1955 college football season

The 1955 college football season saw the Oklahoma Sooners win the national championship after going 10-0-0. Although the final poll was taken before the postseason bowl games, Oklahoma played against the nation's other unbeaten and untied (10-0-0) team, the Maryland Terrapins, at the Orange Bowl in Miami, and won 20-6.

1955 college football season
Preseason AP No. 1	UCLA[1]
Number of bowls	7
Champion(s)	Oklahoma (AP, Coaches, FWAA)
Heisman	Howard Cassady (halfback, Ohio State)
football seasons

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 1955 consisted of the votes of as many as 391 sportswriters.[2] 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).

Conference and program changes

Conference changes

• One conference began play in 1955:
  • Presidents' Athletic Conference – an active NCAA Division III conference
• One conference played its final season in 1955:
  • Texas Collegiate Athletic Conference – active since the 1926 season
• One conference changed its name prior to the 1955 season:
  • The New Mexico Intercollegiate Conference became the Frontier Conference, the name it retained until its demise after the 1962 season

Membership changes

School	1954 Conference	1955 Conference
Western Reserve Red Cats	MAC	Presidents'

September

In the preseason poll released on September 12, 1955, the UCLA Bruins, 1954's co champions, received 33 first place votes, while Oklahoma had 32. Michigan had 34 votes, but the third most points overall. Other teams nominated for the top spot were defending champ Ohio State, Maryland, Notre Dame, Navy, Miami, Georgia Tech, Iowa, USC, Duke, West Virginia, and Purdue.[3] As the regular season progressed, a new poll would be issued on the Monday following the weekend's games. The preseason Top Five was 1.UCLA 2.Oklahoma 3.Michigan 4.Ohio State 5.Maryland.

On Friday, September 16, #1 UCLA opened in Los Angeles with a 21-0 win over visiting Texas A&M. September 17, Oklahoma, Michigan and Ohio State were idle, but #5 Maryland edged Missouri on the road, 13-12. #10 Georgia Tech, which had beaten #9 Miami 14-6 in Atlanta, rose to 2nd place in the next poll: 1.UCLA 2.Georgia Tech 3.Oklahoma 4.Michigan 5.Maryland.

On September 24, #1 UCLA and #5 Maryland met at College Park, before a record crowd. UCLA's Doug Peters plunged into the end zone in the first half, but fumbled the ball before crossing the goal line. In the second half, the home team Terrapins had the ball 17 yards from goal, on fourth down. Rather than kicking a field goal, Ed Vereb ran for the winning touchdown, giving Maryland a 7-0 win.[4]

#2 Georgia Tech won at #15 Florida, 14-7. #3 Oklahoma won at North Carolina 13-6. #4 Michigan beat Missouri 42-7. Maryland took over the top spot, while UCLA fell to 7th. #11 Notre Dame, which had beaten SMU 17-0, moved into the Top 5: 1.Maryland 2.Michigan 3. Georgia Tech 4.Notre Dame 5.Oklahoma.

October

October 1, #1 Maryland won 20-6 at #20 Baylor in Texas. #2 Michigan beat Michigan State 14-7 before a crowd of 97,239 at home in Ann Arbor. MSU had tied the score 7-7 after an errant punt by Michigan gave them the ball 39 yards from goal. Minutes later, Earl Morrall's punt was blocked to give Michigan the ball on the MSU 21, from which the winning score was made. #3 Georgia Tech beat SMU 20-7 in Atlanta. #4 Notre Dame defeated Indiana 19-0. #5 Oklahoma beat #12 Pittsburgh 26-14, marking its 21st consecutive win, and new record. The poll: 1.Maryland 2.Michigan 3.Oklahoma 4. Georgia Tech 5.Notre Dame

October 8 #1 Maryland beat Wake Forest 28-7, and #2 Michigan defeated visiting #6 Army, 26-2. Both stayed unbeaten, but Michigan took the top spot in the next poll. #3 Oklahoma defeated Texas 20-0 in Dallas. #4 Georgia Tech won 7-0 at LSU. #5 Notre Dame won 14-0 at #15 Miami, with both touchdowns coming on fourth down passes from Paul Hornung, before an Orange Bowl record crowd of 75,685.[5] In a game that would decide the Pac-8 title, UCLA beat Oregon State 38-0. The poll: 1.Michigan 2.Maryland 3.Oklahoma 4.Notre Dame 5.Georgia Tech

