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Message: [QUOTE="SWC75, post: 2571911, member: 289"] COMPARISONS I like to draw comparative score lines from each opponent to a (different) opponent of the other team. Here is Ohio State vs. UCLA: Ohio State was: +28 over Indiana who was +28 over Pacific who was +13 over Idaho who was -41 under Oregon who was -41 under UCLA = [B]+13 for UCLA[/B] +8 over California who was -21 under UCLA = [B]+13 for UCLA[/B] +33 over Illinois who was -10 under Stanford who was -72 under UCLA = [B]+49 for UCLA[/B] +17 over Wisconsin who was +27 over Minnesota who was +38 over Oregon State who was -61 under UCLA = [B]+21 Ohio State[/B] +7 over Northwestern who was +13 over Iowa State who was +27 over Kansas who was -25 under UCLA = [B]+22 for Ohio State[/B] +22 over Purdue who was +31 over Missouri who was -61 under Maryland who was -5 under UCLA = [B]+13 for UCLA[/B] +14 over Michigan who was +14 over Washington who was -1 under UCLA = [B]+27 for Ohio State[/B] +13 over Southern California who was -34 under UCLA = [B]+21 for UCLA[/B] UCLA’s first opponent, San Diego Naval training Station, does not appear to have played any other collegiate teams and I could not find anything with military scores so there are only 8 connections, which total +39 for UCLA who won 5 of the 8 comparisons, (an average of +5) and the two games against common opponents. Here is Ohio State vs. Oklahoma: Ohio State was: +28 over Indiana who was -6 under Missouri who was -21 under Oklahoma = [B]+1 for Oklahoma[/B] +8 over California who was -14 under Oklahoma = [B]+6 for Oklahoma[/B] +33 over Illinois who was -13 under Minnesota who was +12 over Nebraska who was +4 over Kansas State who was -21 under Oklahoma = [B]+15 for Oklahoma[/B] +6 over Iowa who was -16 under Notre Dame who was +12 over Southern Methodist who was +18 over Kansas who was -65 under Oklahoma = [B]+45 for Oklahoma[/B] +17 over Wisconsin who was +6 over Rice who was +6 over Texas who was -7 under Oklahoma [B]= +22 for Ohio State[/B] +7 over Northwestern who was +13 over Iowa State who was -40 under Oklahoma = [B]+20 for Oklahoma[/B] +26 over Pittsburgh who was +14 over Nebraska who was -48 under Oklahoma = [B]+8 for Oklahoma[/B] +22 over Purdue who was +31 over Missouri who was -23 under Kansas who was -35 under Oklahoma State who was -14 under Oklahoma = [B]+19 for Oklahoma[/B] +14 over Michigan who was +14 over Washington who was +1 over Utah who was -13 under Colorado who was -7 under Oklahoma = [B]+9 for Ohio State[/B] +13 over Southern California who was -13 under Texas Christian who was -5 under Oklahoma = [B]+5 Oklahoma[/B] The Sooners win 8 of the 10 comparisons by a total of 88 points, (an average of +9) So much for strength of schedule. Let’s do UCLA vs. Oklahoma: (Throw out San Diego Navy) UCLA was +25 over Kansas who was -65 under Oklahoma = [B]+40 for Oklahoma[/B] +5 over Maryland who was +61 over Missouri who was -21 under Oklahoma = [B]+45 for UCLA[/B] +1 Washington who was +1 over Utah who was -13 under Colorado who was -7 under Oklahoma = [B]+18 for Oklahoma[/B] +72 Stanford who was -4 under Washington State who was -26 under Texas who was -7 under Oklahoma = [B]+35 for UCLA[/B] +61 Oregon State who was -20 under Nebraska who was -48 under Oklahoma = [B]+7 for Oklahoma[/B] +21 California who was -14 under Oklahoma = [B]+7 for UCLA[/B] +41 Oregon who was -1 under Utah who was +7 over Wyoming who was -8 under Oklahoma State who was -14 under Oklahoma = [B]+25 for UCLA[/B] +34 Southern California who was -13 under Texas Christian who was -5 under Oklahoma = [B]+16 for UCLA[/B] The Bruins win 5 of the 8 comparisons by a combined 63 points, (an average of 8 points). Overall Oklahoma won 11 comparisons, UCLA 10 and Ohio State 5. But UCLA won both their comparisons and was ahead on points +237 to +192 for Oklahoma and +108 for Ohio State. Wasn’t that fun? Vs. Ranked Teams, (as they were ranked at the time they played them – they get 1-25 points for the ranking of the team they played and then the point differential of the game