1959 Syracuse Orangemen football team

1959 Syracuse Orangemen football
1959 Syracuse Orangemen football
Consensus national champion; Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy; Cotton Bowl champion
Cotton Bowl Classic, W 23–14 vs. Texas
Conference	Independent
Ranking
Coaches	No. 1
AP	No. 1
Record	11–0
Head coach	Ben Schwartzwalder (11th season);
Captain	Gerhard Schwedes
Home stadium	Archbold Stadium
	Seasons ← 1958 1960 →

1959 NCAA University Division independents football records
v t e	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
No. 1 Syracuse		–		11	–	0	–	0
No. 12 Penn State		–		9	–	2	–	0
Oregon		–		8	–	2	–	0
Rutgers		–		6	–	3	–	0
Detroit		–		6	–	4	–	0
Holy Cross		–		6	–	4	–	0
Miami (FL)		–		6	–	4	–	0
Oklahoma State		–		6	–	4	–	0
No. 20 Pittsburgh		–		6	–	4	–	0
Washington State		–		6	–	4	–	0
Boston College		–		5	–	4	–	0
Pacific (CA)		–		5	–	4	–	0
Air Force		–		5	–	4	–	1
Navy		–		5	–	4	–	1
Army		–		4	–	4	–	1
No. 17 Notre Dame		–		5	–	5	–	0
Boston University		–		4	–	5	–	0
Florida State		–		4	–	6	–	0
San Jose State		–		4	–	6	–	0
Texas Tech		–		4	–	6	–	0
Dayton		–		3	–	7	–	0
Marquette		–		3	–	7	–	0
Oregon State		–		3	–	7	–	0
Colgate		–		2	–	7	–	0
Idaho		–		1	–	9	–	0
Villanova		–		1	–	9	–	0

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1959 Syracuse Orangemen football team represented Syracuse University in the 1959 NCAA University Division 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]

They met fourth-ranked Texas in the Cotton Bowl Classic in Dallas on New Year's Day, and 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
September 26	Kansas		Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY ^[8]	W 35–21	25,000
October 3	Maryland	No. 20	Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY	W 29–0	30,000
October 10	vs. Navy	No. 12	Foreman Field Norfolk, VA ^[9] (Oyster Bowl)	W 32–6	31,700
October 17	Holy Cross	No. 8	Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY	W 42–6	30,000
October 24	West Virginia	No. 6	Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY ^[10]	W 44–0	35,000
October 31	at Pittsburgh	No. 5	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA ^[11]	W 35–0	25,761
November 7	at No. 7 Penn State	No. 4	New Beaver Field University Park, PA ^[12]	W 20–18	32,800
November 14	Colgate	No. 1	Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY ^[13]	W 71–0	31,000
November 21	at Boston University	No. 1	Nickerson Field Boston, MA	W 46–0	22,000
December 5	at No. 17 UCLA	No. 1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA ^[14]	W 36–8	46,436
January 1, 1960	vs. No. 4 Texas	No. 1	Cotton Bowl Dallas, TX ^[6] (Cotton Bowl Classic)	W 23–14	75,504
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Source:^[1]

Roster

1959 Syracuse Orangemen football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
HB	`44`	Ernie Davis	So

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class

Head coach

Ben Schwartzwalder

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Game summaries

Kansas

Maryland

vs. Navy

Holy Cross

West Virginia

at Pittsburgh

at Penn State

Colgate

at Boston University

at UCLA

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

vs. Texas (Cotton Bowl Classic)

	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

Overall record	Last meeting	Result
First meeting

^[15]

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

^[16]

References

^ ^a ^b 2017 Syracuse football media guide. pg. 148
^ "Orange win grid crown". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 8, 1959. p. 18.
^ "Syracuse runs off with title". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. December 8, 1959. p. 34.
^ "Syracuse tops final grid poll by wide margin". Bend Bulletin. (Oregon). UPI. December 8, 1959. p. 2.
^ "Syracuse is voted national champion by coaches board". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). UPI. December 8, 1959. p. 23.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Syracuse tops Texas, 23–14". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 2, 1960. p. 6.
^ 2017 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. July 2017. p. 113. Retrieved October 31, 2019.
^ "Midnight strikes for KU gridders 35–21". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). September 26, 1959. p. 1.
^ "Navy stopped by Syracuse". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 11, 1959. p. 3B.
^ "Syracuse breezes over WVU, 44–0". Pittsburgh Press. October 25, 1959. p. 1, sec.7.
^ Smith, Chester L. (November 1, 1959). "Syracuse smothers Pitt, 35–0". Pittsburgh Press. p. 1, sec.7.
^ Smith, Chester L. (November 8, 1959). "Syracuse wins 'big one,' 20–18". Pittsburgh Press. p. 1, sec.7.
^ "Syracuse wins, 71–0, takes Cotton Bowl offer". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. November 15, 1959. p. 25.
^ "Syracuse easy 36–8 winner". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 6, 1959. p. 6.
^ "LIFE at the 1960 Cotton Bowl: 'Battle of the Hard-Noses'". Time. January 2, 2014. Retrieved January 11, 2020.
^ "1960 NFL Draft". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 11, 2020.

