1956 college football season

American college football season August 2023 December 2025 1956 1961 Topps 40 Paul Hornung.jpg Heisman Trophy winner Paul Hornung Oklahomahttp://www.appollarchive.com/football/ap/seasons.cfm?appollid=187 Archived copy 2009-01-18 https://web.archive.org/web/20120217012649/http://www.appollarchive.com/football/ap/seasons.cfm?appollid=187 2012-02-17 dead September 22 – December 1, 1956 6 December 29, 1956 January 1, 1957 Oklahoma (AP, Coaches, FWAA) Paul Hornung (quarterback, Notre Dame) The 1956 college football season was the 88th season of intercollegiate football in the United States. It finished with five teams having claim to a national championship: Oklahoma compiled a 10–0 record in their 10th season under Bud Wilkinson and is recognized as the consensus national champion, having been ranked No. 1 in the final Associated Press (AP) and United Press (UP) coaches polls. The Sooners were also recognized as the 1956 national champion by the Football Writers Association of America and at least 10 other official selectors. Two Oklahoma players, Tommy McDonald and Jerry Tubbs, ranked third and fourth in voting for the Heisman Trophy. The Sooners ranked first in total offense with 481.7 yards per game (391 rushing yards) and second in total defense with 193.8 yards per game. The 1956 season was part of a 47-game winning streak that ran from October 10, 1953, to November 9, 1957. Tennessee compiled a 10–1 record, losing to Baylor in the Sugar Bowl; prior to this the Volunteers were rated No. 2 in the final AP and UP polls. Tennessee halfback Johnny Majors was the runner up in voting for the Heisman Trophy. Decades later, Tennessee was chosen as the 1956 national champion by the Sagarin Ratings. Iowa compiled a 9–1 record, including a victory over Oregon State in the Rose Bowl. The Hawkeyes were rated No. 3 in the final AP and UP polls. Years later, they were chosen as the 1956 national champion by College Football Researchers Association. Georgia Tech compiled a 10–1 record under Bobby Dodd and defeated Pittsburgh in the Gator Bowl. The Yellow Jackets were rated No. 4 in the final AP and UP polls but were selected as the 1956 national champion by Berryman (QPRS), Houlgate System, and Sagarin Ratings. Tennessee A&I compiled a 10–0 record, defeated Florida A&M in the Orange Blossom Classic, and has been recognized as the black college national champion. At the small-college level, Montana State (9–0–1) and Saint Joseph's (8–1–1 ) played to a scoreless tie in the NAIA national championship game. Notre Dame quarterback Paul Hornung won the Heisman Trophy, and Oklahoma's Tommy McDonald won the Maxwell Award. Individual statistical leaders in major college football included Stanford quarterback John Brodie with 1,642 yards of total offense and 1,633 passing yards, Wyoming back Jim Crawford with 1,104 rushing yards, and Oklahoma halfback Clendon Thomas with 108 points scored. Conference and program changes One new conference began play in 1956: Ivy League One new program began to play in 1956: Air Force Falcons. Season chronology September In the preseason poll released on September 17, the defending champion Oklahoma Sooners, coming into the season with a 30-game winning streak, were the first place choice for 116 of 149 writers casting votes. They were followed by Michigan State, Notre Dame, Georgia Tech and Ohio State. New polls were issued weekly on Monday. On September 22, No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 2 Michigan State were idle. No. 3 Notre Dame lost in Dallas to unranked SMU, 19–13, and dropped out of the top five for the season (and finished 2–8), while SMU would rise to fifth. No. 4 Georgia Tech won at Kentucky, 14–6. No. 5 Ohio State, which had not started play, fell out of the Top 5 and was replaced by No. 7 TCU, which had opened with a 32–0 win at Kansas. The first regular AP poll was No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Georgia Tech, No. 3 Michigan State, No. 4 TCU, and No. 5 SMU. September 29, No. 1 Oklahoma opened its season with a 36–0 win over North Carolina. In Dallas, No. 2 Georgia Tech visited No. 5 SMU and narrowly won, 9–7. No. 3 Michigan State won, 21–7, at No. 12 Stanford. No. 4 TCU was idle and dropped to 8th, while No. 8 Ohio State rose to 4th after a 34–7 win hosting Nebraska. No. 