October 15 #1 Michigan defeated Northwestern, 14-2. #2 Maryland won at North Carolina, 25-7. #3 Oklahoma beat Kansas 44-6. However, #5 Georgia Tech lost to visiting #17 Auburn 14-12, and #4 Notre Dame lost 21-7 when it hosted #13 Michigan State. They dropped from the top five and were replaced by #8 Navy (which had won 34-14 at Penn State) and #11 Duke (which had won at #14 Ohio State, 20-14). The poll: 1.Michigan 2.Maryland 3.Oklahoma 4.Navy 5.Duke

October 22 In Minneapolis #1 Michigan faced a 1-3-0 Minnesota team, and was stunned when the Gophers racked up two touchdowns in the first quarter. Michigan's Terry Barr blocked the extra point attempt on the second touchdown, but the nation's #1 team was losing 13-0. Still down 13-7 at the half, the Wolverines fought back. Jim Van Pelt passed to Tom Maentz for a touchdown, and Van Pelt added the extra point to save Michigan, 14-13.[6] Minnesota would go on to a 3-6-0 finish. Meanwhile #2 Maryland won more convincingly at Syracuse, 34-13, to regain the top spot. #3 Oklahoma beat #14 Colorado, 56-21. #4 Navy won at Penn, 33-0. #5 Duke lost to Pitt, 26-7, and was replaced in the top five by #6 Michigan State, which beat Illinois 21-7.

The poll: 1.Maryland 2.Oklahoma 3.Michigan 4.Navy 5.Michigan State

October 29 Back at the top, #1 Maryland beat South Carolina 27-0, while #2 Oklahoma won at Kansas State, 40-7. #3 Michigan beat Iowa 33-21. #4 Navy lost at #9 Notre Dame, 21-7. #5 Michigan State won at Wisconsin, 27-0. UCLA returned to the Top Five from #6 after a 47-0 win over California.

The poll: 1.Maryland 2.Oklahoma 3.Michigan 4.Michigan State 5.UCLA

November

November 5 As both stayed undefeated, #1 Maryland beat LSU 13-0 and #2 Oklahoma won at Missouri, 20-0. #3 Michigan lost at Illinois 25-6, while #4 Michigan State won at Purdue, 27-0. #5 UCLA won at Pacific, 34-0. #6 Notre Dame, which had won at Penn 46-14, returned to the top 5.

The poll: 1.Oklahoma 2.Maryland 3.Michigan State 4.UCLA 5.Notre Dame

November 12 Back at #1, Oklahoma beat Iowa State 52-0. #2 Maryland won at Clemson, 25-12. #3 Michigan State beat Minnesota 42-14. #4 UCLA was trailing Washington 17-16 in the closing seconds of a game, but Jim Decker kicked a field goal for a 19-17 victory.[7] #5 Notre Dame won at North Carolina, 27-7. The poll: 1.Oklahoma 2.Maryland 3.Michigan State 4.Notre Dame 5.UCLA

November 19 Although #1 Oklahoma was 8-0-0 and host Nebraska was 5-4-0, both had 5-0-0 records in Big 7 conference play when they met at Lincoln. The Sooners rolled, 41-0, to get the Orange Bowl bid. #2 Maryland closed its season with a 19-0 win over George Washington University and accepted the invitation to meet Oklahoma, but what would have been a #1 vs. #2 meeting changed when the Terrapins were rated third by the AP voters. #3 Michigan State, which had a 5-1 record in Big Ten play, beat Marquette 33-0 in a non-conference game; Michigan's 17-0 loss to Ohio State gave it a 5-2 mark. Ohio State had the better record in the Big Ten, 6-0 overall, but had gone to the Rose Bowl the year before, so MSU got the bid, where it would face #5 UCLA, which beat USC 17-7. #4 Notre Dame beat Iowa 17-14. Though Maryland, like Oklahoma, was unbeaten, the voters put once-beaten Michigan State in the second spot instead. The poll: 1.Oklahoma 2.Michigan State 3.Maryland 4.UCLA 5.Notre Dame. On November 26, #5 Notre Dame lost in Los Angeles to USC, 42-20, and dropped to 6th in the final AP poll, where it would be replaced by Ohio State. The other Top Five teams had finished their seasons.

