1952 college football season

1952 college football season
Preseason AP No. 1	Michigan State
Number of bowls	7
Champion(s)	Michigan State (AP, Coaches)
Heisman	Billy Vessels (halfback, Oklahoma)
football seasons

The 1952 college football season ended with the unbeaten Michigan State Spartans (9–0) and Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (12–0) each claiming a national championship from different polls. Michigan State finished first according to two of the "wire service" (AP and UP) polls, which both placed Georgia Tech second. Georgia Tech was first in the (Hearst chain) International News Service poll. UP and INS merged in 1958 to form UPI.

Although the Spartans became members of the Big Ten Conference in 1950, full participation did not come until 1953, and under the terms of their entry into the conference, they were not allowed to participate in postseason play. Georgia Tech won the Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day in New Orleans.

Conference and program changes

Conference changes

• One conference changed its name this year:
  • The Wisconsin State Teachers College Conference, an active NCAA Division III conference currently known as the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC), changed its name to the Wisconsin State College Conference

Membership changes

School	1951 Conference	1952 Conference
Arizona State–Flagstaff (NAU) Lumberjacks	Border	NMIC
Bowling Green Falcons	Independent	MAC
Bradley Braves	Missouri Valley	Independent
Drake Bulldogs	Missouri Valley	Independent
Toledo Rockets	Independent	MAC

September

September 20 Maryland won at Missouri 13–10, and Texas won at LSU 35–14. In the preseason poll released on September 22, 1952, the Michigan State Spartans were rated first, followed by the Maryland Terrapins. Maryland actually had more first place votes 79 to 77, but MSU had an edge on points, 1720–1696. The remainder of the Top Five was No. 3 Georgia Tech (which beat The Citadel 54–6), No. 4 Oklahoma and No. 5 Illinois. Defending champion Tennessee was 6th. As the regular season progressed, a new poll would be issued on the Monday following the weekend's games.

On September 27 No. 1 Michigan State won at Michigan, 27–13. No. 2 Maryland beat Auburn 13–7 in Birmingham. No. 3 Georgia Tech narrowly beat Florida 17–14 and fell to 6th place in the next poll. No. 4 Oklahoma visited Colorado and was tied, 21–21. No. 5 Illinois, which beat Iowa State 33–7, rose to second place in the next poll. No. 8 California, which was 2–0–0 after a 28–14 win over Missouri, and No. 11 Texas (which had won at North Carolina 28–7), moved into the top five. The poll: No. 1 Michigan State, No. 2 Illinois, No. 3 Maryland, No. 4 California, and No. 5 Texas.

October

October 4 No. 1 Michigan State narrowly defeated Oregon State 17–14 at Portland. No. 2 Illinois lost at No. 8 Wisconsin, 20–6, and would end up finishing 1952 with a losing (4–5–0) record. No. 3 Maryland beat Clemson 28–0. No. 4 California won at Minnesota, 49–13. No. 5 Texas lost 14-3 to No. 19 Notre Dame. No. 6 Georgia Tech, which beat SMU 20–7 in Dallas, returned to the Top Five. The next poll featured No. 1 Wisconsin, No. 2 Michigan State, No. 3 California, No. 4 Maryland, and No. 5 Georgia Tech.

October 11 The new No. 1, Wisconsin, lost at Columbus to unranked Ohio State, 23–14. No. 2 Michigan State beat visiting Texas A&M 48–6. No. 3 California beat Oregon at Portland, 41–7. No. 4 Maryland won at Georgia, 37–0. No. 5 Georgia Tech beat Tulane 14–0. No. 6 Duke, which won at South Carolina 33–7, was fifth in the next poll: No. 1 Michigan State, No. 2 Maryland, No. 3 California, No. 4 Georgia Tech, and No. 5 Duke.

October 18 No. 1 Michigan State beat visiting Syracuse 48–7. No. 2 Maryland beat No. 20 Navy 38–7. No. 3 California beat Santa Clara 27–7. No. 4 Georgia Tech beat Auburn 33–0. No. 5 Duke won at N.C. State, 57–0, but was still bounced out of the top five. No. 6 Oklahoma, which had won at No. 8 Kansas 42–20, was third in the next poll: No. 1 Michigan State, No. 2 Maryland, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 California, and No. 5 Georgia Tech.