External links

Sports Reference - 1959 Syracuse football season

This college football 1950s season article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[mediaguide-1] 2017 Syracuse football media guide. pg. 148

[minnessr-2] "Orange win grid crown". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 8, 1959. p. 18.

[tblsyr59-3] "Syracuse runs off with title". Toledo Blade. (Ohio). Associated Press. December 8, 1959. p. 34.

[bbsyrc-4] "Syracuse tops final grid poll by wide margin". Bend Bulletin. (Oregon). UPI. December 8, 1959. p. 2.

[rdecbd-5] "Syracuse is voted national champion by coaches board". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). UPI. December 8, 1959. p. 23.

[ergsyrcot-6] "Syracuse tops Texas, 23–14". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 2, 1960. p. 6.

[ncaabook-7] 2017 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. July 2017. p. 113. Retrieved October 31, 2019.

[minght-8] "Midnight strikes for KU gridders 35–21". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). September 26, 1959. p. 1.

[oystr-9] "Navy stopped by Syracuse". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 11, 1959. p. 3B.

[brzwvu-10] "Syracuse breezes over WVU, 44–0". Pittsburgh Press. October 25, 1959. p. 1, sec.7.

[syrsmop-11] Smith, Chester L. (November 1, 1959). "Syracuse smothers Pitt, 35–0". Pittsburgh Press. p. 1, sec.7.

[wbgone-12] Smith, Chester L. (November 8, 1959). "Syracuse wins 'big one,' 20–18". Pittsburgh Press. p. 1, sec.7.

[swtkcbo-13] "Syracuse wins, 71–0, takes Cotton Bowl offer". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. November 15, 1959. p. 25.

[sezmnr-14] "Syracuse easy 36–8 winner". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 6, 1959. p. 6.

[15] "LIFE at the 1960 Cotton Bowl: 'Battle of the Hard-Noses'". Time. January 2, 2014. Retrieved January 11, 2020.

[16] "1960 NFL Draft". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 11, 2020.

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v t e Syracuse Orange football
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Culture & lore	Otto the Orange Alma Mater "Down the Field" Marching band The Express: The Ernie Davis Story Scandal Syracuse Sports Network Highest-scoring game
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National championship seasons in bold

v t e College football national champions (poll era)
1936–1949	1936: Minnesota (AP) 1937: Pittsburgh 1938: TCU 1939: Texas A&M 1940: Minnesota 1941: Minnesota 1942: Ohio State 1943: Notre Dame 1944: Army 1945: Army (AP) / Oklahoma A&M (Coaches) 1946: Notre Dame 1947: Notre Dame 1948: Michigan 1949: Notre Dame
1950s	1950: Oklahoma (AP, Coaches) 1951: Tennessee 1952: Michigan State 1953: Maryland 1954: Ohio State (AP) / UCLA (FWAA, Coaches) 1955: Oklahoma 1956: Oklahoma 1957: Auburn (AP) / Ohio State (Coaches, FWAA) 1958: LSU (AP, Coaches) / Iowa (FWAA) 1959: Syracuse (AP, Coaches, FWAA, NFF)
1960s	1960: Minnesota (AP, Coaches, NFF) / Ole Miss (FWAA) 1961: Alabama (AP, Coaches, NFF) / Ohio State (FWAA) 1962: USC 1963: Texas 1964: Alabama (AP, Coaches) / Arkansas (FWAA) / Notre Dame (NFF) 1965: Alabama (AP, FWAA) / Michigan State (Coaches, FWAA, NFF) 1966: Notre Dame (AP, Coaches, FWAA, NFF) / Michigan State (NFF) 1967: USC 1968: Ohio State 1969: Texas
1970s	1970: Nebraska (AP, FWAA) / Texas (NFF, Coaches) / Ohio State (NFF) 1971: Nebraska 1972: USC 1973: Notre Dame (AP, FWAA, NFF) / Alabama (Coaches) 1974: Oklahoma (AP) / USC (FWAA, NFF, Coaches) 1975: Oklahoma 1976: Pittsburgh 1977: Notre Dame 1978: Alabama (AP, FWAA, NFF) / USC (Coaches) 1979: Alabama
1980–1991	1980: Georgia 1981: Clemson 1982: Penn State 1983: Miami (FL) 1984: BYU 1985: Oklahoma 1986: Penn State 1987: Miami (FL) 1988: Notre Dame 1989: Miami (FL) 1990: Colorado (AP, FWAA, NFF, USAT/CNN) / Georgia Tech (Coaches) 1991: Miami (FL) (AP) / Washington (Coaches, FWAA, UPI/NFF)