1953 college football season

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 season finished with four teams selected as national champions:
 * Maryland finished the regular season undefeated (10–0) and was ranked No. 1 in the final Associated Press (AP), United Press (UP) coaches, and International News Service polls (all released before the bowl games were played). The Terrapins then lost to No. 4 Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl.
 * Notre Dame compiled a 9–0–1 record (including victories over Oklahoma and Georgia Tech) and was ranked No. 2 in the final AP and UP polls. The Irish have been recognized as the national champion by 11 official selectors. Notre Dame's Johnny Lattner won the Heisman Trophy and the Maxwell Award as the best player in college football. Notre Dame does not recognize this title due to its policy of only recognizing AP or Coaches Poll titles during the polling era (1936–present).
 * Oklahoma compiled a 9–1–1, including a victory over No. 1 Maryland in the Orange Bowl. The Sooners were ranked No. 4 in the final AP poll but have but have been recognized as national champion by Berryman (QPRS) and College Football Researchers Association.
 * Prairie View compiled a perfect 12–0 record, outscored opponents by a total of 387 to 88, and was recognized as the black college national champion.

The Cincinnati Bearcats, under head coach Sid Gilman, compiled a 9–1 record and led the country in both total offense (409.5 yards per game) and total defense (184.3 yards per game).

Small college teams compiling perfect records included Juniata (three consecutive undefeated seasons), Peru State (part of 26-game winning streak), and Shippensburg (consecutive perfect seasons).

Individual statistical leaders in major college football included Paul Larson of California with 1,572 yards of total offense; Bobby Garrett of Stanford with 1,637 passing yards; J. C. Caroline of Illinois with 1,256 rushing yards; Johnny Carson of Georgia with 663 receiving yards; and Earl Lindley of Utah State with 81 points scored.

Conference changes

 * Three conferences began play in 1953:
 * Atlantic Coast Conference – an active NCAA Division I FBS conference; formed by seven former members of the Southern Conference with an eighth member, Virginia added in December 1953
 * Eastern Intercollegiate Conference – active through the 1959 season
 * Prairie College Conference – active through the 1967 season
 * One conference changed its name in 1953:
 * With the addition of independent Michigan State, the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives (commonly the Big Nine Conference) once again became the Big Ten Conference (the league had 10 members before Chicago's departure in 1946). The Big Ten name was not officially adopted until 1987.

September
In the preseason poll released on September 14, 1953, Notre Dame was rated first, followed by the defending champion, Michigan State, Georgia Tech, UCLA, and Alabama. As the regular season progressed, a new poll would be issued on the Monday following the weekend's games.

In a Friday night game at Los Angeles, No. 4 UCLA beat Oregon State 41–0. Meanwhile, at Montgomery, AL, No. 5 Alabama was shocked by Southern Mississippi, 25–19. The next day, September 19 No. 3 Georgia Tech beat Davidson, 53–0. Notre Dame and Michigan State began their seasons the following week.

On September 26 No. 1 Notre Dame won 28–21 at No. 6 Oklahoma. No. 2 Michigan State won at Iowa, 21–7. No. 3 Georgia Tech went to No. 15 Florida and was held to a 0–0 tie. No. 4 UCLA beat Kansas 19–7. Still at No. 5, Alabama, trying to salvage some respect against a second unranked opponent, went to 0–1–1 after a 7–7 tie against LSU in Mobile; in the poll that followed, the Crimson Tide fell completely out of the Top 20. No. 9 Maryland, which had won 52–0 at Washington and Lee, rose to third, and previously unranked Michigan (a 50–0 victor over Washington), entered the poll at fourth. The top five were No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Michigan State, No. 3 Maryland, No. 4 Michigan, and No. 5 UCLA.