added to that.): [B]Ohio State [/B] - beat #18 California 21-13 = +16 points - beat #13 Iowa 20-14 = +19 points - beat #2 Wisconsin 31-14 = +41 points - beat #20 Pittsburgh 26-0 = +32 points - beat #12 Michigan 21-7 = +28 points - beat#17 Southern California 20-7 = +22 points TOTAL: +158 points [B]UCLA[/B] - beat #6 Maryland 12-7 = +25 points - beat #7 Southern California 34-0 = +53 points TOTAL: +78 points [B]Oklahoma [/B] - beat #12 California 27-13 = +28 points - beat #20 Texas Christian 21-16 = +11 points - beat #15 Texas 14-7 = +18 points TOTAL: +57 points The Buckeyes finished third in the overall comparison of scores above but were clearly the best against ranked teams. Keep in mind that the Big Ten was the most prestigious conference at this time and an unranked Big Ten team might have been better than an unranked Pacific Coast or Big Eight team. But there was also a tendency to rank Big Ten teams more highly than those in other conferences to begin with. Point Differential Rankings: (If you beat a team by more than anybody else did or tied a team that won all of its other games or lost to a team that beat everybody they played by the smallest margin, you get a ‘1’. If one team did better, you get a ‘2’. If two teams did better, you get a ‘3’, etc. then you average it out. Major college opponents only- no small colleges or service teams.) [B]Ohio State[/B] - beat Indiana by 28 points. No one did better: 1 point - beat California by 8 points. Oklahoma beat them by 14 and UCLA by 21: 3 points - beat Illinois by 33. No one did better: 1 point - beat Iowa by 6 points. Notre Dame beat them by 16: 2 points - beat Wisconsin by 17 points. No one did better: 1 point - beat Northwestern by 7 points. Minnesota beat them 19 and Notre Dame by 21: 3 points - beat Pittsburgh by 26 points. Minnesota beat them 39 points and Notre Dame by 33: 3 points - beat Purdue by 22 points. No one did better: 1 point - beat Michigan by 14 points. Army beat them by 19: 2 points - beat Southern California by 13 points. UCLA beat them by 34: 2 points. That’s 19 points in 10 games or a PDR of 1.90. They were the best team 4 of their major college opponents played. [B]UCLA[/B] - beat Kansas by 25 points. Colorado beat them by 27 as did Iowa State. Oklahoma beat them by 65 and Oklahoma State by 35: 5 points. - beat Maryland by 5 points. No one did better: 1 point. - beat Washington by 1 points. Michigan beat them by 14, Baylor by 27, Stanford by 6, Oregon by 19, California by 21, Southern California by 41 and Washington State by 19: 8 points - beat Stanford by 72 points. No one did better: 1 point. - beat Oregon State by 61 points. No one did better: 1 point. - beat California by 21 points. No one did better: 1 point. - beat Oregon by 41 points. No one did better: 1 point. - beat Southern California by 34 points. No one did better: 1 point. That’s 19 points in 8 games = 2.38 PDR but 1.00 in their last 5 games. They were the best team 6 of their major college opponents played. [B]Oklahoma[/B] - beat California by 14 points. UCLA beat them by 21: 2 points - beat Texas Christian by 5 points. Arkansas beat them by 7, Rice by 6 and Southern Methodist by 15: 4 points. - beat Texas by 7 points. Notre Dame beat them by 21 and Arkansas by 13: 3 points. - beat Kansas by 65 points. No one did better: 1 point. - beat Kansas State by 21 points. Missouri beat them by 28 and Colorado by 24: 3 points - beat Colorado by 7 points. Nebraska beat them by 14: 2 points - beat Iowa State by 40 points. No one did better: 1 point. - beat Missouri by 21 points. Purdue beat them by 31 and Maryland by 61: 3 points - beat Nebraska by 48 points. No one did better: 1 point. - beat Oklahoma State by 14 points. No one did better: 1 point. That’s 21 points in 10 games = 2.10 PDR. They were the best team 4 of their major college opponents had played. Streaks: Oklahoma was in the second year of their legendary 47 game winning streak. 