Conference standings

Major conference standings

1955 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 3 Maryland + 4 – 0 – 0     10 – 1 – 0 Duke + 4 – 0 – 0     7 – 2 – 1 Clemson 3 – 1 – 0     7 – 3 – 0 Wake Forest 3 – 3 – 1     5 – 4 – 1 North Carolina 3 – 3 – 0     3 – 7 – 0 NC State 0 – 2 – 1     4 – 5 – 1 South Carolina 1 – 5 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Virginia 0 – 4 – 0     1 – 9 – 0 + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll[8]	1955 Big Seven Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 1 Oklahoma $ 6 – 0 – 0     11 – 0 – 0 Nebraska 5 – 1 – 0     5 – 5 – 0 Colorado 3 – 3 – 0     6 – 4 – 0 Kansas State 3 – 3 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 Kansas 1 – 4 – 1     3 – 6 – 1 Iowa State 1 – 4 – 1     1 – 7 – 1 Missouri 1 – 5 – 0     1 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1955 Big Ten Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 5 Ohio State $ 6 – 0 – 0     7 – 2 – 0 No. 2 Michigan State 5 – 1 – 0     9 – 1 – 0 No. 12 Michigan 5 – 2 – 0     7 – 2 – 0 Purdue 4 – 2 – 1     5 – 3 – 1 Illinois 3 – 3 – 1     5 – 3 – 1 Wisconsin 3 – 4 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 Iowa 2 – 3 – 1     3 – 5 – 1 Minnesota 2 – 5 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Indiana 1 – 5 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Northwestern 0 – 6 – 1     0 – 8 – 1 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll
1955 Border Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Texas Tech $ 3 – 0 – 1     7 – 3 – 1 Arizona State 4 – 1 – 0     8 – 2 – 1 Hardin–Simmons 3 – 2 – 0     5 – 5 – 0 Texas Western 3 – 2 – 1     6 – 2 – 2 Arizona 1 – 2 – 1     5 – 4 – 1 West Texas State 1 – 4 – 1     4 – 4 – 1 New Mexico A&M 0 – 4 – 0     3 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1955 Middle Three Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Lafayette $ 2 – 0 – 0     6 – 2 – 0 Lehigh 1 – 1 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 Rutgers 0 – 2 – 0     3 – 5 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1955 Missouri Valley Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Wichita + 3 – 1 – 0     7 – 2 – 1 Detroit + 3 – 1 – 0     5 – 3 – 1 Houston 2 – 2 – 0     6 – 4 – 0 Tulsa 1 – 3 – 0     2 – 7 – 1 Oklahoma A&M 1 – 3 – 0     2 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions
1955 Pacific Coast Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 4 UCLA $ 6 – 0 – 0     9 – 2 – 0 Oregon State 5 – 2 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 No. 16 Stanford 3 – 2 – 1     6 – 3 – 1 Oregon 4 – 3 – 0     6 – 4 – 0 Washington 4 – 3 – 1     5 – 4 – 1 No. 13 USC 3 – 3 – 0     6 – 4 – 0 California 1 – 5 – 1     2 – 7 – 1 Washington State 1 – 5 – 1     1 – 7 – 2 Idaho 0 – 4 – 0     2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1955 Rocky Mountain Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Idaho State $ 6 – 0 – 0     8 – 1 – 0 Western State 6 – 2 – 0     7 – 3 – 0 Montana State 3 – 2 – 1     4 – 4 – 1 Colorado Mines 2 – 4 – 2     2 – 5 – 2 Colorado College 2 – 6 – 0     3 – 7 – 0 Colorado State–Greeley 1 – 6 – 1     1 – 7 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1955 Skyline Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Colorado A&M $ 6 – 1 – 0     8 – 2 – 0 Utah 4 – 1 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 Denver 5 – 2 – 0     8 – 2 – 0 Wyoming 5 – 2 – 0     8 – 3 – 0 Utah State 3 – 4 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 Montana 2 – 4 – 0     3 – 7 – 0 New Mexico 1 – 5 – 0     2 – 8 – 0 BYU 0 – 7 – 0     1 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1955 Southeastern Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 10 Ole Miss $ 5 – 1 – 0     10 – 1 – 0 No. 8 Auburn 5 – 2 – 1     8 – 2 – 1 No. 7 Georgia Tech 4 – 1 – 1     9 – 1 – 1 Tennessee 3 – 2 – 1     6 – 3 – 1 Vanderbilt 4 – 3 – 0     8 – 3 – 0 Mississippi State 4 – 4 – 0     6 – 4 – 0 Kentucky 3 – 3 – 1     6 – 3 – 1 Tulane 3 – 3 – 1     5 – 4 – 1 LSU 2 – 3 – 1     3 – 5 – 2 Florida 3 – 5 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 Georgia 2 – 5 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 Alabama 0 – 7 – 0     0 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1955 Southern Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 19 West Virginia $ 4 – 0 – 0     8 – 2 – 0 VPI 2 – 1 – 1     6 – 3 – 1 Davidson 3 – 2 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 George Washington 3 – 2 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 Richmond 3 – 2 – 2     4 – 3 – 2 The Citadel 2 – 2 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 Furman 1 – 1 – 0     1 – 9 – 0 William & Mary 1 – 3 – 1     1 – 7 – 1 VMI 1 – 6 – 0     1 – 9 – 0 Washington and Lee 0 – 1 – 0     0 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1955 Southwest Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 6 TCU $ 5 – 1 – 0     9 – 2 – 0 No. 17 Texas A&M 4 – 1 – 1     7 – 2 – 1 Texas 4 – 2 – 0     5 – 5 – 0 Arkansas 3 – 2 – 1     5 – 4 – 1 Baylor 2 – 4 – 0     5 – 5 – 0 SMU 2 – 4 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 Rice 0 – 6 – 0     2 – 7 – 1 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Independents