October 25 No. 1 Michigan State beat No. 17 Penn State 34–7. No. 2 Maryland beat LSU 34–6. No. 3 Oklahoma beat Kansas State 49–6. In Los Angeles, a matchup of unbeaten teams pitted No. 4 California (5–0–0) against the 5–0–0 and No. 7 USC Trojans. USC won 10–0. Cal would lose this and the next two games after its perfect start. No. 5 Georgia Tech beat Vanderbilt 30–0. The next poll: No. 1 Michigan State, No. 2 Maryland, No. 3 Oklahoma, No. 4 Georgia Tech, and No. 5 USC.

November

November 1 No. 1 Michigan State narrowly won at No. 8 Purdue, 14–7. No. 2 Maryland won at Boston University, 34–7. No. 3 Oklahoma won at Iowa State 41–0. No. 4 Georgia Tech (6–0–0) faced unbeaten No. 6 Duke (also 6–0–0) and won 28–7. No. 5 USC was idle, and its place was taken by No. 7 UCLA, which handed No. 11 California a 28–7 defeat. The next poll: No. 1 Michigan State, No. 2 Maryland, No. 3 Georgia Tech, No. 4 Oklahoma, and No. 5 UCLA.

November 8 No. 1 Michigan State won at Indiana 41–14. No. 2 Maryland was idle. No. 3 Georgia Tech beat Army 45–6. No. 4 Oklahoma lost at No. 10 Notre Dame, 27–21, and dropped back out of the Top Five. No. 5 UCLA beat visiting Oregon State 57–0. No. 6 USC rose to fifth after a 54–7 win at Stanford. The next poll: No. 1. Michigan State, No. 2 Georgia Tech, No. 3 Maryland, No. 4 UCLA, and No. 5 USC.

November 15 Unbeaten No. 1 Michigan State hosted once-beaten (5–1–1) No. 6 Notre Dame and won 21–3. In Atlanta, unbeaten (8–0–0) No. 2 Georgia Tech faced once-beaten (7–1–0) No. 12 Alabama and won, 7–3. And on the road, unbeaten (7–0–0) No. 3 Maryland lost at unbeaten (6–0–2) No. 11 Mississippi, 21–14. No. 4 UCLA was idle. No. 5 USC beat No. 17 Washington 33–0. No. 8 Oklahoma, which had beaten Missouri 47–7, returned to the Top Five. The next poll: No. 1 Michigan State, No. 2 Georgia Tech, No. 3 UCLA, No. 4 USC, and No. 5 Oklahoma.

November 22 No. 1 Michigan State won 62–13 over Marquette to close its season unbeaten. No. 2 Georgia Tech also stayed unbeaten as it beat Florida State 30–0. No. 3 UCLA and No. 4 USC (both 8–0–0) met in Los Angeles, with USC winning 14–12 to take the crown of the Pacific Coast Conference and a trip to the Rose Bowl. No. 5 Oklahoma beat Nebraska 34–13. The new poll: No. 1 Michigan State, No. 2 USC, No. 3 Georgia Tech, No. 4 Oklahoma, and No. 5 UCLA.

November 29 No. 1 Michigan State had closed its season. No. 2 USC hosted No. 7 Notre Dame and lost 9–0. No. 3 Georgia Tech finished its season unbeaten (11–0–0) with a 23–9 win over Georgia. The Yellow Jackets were invited to the Sugar Bowl to face unbeaten, but twice tied (8–0–2) and No. 6 Mississippi, a conference rival whom they had not faced during the regular season. No. 4 Oklahoma closed its season at Oklahoma A&M, winning 54–7 to finish 8–1–1. In the final AP poll, released December 1, No. 1 Michigan State was the champion, followed by No. 2 Georgia Tech, No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 4 Oklahoma, and No. 5 USC.

