1952 college football season

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:
 * Michigan State compiled a perfect 9–0 record and was ranked No. 1 in the final Associated Press (AP) and United Press (UP) coaches polls. The team was also recognized as the 1952 national champion by the Boand System, DeVold System, Dunkel System, College Football Researchers Association, Helms Athletic Foundation, Litkenhous, National Championship Foundation, Sagarin Ratings, and Williamson System. The Spartans ranked third nationally in total offense with an average of 428.7 yards per game. The 1952 season was part of a 28-game winning streak for Michigan State that began in October 1950 and continued until October 1953.
 * Georgia Tech compiled a perfect 12–0 record, defeated No. 7 Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl, and was ranked No. 2 in the AP and UP polls. Georgia Tech was rated as the 1952 national champion by Berryman (QPRS), Billingsley Report, International News Service, Poling System, and Sagarin Ratings. The Yellow Jackets ranked second nationally in total defense, giving up an average of only 173.2 yards per game.

Small college teams that compiled perfect seasons in 1952 included East Texas (11–0, Lone Star and Tangerine Bowl champion), Idaho State (8–0, Rocky Mountain champion), Peru State (10–0, part of 26-game winning streak), and Shippensburg (7–0, part of 20-game winning streak). Florida A&M (8–2) was selected by the Associated Negro Press as the black college national champion.

Individual statistical leaders in major college football for the 1952 season included Detroit quarterback Ted Marchibroda with 1,813 yards of total offense, Tulsa halfback Howard Waugh with 1,372 rushing yards, Georgia quarterback Zeke Bratkowski with 1,824 passing yards, Fordham end Ed Brown with 774 receiving yards, and Mississippi State quarterback Jackie Parker with 120 points scored.

Tulsa led the major colleges in total offense with an average of 466.6 yards per game. Tennessee led in total defense, giving up an average of only 166.7 yards per game..

Conference changes

 * One conference changed its name this year:
 * The Wisconsin State Teachers College Conference, an active NCAA Division III conference currently known as the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC), changed its name to the Wisconsin State College Conference

September
September 20 Maryland won at Missouri 13–10, and Texas won at LSU 35–14. In the preseason poll released on September 22, 1952, the Michigan State Spartans were rated first, followed by the Maryland Terrapins. Maryland actually had more first place votes 79 to 77, but MSU had an edge on points, 1720–1696. The remainder of the Top Five was No. 3 Georgia Tech (which beat The Citadel 54–6), No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 5 Illinois. Defending champion Tennessee was 6th. As the regular season progressed, a new poll would be issued on the Monday following the weekend's games.

On September 27 No. 1 Michigan State won at Michigan, 27–13. No. 2 Maryland beat Auburn 13–7 in Birmingham. No. 3 Georgia Tech narrowly beat Florida 17–14 and fell to 6th place in the next poll. No. 4 Oklahoma visited Colorado and was tied, 21–21. No. 5 Illinois, which beat Iowa State 33–7, rose to second place in the next poll. No. 8 California, which was 2–0–0 after a 28–14 win over Missouri, and No. 11 Texas (which had won at North Carolina 28–7), moved into the top five. The poll: No. 1 Michigan State, No. 2 Illinois, No. 3 Maryland, No. 4 California, and No. 5 Texas.

October
October 4 No. 1 Michigan State narrowly defeated Oregon State 17–14 at Portland. No. 2 Illinois lost at No. 8 Wisconsin, 20–6, and would end up finishing 1952 with a losing (4–5–0) record. No. 3 Maryland beat Clemson 28–0. No. 4 California won at Minnesota, 49–13. No. 5 Texas lost 14-3 to No. 19 Notre Dame. No. 6 Georgia Tech, which beat SMU 20–7 in Dallas, returned to the Top Five. The next poll featured No. 1 Wisconsin, No. 2 Michigan State, No. 3 California, No. 4 Maryland, and No. 5 Georgia Tech.

October 11 The new No. 1, Wisconsin, lost at Columbus to unranked Ohio State, 23–14. No. 2 Michigan State beat visiting Texas A&M 48–6. No. 3 California beat Oregon at Portland, 41–7. No. 4 Maryland won at Georgia, 37–0. No. 5 Georgia Tech beat Tulane 14–0. No. 6 Duke, which won at South Carolina 33–7, was fifth in the next poll: No. 1 Michigan State, No. 2 Maryland, No. 3 California, No. 4 Georgia Tech, and No. 5 Duke.

October 18 No. 1 Michigan State beat visiting Syracuse 48–7. No. 2 Maryland beat No. 20 Navy 38–7. No. 3 California beat Santa Clara 27–7. No. 4 Georgia Tech beat Auburn 33–0. No. 5 Duke won at N.C. State, 57–0, but was still bounced out of the top five. No. 6 Oklahoma, which had won at No. 8 Kansas 42–20, was third in the next poll: No. 1 Michigan State, No. 2 Maryland, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 California, and No. 5 Georgia Tech.