1955 Eastern college football independents records Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Drexel   –       8 – 0 – 0 Carnegie Tech   –       5 – 1 – 1 Princeton   –       7 – 2 – 0 Yale   –       7 – 2 – 0 Tufts   –       5 – 2 – 0 Boston College   –       5 – 2 – 1 No. 20 Army   –       6 – 3 – 0 Colgate   –       6 – 3 – 0 No. 11 Pittsburgh   –       7 – 4 – 0 Holy Cross   –       6 – 4 – 0 Syracuse   –       5 – 3 – 0 Cornell   –       5 – 4 – 0 Penn State   –       5 – 4 – 0 Buffalo   –       4 – 4 – 1 Harvard   –       3 – 4 – 1 Dartmouth   –       3 – 6 – 0 Boston University   –       2 – 6 – 0 Franklin & Marshall   –       2 – 6 – 0 Brown   –       2 – 7 – 0 Columbia   –       1 – 8 – 0 Villanova   –       1 – 9 – 0 Temple   –       0 – 8 – 0 Penn   –       0 – 9 – 0 Rankings from AP Poll	1955 Midwestern college football independents records Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Ferris   –       6 – 1 – 0 No. 9 Notre Dame   –       8 – 2 – 0 Wabash   –       5 – 3 – 1 Michigan Tech   –       4 – 3 – 0 Washington University   –       5 – 4 – 0 Youngstown   –       4 – 5 – 0 Dayton   –       3 – 6 – 0 Marquette   –       2 – 6 – 1 Baldwin–Wallace   –       2 – 6 – 0 Cincinnati   –       1 – 6 – 2 Rose Poly   –       1 – 6 – 1 Northern Michigan   –       0 – 7 – 0 Rankings from AP Poll	1955 Southern college football independents records Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Mississippi Southern   –       9 – 1 – 0 Delaware   –       8 – 1 – 0 Louisville   –       7 – 2 – 0 Tampa   –       7 – 2 – 0 No. 18 Navy   –       6 – 2 – 1 No. 14 Miami (FL)   –       6 – 3 – 0 Chattanooga   –       5 – 4 – 1 Florida State   –       5 – 5 – 0 Western Maryland   –       2 – 6 – 0 Rankings from AP Poll
1955 Western college football independents records Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Long Beach State   –       5 – 2 – 0 San Jose State   –       5 – 3 – 1 La Verne   –       5 – 4 – 0 Pacific (CA)   –       5 – 4 – 0 Hawaii   –       7 – 4 – 0 Cal Poly San Dimas   –       4 – 3 – 0 UC Riverside   –       1 – 3 – 1