Conference standings

Major conference standings

1952 Big Seven Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 4 Oklahoma $ 5 – 0 – 1 8 – 1 – 1 Missouri 5 – 1 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Nebraska 3 – 2 – 1 5 – 4 – 1 Kansas 3 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Colorado 2 – 2 – 2 6 – 2 – 2 Iowa State 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Kansas State 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1952 Big Ten Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 11 Wisconsin + 4 – 1 – 1 6 – 3 – 1 No. 18 Purdue + 4 – 1 – 1 4 – 3 – 2 No. 17 Ohio State 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Michigan 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Minnesota 3 – 1 – 2 4 – 3 – 2 Illinois 2 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Northwestern 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 6 – 1 Iowa 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Indiana 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll	1952 Border Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Arizona State $ 4 – 0 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Texas Tech 2 – 1 – 1 3 – 7 – 1 Arizona 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Hardin–Simmons 2 – 2 – 1 5 – 3 – 2 Texas Western 2 – 3 – 1 5 – 5 – 1 New Mexico A&M 1 – 2 – 1 2 – 6 – 1 West Texas State 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Arizona State–Flagstaff 0 – 1 – 0 3 – 4 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1952 Middle Three Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Lehigh + 1 – 0 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Rutgers + 1 – 0 – 0 4 – 4 – 1 Lafayette 0 – 2 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1952 Missouri Valley Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Houston $ 3 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 No. 12 Tulsa 3 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 1 Oklahoma A&M 2 – 2 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Detroit 1 – 3 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Wichita 0 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 1 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1952 Pacific Coast Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 5 USC $ 6 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0 No. 6 UCLA 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Washington 6 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 California 3 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Washington State 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Stanford 2 – 5 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Oregon 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 1 Idaho 1 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 1 Oregon State 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll
1952 Rocky Mountain Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Idaho State $ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 0 – 0 Colorado College 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Colorado State–Greeley 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Colorado Mines 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Montana State 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 5 – 0 Western State (CO) 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1952 Skyline Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Utah $ 5 – 0 – 0 6 – 3 – 1 New Mexico 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Colorado A&M 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Wyoming 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 BYU 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Utah State 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 1 Montana 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 1 Denver 0 – 7 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1952 Southeastern Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 2 Georgia Tech $ 7 – 0 – 0 12 – 0 – 0 No. 8 Tennessee 5 – 0 – 1 8 – 2 – 1 No. 7 Ole Miss 4 – 0 – 2 8 – 1 – 2 No. 9 Alabama 4 – 2 – 0 10 – 2 – 0 Georgia 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 No. 15 Florida 3 – 3 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Mississippi State 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Tulane 3 – 5 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 No. 20 Kentucky 1 – 3 – 2 5 – 4 – 2 LSU 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Vanderbilt 1 – 4 – 1 3 – 5 – 2 Auburn 0 – 7 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll
1952 Southern Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 16 Duke $ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Wake Forest 5 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 1 West Virginia 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 William & Mary 4 – 1 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 George Washington 4 – 2 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 VPI 4 – 4 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Furman 2 – 2 – 1 6 – 3 – 1 Washington and Lee 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 VMI 2 – 3 – 1 3 – 6 – 1 NC State 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 South Carolina 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 North Carolina 1 – 2 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 The Citadel 1 – 3 – 1 3 – 5 – 1 Davidson 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Richmond 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 9 – 0 Maryland †   –   7 – 2 – 0 Clemson †   –   2 – 6 – 1 $ – Conference champion † League sanctions prevented Maryland and Clemson from conference participation Rankings from AP Poll	1952 Southwest Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 10 Texas $ 6 – 0 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 Rice 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 SMU 3 – 2 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 TCU 2 – 2 – 2 4 – 4 – 2 Baylor 1 – 3 – 2 4 – 4 – 2 Texas A&M 1 – 4 – 1 3 – 6 – 1 Arkansas 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Independents

