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Message: [QUOTE="SWC75, post: 4168762, member: 289"] 1958 [URL unfurl="true"]http://www.tiptop25.com/champ1958.html[/URL] [URL unfurl="true"]https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1958_NCAA_University_Division_football_rankings[/URL] [URL unfurl="true"]http://www.tiptop25.com/fixing1958.html[/URL] On the surface, this year is simple: Louisiana State went 11-0-0 and everyone behind them o had a loss or a tie, (one contender had both and another had 2 ties). As Vautravers points out, those records are deceiving. He promoted the case for 9-1-1 Iowa because they played the toughest schedule of any of the contenders. He dismissed the cases for 9-0-1 Army and Auburn, 9-0-2 Air Force and 10-1-0 Oklahoma because of weaker schedules. Not so fast, my friend. Firstly, I’ve never seen so many ties among top teams. Suppose we pretended that ties don’t exist. Now LSU is 10-0, Iowa 9-1, Army, Auburn and Air Force 9-0 and Oklahoma 10-1. That tightens things up a bit. Point differentials? LSU 282-53, Iowa 272-146, Army 264-49, Auburn 173-62, Air Force 247-102, Oklahoma 300-55. Army was Red Blaik’s last team. He didn’t build that team with a war-time draft of other school’s players and there was no cribbing scandal. He’d brought them back to the top the right way and retired undefeated. He also had the Heisman trophy winner. Pete Dawkins. Auburn was the defending champs and in the midst of a 24 game unbeaten string. Oklahoma was the dominant college football program of the 1950’s. Aur Force was the new kids on the block. Let’s look at how those teams were ranked as the season progressed. The polls opened with Ohio State ranked #1, Oklahoma #2, defending national champion Auburn at #5, Army at #9 and Iowa #13. Neither LSU nor Air Force were even thought of. Paul Dietzel had been at LSU for three years and was 11-17-2. Air Force was in the third year of its football program and they’d gone 13-12-2, playing junior varsity teams in 1955, small colleges in 1956 and mid-majors in 1957. The one “power conference” type-team they played in 1957, was UCLA, who beat them 47-0. But they, like LSU, got good in a hurry. In the second poll, Auburn rose to #3 after a 13-0 win over Tennessee while LSU appeared at #15, (#13 in the coach’s poll) after beating Bear Bryant’s first Alabama team, 13-3. They were #2 in week 3 while Army rose to #4 with a 26-0 win over Penn State. That’s the week Iowa was stunned to be tied by Air Force at home, 13-13. That put the Falcons on the map. Oklahoma was #1. Auburn moved to #1 after the Sooners lost to Texas by a single point, 14-15. Army became #2 after beating Notre Dame 14-2. The became the #1 team when Auburn tied Georgia Tech 7-7. The Cadets kept the top spot until Pittsburgh tied them 14-14 in Week 6. LSU made it to #3 that week, while Iowa cracked the Top 10 with their win over red-hot Wisconsin. In week #7, LSU grabbed the #1 sport with Iowa #2 after they beat red-hot Northwestern, then Army, then Auburn. With Oklahoma #7. Air Force cracked the top ten in week #8. They all kept winning and in the final AP poll, it was LSU, Iowa, Army, Auburn, Oklahoma and Air Force, at 1-6. LSU and Iowa beat lesser opponents in their bowl games, (the Tigers barely, the Hawkeyes impressively). Oklahoma beat Syracuse, who would become the following year’s national champion), 21-6 in the Orange Bowl. Air Force further confirmed their status by tying SWC champ TCU in the Cotton Bowl. Auburn was still on probation, (but ranked in both polls) and Army didn’t do bowl games in those years. How could