Minor conferences

Conference	Champion(s)	Record
California Collegiate Athletic Association	No champion	—
Central Church College Conference	Concordia (NE)	3–0
Central Intercollegiate Athletics Association	Maryland State	7–0
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Pittsburg State	5–0
College Conference of Illinois	Wheaton (IL)	5–0–1
Evergreen Conference	Whitworth	6–0
Far Western Conference	Chico State College	5–0
Frontier Conference (Montana and Idaho)	Rocky Mountain	4–0
Gulf Coast Conference	Abilene Christian North Texas State	2–1
Frontier Conference (New Mexico)	Adams State College New Mexico Military Institute	4–1
Indiana Collegiate Conference	St. Joseph's Evansville	5–1
Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Parsons	6–0
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference	College of Emporia	7–0
Lone Star Conference	East Texas State Teachers Sam Houston State Teachers Southwest Texas State Teachers	5–1
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association	Hillsdale	6–0
Mid-American Conference	Miami (OH)	5–0
Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference	Coe	7–0
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Gustavus Adolphus	5–1
Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association	Southeast Missouri State	5–0
Nebraska College Conference	Nebraska State Teachers (UN–Kearney)	7–0
North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	South Dakota State College	5–0–1
North Dakota College Athletic Conference	Jamestown College Dickinson State College	5–1
Ohio Athletic Conference	Muskingum	7–0
Ohio Valley Conference	Tennessee Tech	5–0
Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference	Central State College (OK) Northeastern State Teachers (OK) Southwestern State College (OK)	4–1
Oregon Collegiate Conference	Unknown	—
Pacific Northwest Conference	College of Idaho Lewis & Clark	4–1
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference	Bloomsburg State Teachers	3–0–1
Presidents' Athletic Conference	Western Reserve	3–0
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference	Idaho State College	6–0
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Pomona-Pitzer	4–0
South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference	Northern State Teachers	6–1
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Florida A&M	6–0
Southwestern Athletic Conference	Southern	6–1
State Teacher's College Conference of Minnesota	St. Cloud State Teachers	4–0
Texas Collegiate Athletic Conference	McMurry	2–0
Wisconsin State College Conference	Wisconsin State–Stevens Point	6–0