October 25 No. 1 Michigan State beat No. 17 Penn State 34–7. No. 2 Maryland beat LSU 34–6. No. 3 Oklahoma beat Kansas State 49–6. In Los Angeles, a matchup of unbeaten teams pitted No. 4 California (5–0–0) against the 5–0–0 and No. 7 USC Trojans. USC won 10–0. Cal would lose this and the next two games after its perfect start. No. 5 Georgia Tech beat Vanderbilt 30–0. The next poll: No. 1 Michigan State, No. 2 Maryland, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 Georgia Tech, and No. 5 USC.

November
November 1 No. 1 Michigan State narrowly won at No. 8 Purdue, 14–7. No. 2 Maryland won at Boston University, 34–7. No. 3 Oklahoma won at Iowa State 41–0. No. 4 Georgia Tech (6–0–0) faced unbeaten No. 6 Duke (also 6–0–0) and won 28–7. No. 5 USC was idle, and its place was taken by No. 7 UCLA, which handed No. 11 California a 28–7 defeat. The next poll: No. 1 Michigan State, No. 2 Maryland, No. 3 Georgia Tech, No. 4 Oklahoma, and No. 5 UCLA.

November 8 No. 1 Michigan State won at Indiana 41–14. No. 2 Maryland was idle. No. 3 Georgia Tech beat Army 45–6. No. 4 Oklahoma lost at No. 10 Notre Dame, 27–21, and dropped back out of the Top Five. No. 5 UCLA beat visiting Oregon State 57–0. No. 6 USC rose to fifth after a 54–7 win at Stanford. The next poll: No. 1. Michigan State, No. 2 Georgia Tech, No. 3 Maryland, No. 4 UCLA, and No. 5 USC.

November 15 Unbeaten No. 1 Michigan State hosted once-beaten (5–1–1) No. 6 Notre Dame and won 21–3. In Atlanta, unbeaten (8–0–0) No. 2 Georgia Tech faced once-beaten (7–1–0) No. 12 Alabama and won, 7–3. And on the road, unbeaten (7–0–0) No. 3 Maryland lost at unbeaten (6–0–2) No. 11 Mississippi, 21–14. No. 4 UCLA was idle. No. 5 USC beat No. 17 Washington 33–0. No. 8 Oklahoma, which had beaten Missouri 47–7, returned to the Top Five. The next poll: No. 1 Michigan State, No. 2 Georgia Tech, No. 3 UCLA, No. 4 USC, and No. 5 Oklahoma.

November 22 No. 1 Michigan State won 62–13 over Marquette to close its season unbeaten. No. 2 Georgia Tech also stayed unbeaten as it beat Florida State 30–0. No. 3 UCLA and No. 4 USC (both 8–0–0) met in Los Angeles, with USC winning 14–12 to take the crown of the Pacific Coast Conference and a trip to the Rose Bowl. No. 5 Oklahoma beat Nebraska 34–13. The new poll: No. 1 Michigan State, No. 2 USC, No. 3 Georgia Tech, No. 4 Oklahoma, and No. 5 UCLA.

November 29 No. 1 Michigan State had closed its season. No. 2 USC hosted No. 7 Notre Dame and lost 9–0. No. 3 Georgia Tech finished its season unbeaten (11–0–0) with a 23–9 win over Georgia. The Yellow Jackets were invited to the Sugar Bowl to face unbeaten, but twice tied (8–0–2) and No. 6 Mississippi, a conference rival whom they had not faced during the regular season. No. 4 Oklahoma closed its season at Oklahoma A&M, winning 54–7 to finish 8–1–1. In the final AP poll, released December 1, No. 1 Michigan State was the champion, followed by No. 2 Georgia Tech, No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 4 Oklahoma, and No. 5 USC.

Conference standings
For this article, major conferences defined as those including at least one state flagship public university or a team ranked in the AP Poll.

Bowl games
As late as 1952, many colleges, and some football conferences, did not participate in postseason bowl games. No. 1 Michigan State had joined the Big Ten conference in 1950 for football, but as part of the terms of membership, was ineligible to play in a bowl game until the 1953 season. No. 3 Notre Dame had a policy against playing in postseason games. No. 4 Oklahoma was a member of the Big 7 conference (which later, as the Big 8 and Big 12, would send its best team to the Orange Bowl), and that conference banned post-season games. The Oklahoma University Board of Regents considered a motion to allow the team to accept an invitation from the Orange Bowl, and passed a resolution that stated that "Oklahoma belongs to the Big Seven Conference and has followed its rules in the past and should follow them in the future.". Thus, three of the nation's four "top teams" did not play in a bowl game. The exception was Georgia Tech, which played as the SEC champ in the Sugar Bowl. In a forerunner of the SEC championship game, the two best teams in the conference met, with No. 7 Ole Miss accepting the invitation to play against Tech.