we put them all in a playoff? How about putting all six teams int eh first round, then having the two lowest ranked winners play in the second round and the winner of that game against the highest-rated frost round winner? Let’s Have LSU play Auburn, Army play Asir Force, (which they didn’t do until 1959, when, of course, they tied them 13-13) and Iowa play Oklahoma? Louisiana State beat Alabama 13-3 who lost to Auburn 8-14 = +4 LSU Louisiana State beat Kentucky 32-7 who lost to Auburn 0-8 = +17 LSU Louisiana State beat Florida 10-7 who lost to Auburn 5-6 = +2 LSU Louisiana State beat Mississippi State 7-6 who lost to Auburn 14-33 = +18 Auburn Louisiana State beat Mississippi 14-0 who beat Kentucky 27-6 who beat Georgia Tech 13-0 who tied Auburn 7-7 = +48 LSU Result: +53/5 LSU who wins by 11 points Army beat South Carolina 45-8 who beat Georgia 24-14 who lost to Texas 8-13 who beat Texas tech 12-7 who beat Arizona 33-6 who lost to New Mexico 13-33 who lost to Air Force 7-45 = +13 Army Army beat Navy 22-6 who lost to Tulane 6-14 who lost to Texas 20-21 who lost to Texas Christian 8-22 who tied Air Force 0-0 = +7 Air Force Army beat Penn State 26-0 who lost to Nebraska 7-14 who lost to Kansas State 6-23 who beat Wyoming 17-14 who lost to Air Force 6-21 = +10 Air Force Army beat Notre Dame 14-2 who lost to Iowa 21-31 who tied Air Force 13-13 = +2 Army Army beat Villanova 26-0 who lost to Wichita State 6-21 who lost to Oklahoma State 12-43 who lost to Air Force 29-33 = -24 Air Force Result: +26/5 = Air Force wins by 5 Iowa tied Air Force 13-13 who beat Oklahoma State 33-29 who lost to Oklahoma 0-7 = +3 Oklahoma Iowa beat Wisconsin 20-9 who beat U of Miami 20-0 who lost to Boston College 2-6 who lost to Syracuse 14-24 who lost to Oklahoma 6-21 = +2 Iowa Iowa lost to Ohio State 28-38 who beat Southern Methodist 23-20 who beat Missouri 32-19 who lost to Oklahoma 0-39 = +33 Oklahoma Iowa beat Texas Christian 17-0 who beat Texas 22-8 who beat Oklahoma 15-14 = +32 Iowa Iowa beat California 38-12 who beat Utah 36-21 who lost to Colorado 0-7 who lost to Oklahoma 7-23 = +18 Iowa Result: +16/5 = Iowa wins by 3. Iowa tied Air Force 13-13 = even Iowa beat Texas Christian 17-0 who tied Air Force 0-0 = +17 for Iowa Iowa beat Wisconsin 20-9 who beat Marquette 50-0 who lost to Arizona State 18-42 who beat New Mexico State 23-19 who lost to New Mexico 7-16 who lost to Air Force 7-45 = +6 for Air Force Iowa lost to Ohio State 28-38 who beat Southern Methodist 23-20 who beat Missouri 32-19 who lost to Oklahoma 0-39 who beat Oklahoma State 7-0 = +26 Air Force Iowa beat California 38-12 who beat Utah 36-21 who lost to Wyoming 20-25 who lost to Air Force 6-21 = +21 Iowa Result: +6/5 = Iowa wins by 1 Louisiana State beat Alabama 13-3 who beat Georgia 12-0 who beat Florida State 28-13, who lost to Oklahoma State 6-15 who lost to Air Force 29-33 who tied Iowa 13-13 = +24 LSU Louisiana State beat Kentucky 32-7 who tied Vanderbilt 0-0 who beat Virginia 39-6 who lost to Virginia Tech 13-22 who lost to West Virginia 20-21 who lost to Indiana 12-13 who lost to Ohio State 8-49 who beat Iowa 38-28 = +16 LSU Louisiana State beat Florida 10-7 who beat UCLA 21-14 who lost to California 17-20 who lost to Iowa 12-38 = +19 Iowa Louisiana State beat Mississippi State 7-6 who beat Florida 14-7 who beat U of Miami 12-9 who lost to Wisconsin 0-20 who lost to Iowa 9-20 = +20 Iowa Louisiana State beat Mississippi 14-0 who beat Arkansas 14-12 who lost to Texas Christian 7-12 who lost to Iowa 0-17 = +6 Iowa Result: +5/5 = Iowa wins by 1 [/QUOTE]

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