1954 was the first of three straight perfect seasons. The Sooners set a national record by scoring in their 90th consecutive game: they would extend the streak 123 games before Notre beat them 7-0 to end both streaks in 1957. They won the national championship in the other two. UCLA has had a lot of good teams but rarely been near the top of the standings. Easily their greatest era was under Coach Red Sanders from 1952-55, during which they went 34-5-0 and wound up as high as #6, #5, #1 and #4. Their losses were by 2 points to USC, 1 point to Stanford, 8 to Michigan State in the Rose Bowl, 7 to Maryland and 3 to Michigan State in the Rose Bowl again. They had a 9 game winning streak from 1951-52, and 10 from 1954-55. But they never got a long historical streak going. The 1954 Ohio State team was Woody Hayes’ first national title contender. There would be many more but until the late 60’s he didn’t tend to have them in consecutive years. The Big Ten was too tough to allow for long streaks. Michigan had beaten them in the last game of 1953. They then went 10-0 in 1954 and beat Nebraska in their 1955 opener. But then Stanford upset them 6-0 to end their streak at 11 games. Their next title contender would be in 1957, then 1961, then 1968, etc. Team Stats: UCLA had the #5 rushing offense with 286 yards per game and the #1 rushing defense with 73 yards per game. They were #10 in total offense with 367ypg and #8 in total defense with 190 ypg. They led the country in both scoring offense with 41 ppg and defense with 4 ppg. Oklahoma had the #4 rushing offense with 296 ypg and the #2 rushing defense with 87 ypg. They had the #7 total offense with 383 ypg and the #5 total defense with 186 ypg. They were 7th in scoring offense with 30.4ppg and 3rd in scoring defense with 6.2 ppg. Ohio State was 5th in scoring defense with 7.6 ppg but not in any of the other Top Tens. What was said about them: [B]Ohio State[/B]: Woody Hayes was never shy about promoting his team, even if it meant denigrating others. He said that 4-5 Big Ten teams could have beaten his Rose Bowl opponent, USC. “I don’t think UCLA could have stood up to that schedule of ours. Ohio State is definitely #1 in the nation.” He did admit “You have to be lucky to go undefeated” but that could apply to his opponents as well. Dick Hyland of the LA Times angrily countered that “UCLA could take both Ohio State and USC in the same afternoon” and that “if Ohio State is the best team in the country, then the US Marine Corps is a bunch of sissies.” [B]UCLA[/B]: Primo Villaneuva: “When we would break down the film, they were just pretty to watch. When two guards would pull out, shoulder to shoulder, in step like soldiers marching, it was a thing of beauty…There’s a picture that hangs in the athletic department that shows our two guards pulling. The quarterback, the fullback and myself on a sweep and we’re all in step. All of us have our right feet on the ground at the same time. It was an illustration of power and teamwork. I think that tells it all.” USC head coach Jess Hill: “the Bruins deserve their #1 rating in the nation. After they beat Maryland, America’s #1 team a year ago, I said they deserved to be ranked #1 and I’ve never changed my mind.” [B]Oklahoma[/B]: Jim Weeks in “The Sooners: A Story of Oklahoma Football”: The 1954 Sooners…did not start the fabulous winning streak. They did not end it. And, unlike their successors, they did not win a mythical national championship. Forecasts called for uncertainty for Oklahoma football in 1954. Six starters returned from the 1953 team but vital depth would have to be provided by unproven sophomores, (who would go 31-0)…and it was during 1954 that a certain feeling arose among Sooner fans: It was not a question of whether Oklahoma would win. The question concerned by what margin they would win.” Weeks tells a story of George Cross, the president of the university, inviting the newly chosen Chancellor of Nebraska, Clifford Hardin, to watch the game between the two schools in his booth. “Cross recalled Hardin saying “I know we’re not going to win this ballgame but I hope that we are just not humiliated.”