1952 Eastern college football independents records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Rochester   –   8 – 0 – 0 Hofstra   –   8 – 1 – 0 No. 19 Princeton   –   8 – 1 – 0 Franklin & Marshall   –   7 – 1 – 0 Villanova   –   7 – 1 – 1 Holy Cross   –   8 – 2 – 0 Yale   –   7 – 2 – 0 Penn State   –   7 – 2 – 1 No. 14 Syracuse   –   7 – 3 – 0 Bucknell   –   6 – 3 – 0 Colgate   –   6 – 3 – 0 Pittsburgh   –   6 – 3 – 0 Carnegie Tech   –   4 – 3 – 0 Harvard   –   5 – 4 – 0 Boston University   –   5 – 4 – 1 Penn   –   4 – 3 – 2 Army   –   4 – 4 – 1 Boston College   –   4 – 4 – 1 Tufts   –   3 – 4 – 1 Drexel   –   3 – 4 – 0 Fordham   –   2 – 5 – 1 NYU   –   2 – 5 – 1 Columbia   –   2 – 6 – 1 Brown   –   2 – 7 – 0 Cornell   –   2 – 7 – 0 Dartmouth   –   2 – 7 – 0 Temple   –   2 – 7 – 1 Buffalo   –   1 – 7 – 0 Rankings from AP Poll	1952 Midwestern college football independents records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 1 Michigan State   –   9 – 0 – 0 No. 3 Notre Dame   –   7 – 2 – 1 Carthage   –   5 – 2 – 0 Youngstown   –   4 – 3 – 1 Wabash   –   5 – 4 – 0 Dayton   –   6 – 5 – 0 Baldwin–Wallace   –   4 – 4 – 0 Wayne   –   4 – 4 – 0 Bradley   –   4 – 5 – 0 John Carroll   –   4 – 5 – 0 Washington University   –   4 – 5 – 0 Rose Poly   –   3 – 4 – 1 Xavier   –   4 – 6 – 0 Marquette   –   3 – 5 – 1 Drake   –   2 – 7 – 0 Rankings from AP Poll	1952 Southern college football independents records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Maryland State   –   9 – 1 – 0 Mississippi Southern   –   10 – 2 – 0 Virginia   –   8 – 2 – 0 Sewanee   –   7 – 2 – 0 No. 17 Navy   –   6 – 2 – 1 Arkansas State   –   8 – 3 – 0 Tampa   –   8 – 3 – 1 Chattanooga   –   7 – 3 – 0 Northeast Louisiana State   –   5 – 4 – 0 Delaware   –   4 – 4 – 0 Louisville   –   3 – 5 – 0 Miami (FL)   –   4 – 7 – 0 Marshall   –   2 – 7 – 2 Memphis State   –   2 – 7 – 0 Florida State   –   1 – 8 – 1 Rankings from AP Poll
1952 Western college football independents records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Fresno State   –   8 – 2 – 0 Pacific (CA)   –   7 – 3 – 1 San Jose State   –   6 – 3 – 0 La Verne   –   5 – 3 – 1 Hawaii   –   5 – 5 – 2 Cal Poly San Dimas   –   4 – 4 – 0 Nevada   –   2 – 2 – 0 Santa Clara   –   2 – 6 – 1

