1959 Syracuse Orangemen football team
American college football season
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The 1959 Syracuse Orangemen football team represented Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York during the 1959 college football season. Led by eleventh-year head coach Ben Schwartzwalder, the independent Orangemen were undefeated and won the school's only national championship in football, topping the rankings by wide margins in the final polls in early December.[2][3][4][5]
| 1959 Syracuse Orangemen football | |
|---|---|
Cotton Bowl Classic, W 23–14 vs. Texas | |
| Conference | Independent |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 1 |
| AP | No. 1 |
| Record | 11–0 |
| Head coach |
|
| Captain | Gerhard Schwedes[1] |
| Home stadium | Archbold Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 1 Syracuse | – | 11 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 12 Penn State | – | 9 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Holy Cross | – | 6 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 20 Pittsburgh | – | 6 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boston College | – | 5 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Army | – | 4 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boston University | – | 4 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colgate | – | 2 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Villanova | – | 1 | – | 9 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rankings from AP poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
They met fourth-ranked Texas in the Cotton Bowl Classic in Dallas on New Year's Day. They led 15–0 at halftime and 23–6 after the three quarters. Texas scored midway through the fourth quarter to draw to 23–14, but there was no further scoring, and Syracuse gained its first bowl win.[6] Unranked at the start of the season, Syracuse finished with an 11–0 record with five shutouts, and outscored its opponents 413–73.
Notable players included sophomore running back Ernie Davis, winner of the Heisman Trophy in 1961 and the first selection of the 1962 NFL draft. In the Cotton Bowl Classic, he scored the first two touchdowns and threw a pass to Gerhard Schwedes for the third.[6] Davis was helped by an offensive line that included unanimous first team All-American guard Roger Davis.
The team was named national champion by AP, Billingsley, Boand, DeVold, Football News, Football Research, Football Writers, Helms, Litkenhous, NCF, NFF, Poling, Sagarin (ELO-Chess), UPI, and Williamson,[7] leading to a consensus national champion designation.
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 26 | Kansas | W 35–21 | 25,000 | [8] | ||
| October 3 | Maryland | No. 20 |
| W 29–0 | 30,000 | [9] |
| October 10 | vs. Navy | No. 12 | W 32–6 | 31,700 | [10] | |
| October 17 | Holy Cross | No. 8 |
| W 42–6 | 30,000 | [11] |
| October 24 | West Virginia | No. 6 |
| W 44–0 | 35,000 | [12] |
| October 31 | at Pittsburgh | No. 5 | W 35–0 | 25,761 | [13] | |
| November 7 | at No. 7 Penn State | No. 4 | W 20–18 | 32,800–34,000 | [14] | |
| November 14 | Colgate | No. 1 |
| W 71–0 | 31,000 | [15] |
| November 21 | at Boston University | No. 1 | W 46–0 | 22,000 | [16] | |
| December 5 | at No. 17 UCLA | No. 1 | W 36–8 | 46,436–46,557 | [17][18] | |
| January 1, 1960 | vs. No. 4 Texas | No. 1 | W 23–14 | 75,504 | [6] | |
Game summaries
Kansas
Maryland
Vs. Navy
Holy Cross
West Virginia
At Pittsburgh
At Penn State
Colgate
At Boston University
At UCLA
Vs. Texas—Cotton Bowl Classic
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Syracuse | 7 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 23 |
| Texas | 0 | 0 | 6 | 8 | 14 |
- Date: January 1
- Location: Cotton Bowl, Dallas, TX
- Game attendance: 98,202
- Television network: CBS
1960 NFL draft
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roger Davis | Guard | 1 | 7 | Chicago Bears |
| Gerhard Schwedes | Running back | 4 | 47 | Baltimore Colts |
| Bob Yates | Tackle | 7 | 84 | New York Giants |
| Dave Baker | End | 17 | 204 | New York Giants |
