued with limited substitutions that forced coaches to use their 11 best players on both offense and defense.

The conference alignments that season were as follows. * marks the team that won the 1957 conference championship.

Atlantic Coast
Big Eight
Big Ten
Missouri Valley
Clemson
Duke
Maryland
North Carolina
North Carolina State*
South Carolina
Virginia
Wake Forest
Colorado
Iowa State
Kansas
Kansas State
Missouri
Nebraska
Oklahoma*
Oklahoma State#
# First year in league
Illinois
Indiana
Iowa
Michigan
Michigan State
Minnesota
Northwestern
Ohio State*
Purdue
Wisconsin
Cincinnati#
Drake#
Houston*
North Texas State#
Tulsa
Wichita
# First year in league
Mid-American
Southeastern
Southwest
Pacific Coast
Bowling Green
Kent State
Marshall
Miami (Ohio)*
Ohio
Toledo
Western Michigan
Alabama
Auburn*
Florida
Georgia
Georgia Tech
Kentucky
Louisiana State
Mississippi
Mississippi State
Tennessee
Tulane
Vanderbilt
Arkansas
Baylor
Rice*
Southern Methodist
Texas
Texas A&M
Texas Christian
Texas Tech#
# First year in league
California
Idaho
Oregon
Oregon State*
Southern California
Stanford
UCLA
Washington
Washington State
Border
Skyline Eight
Southern
Independents
Arizona
Arizona State*
Hardin-Simmons
New Mexico A&M
Texas Western
West Texas State
Brigham Young
Colorado State
Denver
Montana
New Mexico
Utah*
Utah State
Wyoming
Citadel
Davidson
Furman
George Washington
Richmond
Virginia Military*
Virginia Tech
Washington & Lee
West Virginia
William & Mary
Army
Boston College
Florida State
Holy Cross
Louisville
Miami (FL)
Navy
Notre Dame
Penn State
Pittsburgh
Rutgers
Syracuse
Note: 1957 was the second season of the Ivy League, which deemphasized football and removed itself from bowl consideration.

The season started on September 21 (three weeks after today's schedules begin). Oklahoma trounced Pittsburgh 26-0 before a sellout crowd in the Steel City. The Sooners won six more to extend their streak to 47 straight. The only nailbiter was against Colorado (14-13 thanks to a blocked conversion). After that game, undefeated Texas A&M took over the top spot for three weeks. Bear's boys reached 8-0 by giving up only 31 points.

November 16 proved to be fatal for both the #1 and #2 teams. In one of the most storied games in NCAA history, 4-2 Notre Dame surprised Oklahoma in Norman 7-0 to end what is still the longest undefeated streak in major college history. The Irish's stunning victory overshadowed another equally improbable upset that same day. 4-3 Rice defeated the Aggies 7-6 in College Station as rumors swirled that Coach Bryant would return to his alma mater, Alabama, at the end of the season. (The rumors proved true.) A&M lost at home again the next week to their archrival Texas and closed with a 3-0 loss to Tennessee in the Gator Bowl.

The losses at the top opened the door for Michigan State to move into the top spot after clobbering Minnesota 42-13, with Auburn close behind at #2. Duffy Daugherty's Spartans had lost at Purdue 14-6 in October. By contrast, the Plainsmen (as Auburn was usually called then) at 8-0 had allowed only 21 points playing the likes of Tennessee, Georgia Tech, Florida, and Georgia. 7-1 Ohio State took the third spot. (The Spartans and Buckeyes did not meet during the Big Ten season.)

On November 23, Auburn trounced Florida State 29-7, and MSU bested Kansas State 27-9 to close its season. OSU walloped Michigan 31-14 in its annual season finale. So the next AP poll shuffled the top three: Auburn, Ohio State, Michigan State. Auburn finished the next week by shellacking Alabama 40-0 in hapless J.D. Whitworth's final game as Tide coach. As a result, the top three remained the same in the final AP poll. The United Press Coaches poll swapped the top two in its last ranking.

Rank
Team
Record
Points
UP Pos.
1
Auburn
10-0
3123
2
2
Ohio State
8-1
2646
1
3
Michigan State
8-1
2550
3
4
Oklahoma
9-1
2182
4
5
Navy
8-1-1
1915
6

Two of the top three teams could not participate in bowl games. The SEC champs were on probation for recruiting violations. As Big Ten champion at 7-0 in league play, Ohio State went to the Rose Bowl. Since the conference allowed no other bowl participation, Michigan State sat home. The ACC champ, North Carolina State, was also ineligible for post-season play. So the bowls played out like this.

Bowl
Result
Sun Bowl, El Paso TX Louisville 34 Drake 20
Gator Bowl, Jacksonville FL Tennessee 3 Texas A&M 0
Orange Bowl, Miami FL Oklahoma 48 Duke 21
Sugar Bowl, New Orleans LA Mississippi 39 Texas 7
Cotton Bowl, Dallas TX Navy 20 Rice 7
Rose Bowl, Pasadena CA Ohio State 10 Oregon 7

Since the AP did not conduct another poll after the bowls until 1968, Auburn remained its national champion. Ohio State's bowl victory did not tarnish its UP championship although the AP poll was widely considered more prestigious. There are no reports of any calls in 1957 for a playoff to determine the "true" champion.

Reference: Fifty Years of College Football, Bob Boyles and Paul Guido
Reference: ESPN College Football Encyclopedia

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