October
October 3 With the exception of No. 4 Michigan, which beat Tulane 26–7 at home, the other top teams won on the road: No. 1 Notre Dame at Purdue, 37–7, No. 2 Michigan State at Minnesota 21–0, No. 3 Maryland at Clemson, 20–0, and No. 5 UCLA defeated Oregon 12–0 in an away game. No. 6 Ohio State, which won 33–19 at California, rose to third in the next poll, knocking UCLA down to sixth. The Big Ten had three of the spots in the top five: No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Michigan State, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Maryland, and No. 5 Michigan.

October 10  No. 1 Notre Dame was idle, but stayed at No. 1 after No. 2 Michigan State's 26–19 win over TCU. No. 4 Maryland won 40–13 over Georgia and No. 5 Michigan edged Iowa 14–13. The night before, No. 3 Ohio State had lost 40–21 to Illinois, while No. 6 UCLA returned to the top bracket with a 13–0 win over visiting Wisconsin. The next poll: No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Michigan State, No. 3 Maryland, No. 4 UCLA, and No. 5 Michigan.

October 17 No. 1 Notre Dame beat No. 15 Pittsburgh 23–14. No. 2 Michigan State defeated Indiana 47–18. No. 3 Maryland won 26–0 at North Carolina. No. 4 UCLA lost at Stanford, 21–20. No. 5 Michigan beat Northwestern 20–12. No. 6 Georgia Tech, which beat Auburn 36–6, took UCLA's place in the next poll: No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Michigan State, No. 3 Maryland, No. 4 Georgia Tech, and No. 5 Michigan.

October 24 No. 1 Notre Dame stayed unbeaten with a 27–14 win over No. 4 Georgia Tech. No. 2 Michigan State lost 6–0 at Purdue and No. 5 Michigan lost at Minnesota 22–0. No. 3 Maryland won a Friday game at Miami, 30–0. Coming into the Top Five were No. 6 Baylor (14–13 over No. 15 Texas A&M), No. 7 Illinois (20–13 over Syracuse), and No. 8 West Virginia (52–20 over VMI). The next poll: No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Maryland, No. 3 Baylor, No. 4 Illinois, and No. 5 West Virginia.

October 31 No. 1 Notre Dame beat No. 20 Navy 38–7. No. 2 Maryland beat South Carolina 24–6. No. 3 Baylor beat TCU 25–7. No. 4 Illinois defeated Purdue 21–0. No. 5 West Virginia won at Penn State 20–19. No. 6 Michigan State, which beat Oregon State 34–6, rose to fifth. The next poll: No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Maryland, No. 3.Baylor, No. 4 Illinois, and No. 5 Michigan State.

November
November 7 No. 1 Notre Dame won 28–20 at Penn. No. 2 Maryland beat George Washington University 27–6 at a game in Washington, DC. No. 3 Baylor lost at No. 19 Texas, 21–20. No. 4 Illinois beat No. 17 Michigan 9–3. No. 5 Michigan State won 28–13 at No. 16 Ohio State, and No. 6 Georgia Tech beat Clemson 20–7. The next poll featured No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Maryland, No. 3 Illinois, No. 4 Michigan State, and No. 5 Georgia Tech.

November 14 No. 1 Notre Dame won at North Carolina, 34–14, and No. 2 Maryland beat No. 11 Mississippi 38–0 as both stayed unbeaten and untied. No. 4 Michigan State beat Michigan 14–6. On the other hand, No. 3 Illinois lost to Wisconsin, 34–7 and No. 5 Georgia Tech fell 13–6 to Alabama in a game at Birmingham. Returning to the Top Five to take their place were No. 6 Oklahoma and No. 7 UCLA, which had defeated Iowa State (47–0) and Washington (22–6), respectively. The next ranking was No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Maryland, No. 3 Michigan State, No. 4 Oklahoma, and No. 5 UCLA.