. Cross told him that he hoped so, too. It was only 7-7 after the first quarter and “Hardin said he already felt better about the game.” As the score mounted Cross “just sat there literally praying that we wouldn’t score again. Bud played everyone he had but it didn’t matter. All the conversation had died down. There was nothing I could think of to say that wouldn’t have sounded silly. And of course, there was nothing Hardin could think of to say…It was the worst game I ever sat through.” Oklahoma won 55-7. Bud Wilkinson: “If anyone had told us before the season began that we would go through all-victorious, I’d have thought they were crazy. But our 1954 team had a world of fight and was always able to show a little more of it than the other team when the going became tough and the chips were down. That’s the mark of a champion.” Richard Vautravers sees it as split title between Ohio State and UCLA but would vote for the Buckeyes if had to pick only one. He feels Oklahoma’s schedule and their performance against the best teams on it was too weak to rank them with the other two: [URL="http://www.tiptop25.com/champ1954.html"]1954 College Football National Championship[/URL] Of the NCAA approved selectors, AP, Berryman, Boand, DeVold, Football Research, Helms, INS, National Championship Foundation, Poling and Williamson chose Ohio State #1. UCLA was the choice of Billingsley, Dunkel, Football Research, (a tie), Football Writers Association, Helms, (another tie), Litkenhous, and the National Championship Foundation and UPI, (still another tie). That’s 10 for Ohio State and 8 for UCLA, none for Oklahoma. The non-NCAA approved selectors I found on the internet all picked Ohio State #1: Time Travel, Dolphin, Howell, Sorenson, Taylor, (tied with UCLA), Vautravers, (Ditto), Waits and Wilson. With the ties, that’s 8-2 for the Buckeyes. Builly Libby, author of “Championships of College Football” and Robert Leckie, who wrote “the Story of Football”, both had it as a split championship between Ohio State and UCLA. Libby notes that Oklahoma was ”sophomore-studded” and “just hitting their stride”. The College Football Data Warehouse has selectors I can’t even find: [URL='https://web.archive.org/web/20160331143022/http:/cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/national_championships/yearly_results.php?year=1954']https://web.archive.org/web/20160331143022/http://cfbdatawarehouse.com/data/national_championships/yearly_results.php?year=1954[/URL] I count 30 picking Ohio State, 16 UCLA and just one choosing Oklahoma. The sources that have full rankings have these as the top 5 teams of 1954: AP: Ohio State, UCLA, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Navy UPI: UCLA, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Navy Time Travel: Ohio State, Notre Dame, UCLA, Oklahoma, Wisconsin Howell, (who usually doesn’t like Midwestern teams): Ohio State, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, UCLA, Maryland Sorenson: Ohio State, Notre Dame, UCLA, Wisconsin, Oklahoma Vautravers: Ohio State, UCLA, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Navy Waits: Ohio State, UCLA, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Oklahoma Wilson: Ohio State, UCLA, Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Oklahoma Square Gear: Ohio State, Oklahoma, Notre Dame. U of Miami, UCLA On the basis of 5 points for 1st, 4 for 2nd, 3 for 3rd, 2 for 4th and 1 for 5th, the combined standings are: Ohio State 44 points, UCLA 30, Notre Dame 26, Oklahoma 22, Wisconsin 5, Navy and Miami 2 and Maryland 1 (Notre Dame wound up 9-1 and would be in this group and doing very well in the comparisons except for that 13-27 loss to Purdue. They would have made a strong fourth member of a 4 team playoff.) It’s important to note that the Bruins were #1 in both the AP and UPI polls until they had a bye week in week 9. That’s when Ohio State was moved up to #1 in the AP polls despite the fact that their opponent that week was unranked. If the Bruins had played that week, they might have retained the #1 spot in both polls. [/QUOTE]

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