Minor conferences

Conference	Champion(s)	Record
California Collegiate Athletic Association	Cal Poly–San Luis Obispo	4–0
Central Church College Conference	Concordia (NE)	3–0
Central Intercollegiate Athletics Association	Virginia State	7–0
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Kansas State Teachers (Emporia State)	5–0
College Conference of Illinois	Lake Forest Millikin	3–0–1
Evergreen Conference	Pacific Lutheran	5–0–1
Far Western Conference	Humboldt State College	3–0
Frontier Conference	Carroll (MT)	4–0
Gulf Coast Conference	North Texas State	2–0
Indiana Collegiate Conference	Butler Valparaiso	3–1
Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Buena Vista	2–1
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference	McPherson	6–0
Lone Star Conference	East Texas State Teachers	5–0
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association	Albion	5–0
Mid-American Conference	Cincinnati	3–0
Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference	Coe	6–0
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Gustavus Adolphus Concordia–Moorhead	6–0
Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association	Northeast Missouri State Northwest Missouri State	4–1
Nebraska College Conference	Peru State	7–0
New Mexico Intercollegiate Conference	Eastern New Mexico Panhandle A&M	4–1
North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Iowa State Teachers (Northern Iowa)	5–1
North Dakota College Athletic Conference	Jamestown College Minot State Teachers Valley City State	5–1
Ohio Athletic Conference	Heidelberg	5–1
Ohio Valley Conference	Tennessee Tech Western Kentucky State	4–1
Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference	Northeastern State College (OK)	5–0
Oregon Collegiate Conference	Oregon College	—
Pacific Northwest Conference	College of Idaho Pacific (OR)	4–0–1
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference	West Chester State Teachers	5–0
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference	Idaho State College	5–0
South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference	Northern State Teachers	4–1
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Whittier	4–0
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Bethune–Cookman Florida A&M	5–1 4–1
Southwestern Athletic Conference	Prairie View A&M College	6–0
State Teacher's College Conference of Minnesota	Mankato State Teachers Moorhead State Teachers St. Cloud State Teachers	3–1
Texas Collegiate Athletic Conference	Abilene Christian	4–0
Wisconsin State College Conference	North: Wisconsin State–La Crosse South: Wisconsin State–Platteville	5–0 4–0