Minor conference standings

1955 California Collegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Fresno State 2 – 0 – 0     9 – 1 – 0 Cal Poly 2 – 1 – 0     7 – 3 – 0 Santa Barbara 1 – 1 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Los Angeles State 0 – 1 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 San Diego State 0 – 2 – 0     2 – 8 – 0 No champion named for the 1955 season	1955 Central Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Pittsburg State $ 5 – 0 – 0     7 – 3 – 0 Washburn 4 – 1 – 0     6 – 2 – 1 Fort Hays State 2 – 2 – 1     5 – 3 – 1 St. Benedict's 2 – 3 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Southwestern (KS) 1 – 3 – 1     4 – 4 – 1 Emporia State 0 – 5 – 0     0 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1955 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 2 Maryland State $ 7 – 0 – 0     9 – 0 – 0 No. 7 North Carolina A&T 4 – 1 – 2     4 – 1 – 3 No. 9 North Carolina College 3 – 1 – 2     4 – 1 – 2 No. 12 Delaware State 5 – 1 – 0     7 – 1 – 0 No. 13 Morgan State 5 – 1 – 1     6 – 2 – 0 No. 14 Virginia State 5 – 1 – 2     5 – 2 – 2 Winston-Salem 6 – 1 – 0     7 – 2 – 0 Shaw 4 – 2 – 2     4 – 3 – 2 Bluefield State 5 – 2 – 1     7 – 2 – 1 St. Augustine's 4 – 4 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 Virginia Union   –         –   Hampton 4 – 6 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 Johnson C. Smith   –         –   Howard 2 – 4 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Lincoln (PA) 1 – 6 – 0     1 – 7 – 0 West Virginia State 0 – 6 – 0     1 – 7 – 0 Fayetteville State 0 – 8 – 0     0 – 9 – 0 Saint Paul's (VA)   –         –   $ – Conference champion Rankings from the Pittsburgh Courier.[9]
1955 Evergreen Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Whitworth $ 6 – 0 – 0     9 – 0 – 0 Pacific Lutheran 5 – 1 – 0     5 – 3 – 0 Puget Sound 4 – 2 – 0     6 – 2 – 0 Eastern Washington 3 – 3 – 0     4 – 4 – 0 Central Washington 2 – 4 – 0     2 – 6 – 0 UBC 1 – 5 – 0     ? – ? – ? Western Washington 0 – 6 – 0     1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1955 Far Western Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Chico State 5 – 0 – 0     7 – 2 – 0 Cal Aggies 3 – 1 – 1     5 – 3 – 1 San Francisco State 3 – 2 – 0     5 – 5 – 0 Humboldt State 2 – 2 – 1     7 – 3 – 1 Nevada 1 – 4 – 0     2 – 5 – 0 Sacramento State 0 – 5 – 0     1 – 6 – 0 * No conference champion was named for the 1955 season.	1955 Gulf Coast Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T North Texas State + 2 – 1 – 0     5 – 4 – 1 Abilene Christian + 2 – 1 – 0     3 – 5 – 2 Trinity (TX) 1 – 2 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 Midwestern State 0 – 3 – 0     2 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions * – North Texas State's loss to Chattanooga and Abilene Christian's loss to Mississippi Southern counted in the conference standings.
1955 Gulf States Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Louisiana Tech $ 6 – 0 – 0     9 – 1 – 0 McNeese State 5 – 1 – 0     7 – 1 – 1 Southeastern Louisiana 4 – 2 – 0     5 – 5 – 0 Southwestern Louisiana 3 – 3 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 Northwestern State 2 – 4 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 Northeast Louisiana State 1 – 5 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 Louisiana College 0 – 6 – 0     2 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1955 Hoosier Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Indiana Central $ 4 – 1 – 1     5 – 3 – 1 Franklin (IN) 4 – 2 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 Hanover 4 – 2 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 Anderson (IN) 3 – 3 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 Earlham 3 – 3 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Manchester (IN) 1 – 4 – 1     2 – 6 – 1 Taylor 1 – 5 – 0     2 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1955 Indiana Collegiate Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Evansville + 5 – 1 – 0     6 – 2 – 0 Saint Joseph's (IN) + 5 – 1 – 0     5 – 3 – 0 Valparaiso 4 – 2 – 0     5 – 3 – 0 Butler 3 – 3 – 0     3 – 5 – 0 DePauw 2 – 4 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 Ball State 1 – 5 – 0     3 – 5 – 0 Indiana State 1 – 5 – 0     2 – 6 – 0 + – Conference co-champions
1955 Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Central Michigan + 5 – 1 – 0     8 – 1 – 0 Michigan State Normal + 5 – 1 – 0     7 – 2 – 0 Southern Illinois 4 – 1 – 1     4 – 4 – 2 Illinois State 2 – 3 – 1     3 – 4 – 2 Western Illinois 2 – 3 – 1     5 – 4 – 1 Eastern Illinois 1 – 5 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Northern Illinois State 0 – 5 – 1     0 – 8 – 1 + – Conference co-champions	1955 Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Parsons $ 6 – 0 – 0     8 – 0 – 0 Luther 5 – 0 – 1     9 – 0 – 1 Simpson 5 – 2 – 0     6 – 2 – 0 Buena Vista 3 – 2 – 1     5 – 3 – 1 Iowa Wesleyan 2 – 3 – 1     2 – 5 – 1 Dubuque 2 – 4 – 0     2 – 5 – 0 Upper Iowa 1 – 5 – 1     2 – 5 – 1 Central (IA) 1 – 5 – 0     3 – 5 – 0 Wartburg 1 – 5 – 0     2 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1955 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T College of Emporia $ 7 – 0 – 0     9 – 0 – 0 Kansas Wesleyan 5 – 2 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 McPherson 5 – 2 – 0     5 – 3 – 0 Baker 4 – 3 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 Bethel (KS) 4 – 3 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 Ottawa 2 – 5 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Bethany (KS) 1 – 6 – 0     1 – 8 – 0 Friends 0 – 7 – 0     0 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1955 Lone Star Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Sam Houston State + 5 – 1 – 0     6 – 2 – 1 Southwest Texas State + 5 – 1 – 0     6 – 2 – 1 East Texas State + 5 – 1 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 Stephen F. Austin 2 – 4 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 Lamar Tech 2 – 4 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 Texas A&I 2 – 4 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 Sul Ross 0 – 6 – 0     2 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1955 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Hillsdale $ 6 – 0 – 0     9 – 0 – 0 Kalamazoo 4 – 2 – 0     5 – 3 – 0 Alma 3 – 3 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 Hope 3 – 3 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 Albion 3 – 3 – 0     3 – 5 – 0 Adrian 2 – 4 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 Olivet 0 – 6 – 0     1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1955 Mid-American Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 15 Miami (OH) $ 5 – 0 – 0     9 – 0 – 0 Bowling Green 4 – 1 – 1     7 – 1 – 1 Kent State 4 – 1 – 1     6 – 2 – 1 Ohio 3 – 3 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 Toledo 2 – 4 – 0     3 – 5 – 1 Marshall 1 – 5 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Western Michigan 0 – 5 – 0     1 – 7 – 1 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll
1955 Mid-Ohio League football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Ashland $ 5 – 0 – 0     7 – 2 – 0 Findlay 4 – 1 – 0     6 – 2 – 0 Wilmington (OH) 2 – 2 – 1     5 – 3 – 1 Bluffton 2 – 3 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Defiance 1 – 3 – 1     1 – 7 – 1 Ohio Northern 0 – 5 – 0     1 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1955 Missouri College Athletic Union football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Missouri Valley $ 1 – 0 – 0     9 – 1 – 1 Tarkio 2 – 1 – 0     5 – 3 – 0 William Jewell 2 – 1 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 Culver–Stockton 1 – 1 – 0     2 – 4 – 3 Central Methodist 0 – 3 – 0     1 – 6 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1955 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T SE Missouri State $ 5 – 0 – 0     9 – 0 – 0 Central Missouri State 4 – 1 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 Missouri–Rolla 2 – 3 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 NW Missouri State 2 – 3 – 0     2 – 5 – 1 NE Missouri State 1 – 4 – 0     3 – 5 – 0 SW Missouri State 1 – 4 – 0     2 – 6 – 1 $ – Conference champion
1955 Nebraska College Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Kearney State $ 6 – 1 – 0     8 – 2 – 0 Hastings 5 – 1 – 1     5 – 4 – 1 Peru State 5 – 2 – 0     7 – 2 – 0 Wayne State (NE) 4 – 3 – 0     4 – 4 – 1 Doane 3 – 4 – 0     3 – 4 – 1 Nebraska Wesleyan 2 – 4 – 1     2 – 7 – 1 Chadron State 2 – 5 – 0     3 – 5 – 0 Midland 0 – 7 – 0     0 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1955 North Central Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T South Dakota State $ 5 – 0 – 1     6 – 2 – 1 Iowa State Teachers 5 – 1 – 0     8 – 1 – 0 Morningside 3 – 2 – 1     4 – 3 – 1 North Dakota 3 – 3 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 South Dakota 3 – 3 – 0     4 – 4 – 0 Augustana (SD) 1 – 5 – 0     2 – 6 – 1 North Dakota State 0 – 6 – 0     0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1955 New Mexico Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T New Mexico Military + 4 – 1 – 0     5 – 3 – 0 Adams State + 4 – 1 – 0     6 – 4 – 0 Panhandle A&M 3 – 2 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 New Mexico Highlands 3 – 2 – 0     5 – 2 – 1 New Mexico Western 1 – 4 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Arizona State–Flagstaff 0 – 5 – 0     0 – 9 – 0 + – Conference co-champions
1955 Ohio Valley Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Tennessee Tech $ 5 – 0 – 0     7 – 3 – 0 Middle Tennessee State 4 – 1 – 0     7 – 2 – 1 Eastern Kentucky 3 – 2 – 0     5 – 4 – 1 Murray State 2 – 3 – 0     6 – 4 – 0 Western Kentucky 1 – 4 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Morehead State 0 – 5 – 0     0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1955 Presidents' Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Western Reserve $ 3 – 0 – 0     5 – 1 – 1 John Carroll 2 – 2 – 1     3 – 3 – 1 Case Tech 2 – 3 – 0     3 – 3 – 0 Wayne 1 – 3 – 1     1 – 5 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1955 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 5 Southern $ 6 – 1 – 0     7 – 2 – 1 No. 6 Langston 4 – 1 – 2     6 – 1 – 2 No. 8 Texas Southern 5 – 1 – 1     7 – 2 – 1 No. 10 Prairie View A&M 5 – 1 – 1     7 – 2 – 1 Texas College 2 – 5 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Wiley 2 – 5 – 0     3 – 7 – 0 Arkansas AM&N 2 – 5 – 0     2 – 8 – 0 Bishop 0 – 7 – 0     0 – 10 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from the Pittsburgh Courier.[10]
1955 Texas Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T McMurry $ 2 – 0 – 0     8 – 2 – 0 Howard Payne 1 – 1 – 0     6 – 2 – 2 Eastern New Mexico 0 – 2 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1955 Yankee Conference football standings Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Rhode Island $ 4 – 0 – 1     6 – 1 – 2 Maine 2 – 1 – 1     5 – 1 – 1 Connecticut 2 – 2 – 0     4 – 4 – 0 New Hampshire 1 – 1 – 2     2 – 4 – 2 UMass 1 – 3 – 0     4 – 4 – 0 Vermont 0 – 3 – 0     3 – 3 – 1 $ – Conference champion