November 21 Number one since the season began, No. 1 Notre Dame played to a 14–14 tie with No. 20 Iowa in a controversial game where Notre Dame's players were accused of faking injuries to stop the clock and gain time for a final touchdown. No. 2 Maryland closed its season with a 21–0 win over No. 11 Alabama to finish the season unbeaten and untied at 10–0–0. No. 3 Michigan State closed with a 21–15 win over Marquette. No. 4 Oklahoma beat Nebraska 30–7, and No. 5 UCLA beat No. 9 USC, 13–0. The next poll featured No. 1 Maryland, No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 Michigan State, No. 4 Oklahoma, and No. 5 UCLA.

November 28 The new No. 1, Maryland had already finished its season. No. 2 Notre Dame, with a 48–14 win at No. 20 USC, and No. 4 Oklahoma (42–7 over Oklahoma A&M) were the only Top Five members who hadn't closed their seasons.

November 30 The final AP Poll ranked Maryland, the only unbeaten and untied team, No. 1 with 187 first place votes. Unbeaten, once-tied, and one-game-left-to-play No. 2 Notre Dame received 141 votes.

December 5 Notre Dame beat visiting SMU 40–14. No additional AP Poll was taken because there were few other games played this Saturday.

ACC member Maryland would accept a bid to the Orange Bowl to meet once-beaten (8–1–1), Big 7 champ, and No. 4 Oklahoma, while No. 3 Michigan State and No. 5 UCLA would meet in the Rose Bowl. Notre Dame declined to participate in a postseason game.

Postseason
After the AP national champion Maryland lost in the Orange Bowl, there was a lot of controversy since the AP Poll had been finalized beforehand and could not be changed to take this result into account. This Maryland loss resulted in Notre Dame being ranked No. 1 by 10 polls, including Billingsley, Boand, DeVold, Dunkel, National Championship Foundation, Williamson, and several others. As a reward for beating the Terrapins, the Sooners received No. 1 from Berryman and Football Research.

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 1953 season: 1. Paul Larson, California, 1,572 yards 2. Lamar McHan, Arkansas, 1,516 yards 3. Joe Mastrogiovanni, Wyoming, 1,514 yards 4. Bobby Garrett, Stanford, 1,502 yards 5. Zeke Bratkowski, Georgia, 1,416 yards 6. Paul Giel, Minnesota, 1,339 yards 7. Richard "Iron Man" Carr, Columbia, 1,262 yards 8. J. C. Caroline, Illinois, 1,256 yards 9. Sandy Lederman, Washington, 1,133 yards 10. Don Ellis, Texas A&M, 1,128 yards

Passing
The following players were the individual leaders in pass completions among major college football players during the 1953 season: 1. Bobby Garrett, Stanford, 118 of 205 (57.6%), 1,637 yards, 10 interceptions, 17 touchdowns 2. Zeke Bratkowski, Georgia, 113 of 224 (50.4%), 1,461 yards, 23 interceptions, 6 touchdowns 3. Sandy Lederman, Washington, 92 of 189 (48.7%), 1,157 yards, 14 interceptions, 8 touchdowns 4. Paul Larson, California, 85 of 171 (49.7%), 1,431 yards, 16 interceptions, 6 touchdowns 5. Tony Rados,Penn State, 81 of 171 (47.4%), 1,025 yards, 12 interceptions, 8 touchdowns 6. Don Rydalch, Utah, 78 of 128 (60.9%), 980 yards, 8 interceptions, 7 touchdowns 7. Lamar McHan, Arkansas, 78 of 150 (52.0%), 1,107 yards, 11 interceptions, 8 touchdowns 8. Richard "Iron Man" Carr, Columbia, 77 of 191 (40.3%), 1,367 yards, 18 interceptions, 13 touchdowns 9. Don Ellis, Texas A&M, 76 of 171 (44.4%), 950 yards, 14 interceptions, 4 touchdowns 10. Dick Thomas, Northwestern, 74 of 145 (51.0%), 933 yards, 7 interceptions, 5 touchdowns 10. Cotton Davidson, Baylor, 74 of 156 (47.4%), 1,092 yards, 16 interceptions, 9 touchdowns