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

Source:

Total offense
The following players were the individual leaders in total offense among major college football players during the 1952 season: 1. Ted Marchibroda, Detroit, 1,813 yards 2. Zeke Bratkowski, Georgia, 1,774 yards 3. Tommy O'Connell, Illinois, 1,724 yards 4. Don Heinrich, Washington, 1,652 yards 5. Chuck Maloy, Holy Cross, 1,589 yards 6. Gene Rossi, Cincinnati, 1,588 yards 7. Ronnie Morris, Tulsa, 1,571 yards 8. Dick Shinaut, Texas Western, 1,527 yards 9. John Borton, Ohio State, 1,512 yards 10. Bill Brehany, VMI, 1,497 yards

Passing
The following players were the individual leaders in pass completions among major college football players during the 1952 season: 1. Don Heinrich, Washington, 137 of 270 (50.7%), 1,647 yards, 17 interceptions, 13 touchdowns 2. Tommy O'Connell, Illinois, 133 of 224 (59.4%), 1,761 yards, 17 interceptions, 12 touchdowns 3. Zeke Bratkowski, Georgia, 131 of 262 (50.0%), 1,824 yards, 16 interceptions, 12 touchdowns 4. Chuck Maloy, Holy Cross, 126 of 288 (43.8%), 1,514 yards, 16 interceptions, 13 touchdowns 5. John Borton, Ohio State, 115 of 196 (58.7%), 1,555 yards, 6 interceptions, 15 touchdowns 6. Jim Haluska, Wisconsin, 112 of 199 (56.3%), 1,410 yards, 18, 12 touchdowns 7. Roger Franz, Fordham, 105 of 216 (48.6%), 1,392 yards, 12 interceptions, 6 touchdowns 8. Dale Samuels, Purdue, 104 of 185 (56.2%), 1,131 yards, 6 interceptions, 10 touchdowns 9. Ted Marchibroda, Detroit, 103 of 240 (42.9%), 1,637 yards, 13 interceptions, 9 touchdowns 10. Dick Shinaut, Texas Western, 100 of 170 (58.8%), 1,559 yards, 8 interceptions, 12 touchdowns

Rushing
The following players were the individual leaders in rushing yards among major college football players during the 1952 season: 1. Howard Waugh, Tulsa, 1,372 yards on 164 carries (8.37 average) 2. Billy Vessels, Oklahoma, 1,072 yards on 161 carries (6.66 average) 3. Buck McPhail, Oklahoma, 1,018 yards on 161 carries (6.32 average) 4. Bobby Marlow, Alabama, 950 yards on 176 carries (5.40 average) 5. Dick Clasby, Harvard, 950 yards on 205 carries (4.63 average) 6. Alan Ameche, Wisconsin, 946 yards on 205 carries (4.61 average) 7. Williams, Hardin-Simmons, 898 yards on 180 carries (4.99 average) 8. Gene Filipski, Villanova, 889 yards on 138 carries (6.44 average) 9. Dick Curran, Arizona State, 870 yards on 114 carries (7.63 average) 10. Johnny Olszewski, California, 845 yards on 160 carries (5.28 average)

Receiving
The following players were the individual leaders in receptions among major college football players during the 1952 season: 1. Ed Brown, Fordham, 57 receptions,774 yards, 6 touchdowns 2. Joe McClaran, Drake, 47 receptions, 666 yards, 6 touchdowns 3. Jack Carroll, Holy Cross, 46 receptions, 609 yards, 4 touchdowns 4. Rocky Ryan, Illinois, 45 receptions, 714 yards, 5 touchdowns 5. Rex Smith, Illinois, 45 receptions, 642 yards, 4 touchdowns 6. Al Ward, Columbia, 43 receptions, 615 yards, 3 touchdowns 7. Bernie Flowers, Purdue, 43 receptions, 603 yards, 7 touchdowns 8. Black, Washington, 42 receptions, 637 yards, 7 touchdowns 9. Monte Brethauer, Oregon, 41 receptions, 486 yards, 2 touchdowns 10. Jim Byron, VMI, 40 receptions, 755 yards, 8 touchdowns

Scoring
The following players were the individual leaders in scoring among major college football players during the 1952 season: 1. Jackie Parker, Mississippi State, 120 points (16 TD, 24 PAT) 2. Billy Vessels, Oklahoma, 108 points (18 TD) 3. Bob Haner, Villanova, 99 points 4. Buford Long, Florida, 84 points (14 TD)

Total offense
The following teams were the leaders in total offense in major college football during the 1952 season: 1. Tulsa, 466.6 yards per game 2. San Jose State, 430.1 yards per game 3. Michigan State, 428.7 yards per game 4. Princeton, 428.0 yards per game 5. Oklahoma, 425.5 yards per game 6. Wisconsin, 388.6 yards per game 7. Cincinnati, 388.2 yards per game 8. Texas, 386.5 yards per game 9. Ole Miss, 383.1 yards per game 10. West Virginia, 377.2 yards per game 10. Maryland, 377.2 yards per game

Total defense
The following teams were the leaders in total defense in major college football during the 1952 season: 1. Tennessee, 166.7 yards per game 2. Georgia Tech, 173.2 yards per game 3. USC, 177.5 yards per game 4. Virginia, 196.3 yards per game 5. Maryland, 200.9 yards per game 6. Navy, 209.3 yards per game 7. West Virginia, 211.2 yards per game 8. Duke, 212.1 yards per game 9. Wake Forest, 214.2 yards per game 10. Houston, 215.0 yards per game