Rankings

Main article: 1955 NCAA football rankings

Final AP Poll

The final rankings were made on November 28, after the regular season and without consideration of the postseason bowl games:

1. Oklahoma	(10-0-0)	Big 7
2. Michigan State	(8-1-0)	Big 10
3. Maryland	(10-0-0)	ACC
4. UCLA	(9-1-0)	PCC
5. Ohio State	(7-2-0)	Big 10
6. TCU	(9-1-0)	SWC
7. Georgia Tech	(8-1-1)	SEC
8. Auburn	(8-1-1)	SEC
9. Notre Dame	(8-2-0)	Indep.
10. Mississippi	(9-1-0)	SEC
11. Pittsburgh	(7-3-0)	Indep.
12. Michigan	(7-2-0)	Big 10
13. USC	(6-4-0)	PCC
14. Miami (Florida)	(6-3-0)	Indep.
15. Miami (Ohio)	(9-0-0)	MAC
16. Stanford	(6-3-1)	PCC
17. Texas A&M	(7-2-1)	SWC
18. Navy	(6-2-1)	Indep.
19. West Virginia	(8-2-0)	Southern
20. Army	(6-3-0)	Indep.

Final Coaches Poll

Ranking	Team
1	Oklahoma
2	Michigan State
3	Maryland
4	UCLA
5	Ohio State
6	Texas Christian
7	Georgia Tech
8	Auburn
9	Mississippi
10	Notre Dame
11	Pittsburgh
12	USC
13	Michigan
14	Texas A&M
15	Army
16	Duke
17	West Virginia
18	Miami (Fla.)
19	Iowa
20 (t)	Navy
20 (t)	Stanford
20 (t)	Miami (Ohio)

Other champions

Orange Blossom Classic

Prior to the integration of sports teams, Miami Orange Bowl stadium hosted the New Year's Day game of the same name, and a December game for historically black colleges, the Orange Blossom Classic. Grambling State (9-0-0) and Florida A & M University (8-0-1) met to determine the best Negro college football team in the nation, with Grambling winning 28-21.

Undefeated programs

Miami University (Ohio) finished 9-0-0, as did Southeast Missouri State University, Heidelberg College, Hillsdale College, College of Emporia, Maryland State College and Whitworth College. Northern State Teachers College* of South Dakota went 9-0-0, and then lost to Kearney Teachers College in the "Botany Bowl", 34-13, played in Shenandoah, Iowa, on Thanksgiving Day.

Colleges that went 8-0-0 were Alfred University, Drexel University, Albany State College, Centre College, Coe College, Parsons College, Juniata College, Muskingum College, Shepherd College, and Stevens Point College. (7). Trinity College (Connecticut) went 7-0-0. [11]

Bowl games

Major bowls

Monday, January 2, 1956

Bowl	Winner		Runner-up
Orange	#1 Oklahoma Sooners	20	#3 Maryland Terrapins	6
Rose	#2 Michigan State Spartans	17	#4 UCLA Bruins	14
Cotton	#10 Mississippi Rebels	14	#6 TCU Horned Frogs	13
Sugar	#7 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets	7	#11 Pittsburgh Panthers	0

Other bowls

Bowl	Location	Date	Winner	Score	Runner-up
Gator	Jacksonville, FL	December 31	Vanderbilt Commodores	25–13	#8 Auburn Tigers
Sun	El Paso, TX	January 2	Wyoming Cowboys	21–14	Texas Tech Red Raiders

Statistical leaders

• Player scoring most points: Jim Swink, TCU, 125.[12]

See also

• 1955 College Football All-America Team

References

1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-02-17. Retrieved 2009-01-18.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. appollarchive.com/football/ap
3. Id.
4. Independent Press-Telegram, (Long Beach, CA), Sep. 25, 1955, pB-1
5. Sports Illustrated, Oct. 17, 1955, p6
6. "Michigan Fights Back to Nip Gophers, 14-13," San Antonio Light, Oct. 23, 1955, p5-D
7. "Knox Hurt-- UCLA Barely Beats Huskies", Oakland Tribune, Nov. 13, 1955, pA-51. The game is referenced in Back to the Future Part II
8. "1955 Atlantic Coast Conference Year Summary". sports-reference.com. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
9. "Final National Football Rating". The Pittsburgh Courier. December 10, 1955. p. 30 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Final National Football Rating". The Pittsburgh Courier. December 10, 1955. p. 30 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Twenty-One Finish Unbeaten-Untied," The Huronite and Daily Plainsman (Huron, SD), Nov. 22, 1955, p9
12. http://library.la84.org/SportsLibrary/CFHSN/CFHSNv03/CFHSNv03n3a.pdf