1956 College Football Final Rankings

1956 was the third consecutive season that the Oklahoma Sooners finished the season unbeaten and untied. Not surprisingly, they were awarded the national championship by the major polls. Our analysis agrees - sort of. We think that even though they did lose one game (to the Baylor Bears in the Sugar Bowl), the Tennessee Volunteers had an equally successful season. Remember that in our analysis, each year stands on its own - all teams being treated as equals from the start of the season and ranked based on their performance for that year - so our analysis was not biased in any way by the fact that the Sooners had been undefeated for three consecutive years. It is highly unlikely that voters were able to do the same. (The Sooners did not play in a bowl due to a conference rule that teams could not represent the conference to a bowl in consecutive seasons. A win in a bowl might very well have been enough to break the tie in their favor.)

1. Oklahoma Sooners (10-0) - 1.6
(tie) Tennessee Volunteers (10-1) - 1.6
3. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (10-1) - 3.0
4. Texas A&M Aggies (9-0-1) - 4.6
5. Arizona State Sun Devils (9-1) - 5.0
6. Baylor Bears (9-2) - 6.2
7. Michigan Wolverines (7-2) - 7.6
8. Miami Hurricanes (8-1-1) - 8.7
9. UTEP Miners (9-2) - 9.0
10. Iowa Hawkeyes (9-1) - 10.8
11. Yale Bulldogs (8-1) - 11.1
12. Syracuse Orange (7-2) - 13.9
(tie) Wyoming Cowboys (10-0) - 13.9
14. Pittsburgh Panthers (7-3-1) - 14.1
15. Michigan State Spartans (7-2) - 14.5
16. Ole Miss Rebels (7-3) - 16.2
17. Penn State Nittany Lions (6-2-1) - 16.6
18. TCU Horned Frogs (8-3) - 17.5
19. West Texas A&M Buffaloes (8-2) - 18.3
20. Florida Gators (6-3-1) - 20.6
21. Minnesota Golden Gophers (6-1-2) - 20.7
22. Houston Cougars (7-2-1) - 22.3
23. Ohio State Buckeyes (6-3) - 22.6
24. Colorado Buffaloes (8-2-1) - 24.9
25. USC Trojans (8-2) - 25.8
26. Auburn Tigers (7-3) - 26.4
27. Navy Midshipmen (6-1-2) - 27.0
28. Duke Blue Devils (5-4-1) - 28.3
29. Army Black Knights (5-3-1) - 28.8
30. Oregon State Beavers (7-3-1) - 30.6
31. Clemson Tigers (7-2-2) - 30.9
(tie) George Washington Colonials (8-1-1) - 30.9
33. UCLA Bruins (7-3) - 32.3
34. Virginia Tech Hokies (7-2-1) - 34.3
35. Arkansas Razorbacks (6-4) - 34.6
36. Kentucky Wildcats (6-4) - 36.5
37. Oregon Ducks (4-4-2) - 37.3
38. North Texas Mean Green (7-2-1) - 39.0
(tie) Princeton Tigers (7-2) - 39.0
40. South Carolina Gamecocks (7-3) - 40.0
41. Pacific Tigers (6-3-1) - 41.0
42. Washington Huskies (5-5) - 42.9
43. West Virginia Mountaineers (6-4) - 43.0
44. Tulsa Golden Hurricane (7-2-1) - 43.3
45. Purdue Boilermakers (3-4-2) - 44.7
46. Tulane Green Wave (6-4) - 46.0
47. Florida State Seminoles (5-4-1) - 48.0
48. Rice Owls (4-6) - 48.1
49. Stanford Cardinal (4-6) - 48.6
50. Utah Utes (5-5) - 49.9
51. Villanova Wildcats (5-4) - 50.6
52. Illinois Fighting Illini (2-5-2) - 51.2
53. Brown Bears (5-4) - 52.7
54. Dartmouth Big Green (5-3-1) - 52.9
55. Northwestern Wildcats (4-4-1) - 55.5
56. Vanderbilt Commodores (5-5) - 57.0
57. Holy Cross Crusaders (5-3-1) - 57.5
58. Hardin-Simmons Cowboys (4-6) - 58.5
59. Missouri Tigers (4-5-1) - 58.8
60. Colgate Raiders (4-5) - 59.3
61. Mississippi State Bulldogs (4-6) - 59.8
62. SMU Mustangs (4-6) - 62.3
63. California Golden Bears (3-7) - 62.4
64. Texas Tech Red Raiders (2-7-1) - 63.6
65. Wisconsin Badgers (1-5-3) - 66.0
66. Idaho Vandals (4-5) - 66.6
67. Denver Pioneers (6-4) - 67.1
68. Arizona Wildcats (4-6) - 67.6
69. Oklahoma State Cowboys (3-5-2) - 67.8
70. LSU Tigers (3-7) - 68.5
71. Georgia Bulldogs (3-6-1) - 71.4
72. Kansas Jayhawks (3-6-1) - 72.1
73. Boston College Eagles (5-4) - 72.9
74. Utah State Aggies (6-4) - 73.5
75. Cincinnati Bearcats (4-5) - 74.5
76. NC State Wolfpack (3-7) - 75.7
77. Pennsylvania Relays (4-5) - 76.4
78. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (2-5-3) - 77.6
79. Washington State Cougars (3-6-1) - 78.1
80. Citadel Bulldogs (3-5-1) - 80.8
81. Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-6) - 82.1
82. Maryland Terrapins (2-7-1) - 83.2
83. Virginia Cavaliers (3-7) - 83.7
84. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (2-8) - 84.4
85. Davidson Wildcats (5-3-1) - 85.9
86. North Carolina Tar Heels (2-7-1) - 87.0
87. Texas Longhorns (1-9) - 87.8
88. Alabama Crimson Tide (2-7-1) - 88.2
(tie) Boston University Terriers (1-5-2) - 88.2
90. Kansas State Wildcats (3-7) - 88.9
91. Harvard Crimson (2-6) - 91.4
92. Wichita State Shockers (4-6) - 91.9
93. Dayton Flyers (4-6) - 92.4
94. Richmond Spiders (4-5) - 93.3
95. Indiana Hoosiers (3-6) - 94.6
96. VMI Keydets (3-6-1) - 95.4
97. Columbia Lions (3-6) - 96.9
98. Furman Paladins (2-8) - 97.4
99. New Mexico Lobos (4-6) - 98.3
100. Iowa State Cyclones (2-8) - 99.0
101. Cornell Big Red (1-8) - 100.6
102. Detroit Mercy Titans (2-8) - 102.2
103. Colorado State Rams (2-7-1) - 104.3
104. BYU Cougars (2-7-1) - 105.7
105. New Mexico State Aggies (1-9) - 106.0
106. San Jose State Spartans (2-7-1) - 106.4
107. Rutgers Scarlet Knights (3-7) - 107.3
108. Drake Bulldogs (3-6) - 109.3
(tie) William & Mary Tribe (0-9-1) - 109.3
110. Montana Grizzlies (1-9) - 111.0
111. Marquette Golden Eagles (0-9) - 112.0

Special thanks to James Howell's College Football Scores, which provided the data for our analysis.