Minor conference standings

1952 Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Southern State (AR) $ 5 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0 Henderson State 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Ozarks 2 – 2 – 1 5 – 2 – 1 Arkansas A&M 2 – 2 – 1 3 – 4 – 1 Arkansas Tech 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 Arkansas State Teachers 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1952 California Collegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Cal Poly $ 4 – 0 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Santa Barbara 3 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 San Diego State 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Los Angeles State 1 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Pepperdine 0 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1952 Central Church College Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Concordia (NE) $ 3 – 0 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Dana 2 – 1 – 0 3 – 4 – 0 Tarkio 1 – 2 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 York (NE) 0 – 3 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1952 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 4 Virginia State $ 7 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 No. 11 North Carolina A&T 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 St. Augustine's 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 No. 19 North Carolina College 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 No. 20 Morgan State 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 1 Johnson C. Smith 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 2 – 0 No. 17 Howard 5 – 2 – 1 6 – 2 – 1 West Virginia State 5 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 No. 21 Hampton 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Lincoln (PA) 2 – 3 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Winston-Salem State 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Delaware State 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 Bluefield State 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 Virginia Union 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 Saint Paul's (VA) 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from Associated Negro Press	1952 Central Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Emporia State $ 5 – 0 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 St. Benedict's 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Washburn 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Pittsburg State 2 – 2 – 1 5 – 4 – 1 Fort Hays State 0 – 3 – 2 1 – 6 – 2 Southwestern (KS) 0 – 4 – 1 1 – 7 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1952 College Conference of Illinois football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Lake Forest + 3 – 0 – 1 6 – 1 – 1 Millikin + 3 – 0 – 1 6 – 1 – 1 Wheaton (IL) 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 Augustana (IL) 3 – 2 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Illinois Wesleyan 2 – 2 – 0 2 – 5 – 1 Elmhurst 1 – 3 – 0 3 – 4 – 0 Illinois College 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 5 – 0 North Central (IL) 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 6 – 1 + – Conference co-champions
1952 Evergreen Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Pacific Lutheran $ 5 – 0 – 1 5 – 2 – 1 Western Washington 4 – 1 – 1 5 – 2 – 1 Puget Sound 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 1 Whitworth 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 3 – 1 Central Washington 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Eastern Washington 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 UBC 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1952 Far Western Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Humboldt State $ 3 – 0 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 Cal Aggies 2 – 1 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 San Francisco State 1 – 0 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Chico State 1 – 3 – 0 1 – 6 – 0 Southern Oregon 0 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1952 Hoosier Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Hanover $ 6 – 0 – 0 6 – 1 – 2 Earlham 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Franklin (IN) 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Indiana Central 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Anderson (IN) 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 1 Manchester (IN) 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Taylor 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1952 Gulf Coast Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T North Texas State $ 2 – 0 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Midwestern (TX) 1 – 1 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Trinity (TX) 0 – 2 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1952 Gulf States Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Louisiana Tech + 3 – 0 – 2 6 – 1 – 2 Southeastern Louisiana + 3 – 0 – 2 6 – 1 – 2 Southwestern Louisiana + 3 – 0 – 2 5 – 2 – 2 McNeese State 2 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Louisiana College 0 – 4 – 1 3 – 7 – 1 Northwestern State 0 – 4 – 1 1 – 7 – 1 + – Conference co-champions	1952 Indiana Collegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Butler + 3 – 1 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Valparaiso + 3 – 1 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Indiana State 2 – 1 – 2 4 – 1 – 3 Ball State 3 – 2 – 0 3 – 5 – 1 Evansville 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Saint Joseph's (IN) 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions
1952 Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Central Michigan $ 6 – 0 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Western Illinois 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Michigan State Normal 3 – 2 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Northern Illinois State 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Southern Illinois 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Illinois State Normal 1 – 4 – 1 1 – 6 – 2 Eastern Illinois 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1952 Iowa Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Northern Division Buena Vista xy$ 2 – 1 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Luther 2 – 1 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Upper Iowa 1 – 2 – 0 3 – 3 – 0 Wartburg 1 – 2 – 0 2 – 5 – 0 Southern Division Iowa Wesleyan xy 4 – 0 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 Dubuque 3 – 1 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Simpson (IA) 2 – 2 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Parsons 1 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Central (IA) 0 – 4 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 Championship: Buena Vista 13, Iowa Wesleyan 7 $ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant	1952 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T McPherson $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 0 – 1 Ottawa 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Bethany (KS) 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 College of Emporia 2 – 3 – 1 3 – 5 – 1 Baker 2 – 3 – 1 2 – 5 – 1 Kansas Wesleyan 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Bethel (KS) 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1952 Lone Star Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T East Texas State $ 5 – 0 – 0 11 – 0 – 0 Southwest Texas State 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Sam Houston State 2 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Sul Ross 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Lamar Tech 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Stephen F. Austin 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1952 Mason–Dixon Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Randolph–Macon $ 3 – 0 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Hampden–Sydney 2 – 1 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Johns Hopkins 1 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Western Maryland 1 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Bridgewater 1 – 2 – 0 2 – 4 – 0 Gallaudet 0 – 1 – 0 1 – 4 – 0 $ – Conference champion Conference standings were based on the Dickinson Scoring System.	1952 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Albion $ 5 – 0 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 Hope 4 – 1 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Alma 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Kalamazoo 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 4 – 1 Adrian 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 1 Hillsdale 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1952 Mid-American Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Cincinnati $ 3 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 1 Miami (OH) 4 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Ohio 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 2 Bowling Green 2 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Kent State 2 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Western Michigan 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Western Reserve 1 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Toledo 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1952 Mid-Ohio League football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Ohio Northern $ 5 – 0 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Findlay 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 1 – 0 Bluffton 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Defiance 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Cedarville 1 – 4 – 0 ? – ? – ? Ashland 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1952 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Gustavus Adolphus + 6 – 0 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 Concordia (MN) + 6 – 0 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Hamline 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Saint John's (MN) 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 St. Thomas (MN) 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Macalester 2 – 2 – 1 2 – 4 – 1 Augsburg 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Saint Mary's (MN) 0 – 5 – 1 1 – 5 – 1 Minnesota–Duluth 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 7 – 1 + – Conference co-champions