Rushing
The following players were the individual leaders in rushing yards among major college football players during the 1953 season: 1. J. C. Caroline, Illinois, 1,256 yards on 194 carries (6.47 average) 2. Kosse Johnson, Rice, 944 yards on 187 carries (5.05 average) 3. Kenny Cardella, Arizona, 915 yards on 148 carries (6.18 average) 4. Bobby Watkins, Ohio State, 875 yards on 153 carries (5.72 average) 5. Neil Worden, Notre Dame, 859 yards on 145 carries (5.92 average) 6. Dicky Moegle, Rice, 833 yards on 114 carries (7.31 average) 7. Alan Ameche, Wisconsin, 801 yards on 165 carries (4.85 average) 8. Larry Grigg, Oklahoma, 792 yards on 130 carries (6.09 average) 9. Bobby Cavazos, Texas Tech, 757 yards on 97 carries (7.80 average) 10. Chet Hanulak, Maryland, 753 yards on 77 carries (9.78 average)

Receiving
The following players were the individual leaders in receptions among major college football players during the 1953 season: 1. Johnny Carson, Georgia, 45 receptions, 663 yards, 4 touchdowns 2. Ken Buck, Pacific, 45 receptions, 660 yards, 5 touchdowns 3. Sam Morley, Stanford, 45 receptions, 594 yards, 6 touchdowns 4. John Steinberg, Stanford, 32 receptions, 425 yards, 3 touchdowns 5. Dave McLaughlin, Dartmouth, 31 receptions, 592 yards, 6 touchdowns 6. Floyd Sagely, Arkansas, 30 receptions, 542 yards, 3 touchdowns 6. John Allen, Arizona State, 30 receptions, 505 yards, 8 touchdowns 6. Chet Lyssy, Hardin-Simmons, 30 receptions, 389 yards, 5 touchdowns 6. Jim Garrity, Penn State, 30 receptions, 349 yards, 3 touchdowns 10. Dale Hopp, Columbia, 29 receptions, 437 yards, 4 touchdowns 10. Andy Nacrelli, Fordham, 29 receptions, 428 yards, 3 touchowns

Scoring
The following players were the individual leaders in scoring among major college football players during the 1953 season: 1. Earl Lindley, Utah State, 81 points (13 TD, 3 PAT) 2. Bobby Cavazos, Texas Tech, 80 points (13 TD, 2 PAT) 3. Larry Grigg, Oklahoma, 78 points (13 TD) 3. Fred Mahaffey, Denver, 78 points (13 TD) 3. Johnny Mapp, VMI, 78 points (13 TD) 6. Burgmeier, Detroit, 72 points (12 TD) 6. Cameron, UCLA, 72 points (12 TD) 8. Lewis, Texas Tech, 67 points (11 TD, 1 PAT) 8. Joe Mastrogiovanni, 67 points (9 TD, 13 PAT) 10. Bates, Illinois, 66 points (11 TD) 10. Gatewood, Drake, 66 points (11 TD) 10. Talley, California, 66 points (11 TD)

Total offense
The following teams were the leaders in total offense in major college football during the 1953 season: 1. Cincinnati, 409.5 yards per game 2. Notre Dame, 383.9 yards per game 3. West Virginia, 377.6 yards per game 4. Texas Tech, 376.5 yards per game 5. Utah, 375.1 yards per game 6. Maryland, 359.5 yards per game 7. Rice, 358.6 yards per game 8. Illinois, 356.1 yards per game 9. Oklahoma, 352.1 yards per game 10. Army, 348.4 yards per game

Total defense
The following teams were the leaders in total defense in major college football during the 1954 season: 1. Cincinnati, 184.3 yards per game 2. UCLA, 188.4 yards per game 3. Maryland, 193.2 yards per game 4. Yale, 194.9 yards per game 5. Syracuse, 196.6 yards per game 6. Oklahoma, 196.9 yards per game 7. Texas Western, 198.6 yards per game 8. Wichita, 198.8 yards per game 9. Detroit, 199.6 yards per game 10. West Virginia, 203.9 yards per game