1952 Missouri College Athletic Union football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Missouri Valley $ 4 – 0 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 William Jewell 3 – 1 – 0 10 – 1 – 1 Culver–Stockton 2 – 2 – 0 2 – 5 – 0 Central (MO) 1 – 3 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 Tarkio * 0 – 4 – 0 1 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion * – Forfeited to Missouri Valley and William Jewell	1952 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T NE Missouri State + 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 NW Missouri State + 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Missouri–Rolla 3 – 2 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 SE Missouri State 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 SW Missouri State 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Central Missouri State 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 6 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1952 Montana Collegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Carroll (MT) $ 4 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Rocky Mountain 3 – 1 – 0 ? – ? – ? Montana Mines 2 – 2 – 0 ? – ? – ? Western Montana 1 – 3 – 0 ? – ? – ? Eastern Montana 0 – 4 – 0 0 – 5 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1952 Nebraska College Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Peru State $ 7 – 0 – 0 10 – 0 – 0 Hastings 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Doane 4 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Nebraska Wesleyan 4 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Kearney State 3 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Wayne State (NE) 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Chadron State 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Midland 0 – 7 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1952 New Mexico Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Eastern New Mexico + 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 1 Panhandle A&M + 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 New Mexico Military 2 – 2 – 1 ? – ? – ? Adams State 2 – 2 – 1 2 – 5 – 1 New Mexico Western 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 3 – 0 New Mexico Highlands 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1952 North Central Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Iowa State Teachers $ 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 North Dakota State 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 South Dakota 3 – 2 – 1 4 – 3 – 1 South Dakota State 3 – 2 – 1 4 – 4 – 1 Morningside 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 North Dakota 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Augustana (SD) 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1952 North Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Minot State + 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Jamestown + 5 – 1 – 0 5 – 2 – 0 Valley City State + 5 – 1 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Ellendale 4 – 1 – 1 4 – 2 – 1 Dickinson State 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Mayville State 2 – 3 – 1 2 – 3 – 1 Wahpeton Science 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 5 – 0 Bismarck JC 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 5 – 0 Bottineau 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 6 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1952 North State Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Lenoir Rhyne $ 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 East Carolina 4 – 1 – 1 6 – 3 – 2 Catawba 4 – 1 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 Appalachian State 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 1 Western Carolina 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Guilford 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 Elon 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1952 Northwest Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Pacific (OR) + 4 – 0 – 1 7 – 0 – 1 College of Idaho + 4 – 0 – 1 7 – 1 – 1 Willamette 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 2 – 2 Linfield 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 1 Lewis & Clark 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 6 – 1 Whitman 0 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 + – Conference co-champions
1952 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Heidelberg $ 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 Wooster 4 – 1 – 1 7 – 1 – 1 Muskingum 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Ohio Wesleyan 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Denison 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Hiram 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Akron 2 – 2 – 1 2 – 6 – 1 Capital 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Oberlin 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Wittenberg 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Otterbein 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Kenyon 1 – 3 – 0 3 – 3 – 0 Marietta 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 5 – 1 Mount Union 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1952 Ohio Valley Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Western Kentucky + 4 – 1 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 Tennessee Tech + 4 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 Murray State 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Middle Tennessee 2 – 2 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Eastern Kentucky 0 – 3 – 1 3 – 4 – 1 Morehead State 0 – 4 – 1 1 – 6 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1952 Oklahoma Collegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Northeastern State $ 5 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 Central State (OK) 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 East Central 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 SE Oklahoma State 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 SW Oklahoma State 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 NW Oklahoma State 0 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1952 Oregon Collegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Oregon College $ 3 – 0 – 0 3 – 3 – 0 Oregon Tech 2 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Eastern Oregon 1 – 2 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Portland State 0 – 3 – 0 0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1952 Smoky Mountain Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Emory and Henry $ 1 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Carson–Newman 0 – 1 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1952 South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Northern State $ 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 1 – 0 Huron 6 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Yankton 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 2 – 0 Black Hills 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Southern State (SD) 4 – 3 – 0 4 – 3 – 0 Dakota Wesleyan 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 4 – 0 South Dakota Mines 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 5 – 0 General Beadle 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 4 – 0 Sioux Falls 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1952 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Whittier $ 4 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 Occidental 3 – 1 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Pomona 2 – 2 – 0 2 – 5 – 0 Redlands 1 – 3 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Caltech 0 – 4 – 0 0 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1952 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 5 Prairie View A&M $ 6 – 0 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 No. 10 Southern 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 No. 13 Texas College 3 – 2 – 1 4 – 3 – 1 Arkansas AM&N 2 – 2 – 2 3 – 6 – 2 Wiley 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Langston 1 – 4 – 1 2 – 6 – 1 Bishop 0 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from Associated Negro Press	1952 Texas Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Abilene Christian $ 4 – 0 – 0 6 – 3 – 1 McMurry 3 – 1 – 0 4 – 4 – 1 Texas A&I 1 – 3 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 Howard Payne 1 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Austin 1 – 3 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1952 Wisconsin State College Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Northern Division La Crosse State x+ 4 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 River Falls State 2 – 1 – 1 5 – 2 – 1 Superior State 2 – 2 – 0 2 – 3 – 1 Stout Institute 1 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Eau Claire State 0 – 3 – 1 2 – 5 – 1 Southern Division Platteville State x+ 4 – 0 – 0 5 – 1 – 0 Stevens Point State 3 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 Oshkosh State 2 – 2 – 0 2 – 3 – 0 Whitewater State 1 – 3 – 0 2 – 4 – 0 Milwaukee State 0 – 4 – 0 0 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions x – Division champion/co-champions	1952 Yankee Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Connecticut + 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Maine + 3 – 1 – 0 4 – 3 – 0 Rhode Island + 3 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 UMass 1 – 2 – 0 4 – 3 – 1 Vermont 0 – 1 – 0 2 – 5 – 0 New Hampshire 0 – 4 – 0 2 – 4 – 1 + – Conference co-champions

Rankings

Main article: 1952 NCAA football rankings

Bowl games

As late as 1952, many colleges, and some football conferences, did not participate in postseason bowl games. No. 1 Michigan State had joined the Big Ten conference in 1950 for football, but as part of the terms of membership, was ineligible to play in a bowl game until the 1953 season. No. 3 Notre Dame had a policy against playing in postseason games. No. 4 Oklahoma was a member of the Big 7 conference (which later, as the Big 8 and Big 12, would send its best team to the Orange Bowl), and that conference banned post-season games. The Oklahoma University Board of Regents considered a motion to allow the team to accept an invitation from the Orange Bowl, and passed a resolution that stated that "Oklahoma belongs to the Big Seven Conference and has followed its rules in the past and should follow them in the future.". Thus, three of the nation's four "top teams" did not play in a bowl game. The exception was Georgia Tech, which played as the SEC champ in the Sugar Bowl. In a forerunner of the SEC championship game, the two best teams in the conference met, with No. 7 Ole Miss accepting the invitation to play against Tech.

Bowl game	Winning team		Losing team
Sugar Bowl	No. 2 Georgia Tech	24	No. 7 Ole Miss	7
Rose Bowl	No. 5 USC	7	No. 11 Wisconsin	0
Cotton Bowl	No. 10 Texas	16	No. 8 Tennessee	0
Orange Bowl	No. 9 Alabama	61	No. 14 Syracuse	6
Gator Bowl	No. 15 Florida	14	No. 12 Tulsa	13
Refrigerator Bowl	Western Kentucky	34	Arkansas State	19
Sun Bowl	Pacific (CA)	26	Mississippi Southern	7
Tangerine Bowl	East Texas State	33	Tennessee Tech	0

Heisman Trophy

1. Billy Vessels, RB - Oklahoma, 525 points
2. Jack Scarbath, QB - Maryland, 367
3. Paul Giel, RB - Minnesota, 329
4. Donn Moomaw, C - UCLA, 257
5. Johnny Lattner, RB - Notre Dame, 253
6. Paul Cameron, RB - UCLA, 218
7. Jim Sears, RB - USC, 173
8. Don McAuliffe, RB - Michigan State, 164
9. Don Heinrich, QB - Washington, 153
10. Tom Catlin, C - Oklahoma, 150
11. Leon Hardeman, RB - Georgia Tech, 140
12. Eddie Crowder, QB - Oklahoma, 97

Source:

See also

• 1952 College Football All-America Team