13 Michigan, which had beaten UCLA, 42–13, rose to fifth. The next poll was No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Michigan State, No. 3 Georgia Tech, No. 4 Ohio State, and No. 5 Michigan. October October 6 No. 1 Oklahoma registered another shutout, beating Kansas State 66–0. No. 2 Michigan State met No. 5 Michigan in the rain before a crowd of 101,001 at Ann Arbor, and MSU Coach Duffy Daugherty's "umbrella defense" forced two Michigan turnovers that led to the Spartans' 9–0 win No. 3 Georgia Tech was idle, and No. 4 Ohio State won 32–20 at home before 82,881 over Stanford.Sports Illustrated, October 15, 1956, p70 The poll saw Michigan drop to 12th, while No. 8 TCU (which beat Arkansas 41–6 on national television) returned to the top five: No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Michigan State, No. 3 Georgia Tech, No. 4 TCU, and No. 5 Ohio State. October 13 At Dallas, No. 1 Oklahoma beat Texas 45–0, having outscored its opposition 147–0 in three games. A commentator of the day wrote, "The overpowering charge of the big red-shirted Oklahoma line ahead of adroit Quarterback Jimmy Harris is just one of the reasons why Oklahoma may be the greatest college football team of all time... They showed it in the sudden, lifting charge of a line which moved all of a piece, like a wave breaking evenly along a beach.""Football:Fourth Week, Sports Illustrated, October 15, 1956, p14 No. 2 Michigan State defeated Indiana 53–6 at home. No. 3 Georgia Tech beat LSU, 39–7. No. 4 TCU won at Alabama 23–6, and No. 5 Ohio State won 26–6 at Illinois. The top five remained unchanged. October 20 No. 1 Oklahoma gave up its first points of the season, but registered its fourth win, 34–12, at Kansas. No. 2 Michigan State stayed unbeaten with a 47–14 win at Notre Dame. No. 3 Georgia Tech beat Auburn 28–7. In a game that would ultimately determine the SWC championship, No. 4 TCU lost at No. 14 Texas A&M, 7–6. No. 5 Ohio State lost to Penn State by the same 7–6 score. No. 7 Tennessee, which had beaten Alabama 24–0, rose to 4th, and No. 8 Michigan returned to the Top 5 after its 34–20 win over Northwestern. The next poll: No. 1 Michigan State, No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Georgia Tech, No. 4 Tennessee, and No. 5 Michigan. October 27 The new No. 1 Michigan State went to Champaign, and had a 13–0 lead over unranked Illinois at halftime. Abe Woodson plunged for a score to cut the lead to 13–6 after three quarters. In the fourth, Woodson ran 70 yards from scrimmage to help tie the game 13–13. After an MSU field goal was short, Woodson ran the ball up to the Illini 18. Woodson, who had once held the world record in the 50 yard high hurdles,"In the Midwest: Illinois Hurdles Over State," Sports Illustrated, Nov. 5, 2006, p16 took a short pass and dashed 82 yards for a touchdown, leaping over State's Art Johnson 30 yards from goal, to pull off the 20–13 upset. No. 2 Oklahoma was determined to prove itself number 1, and Coach Bud Wilkinson directed the team to six touchdowns for a 40–0 win at Notre Dame. No. 3 Georgia Tech beat No. 15 Tulane by the same 40–0 margin. No. 4 Tennessee beat Maryland 34–7 to stay unbeaten. No. 5 Michigan had its second loss, falling to unranked Minnesota at home, 20–7. No. 7 Texas A&M, which had extended its record to 5–0–1 with a 19–13 win at No. 8 Baylor, replaced the Wolverines. The next poll: No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Georgia Tech, No. 3 Tennessee, No. 4 Michigan State, and No. 5 Texas A&M. November November 3 Unbeaten No. 1 Oklahoma (5–0), met the Colorado Buffaloes (5–1) on the road, and were losing 19–6 at halftime to a team that was a four-touchdown underdog, but came back with touchdowns by Tommy McDonald and Clendon Thomas for a difficult 27–19 win."Sooners Scared By Buffs, Rally For 27–19 Win," Oakland Tribune, Nov. 4, 1956, p53 The rest of top five won in shutouts: No. 2 Georgia Tech won 7–0 at Duke, No. 3 Tennessee over North Carolina 20–0, No. 4 Michigan State crushed Wisconsin 33–0, and No. 5 Texas A&M beat Arkansas 27–0. The poll remained unchanged. November 10 While No. 1 Oklahoma registered its fifth shutout in seven games, trouncing Iowa State 44–0, No. 2 Georgia Tech and No. 3 Tennessee met in Atlanta for a game that proved to determine the SEC title. There were 23 punts altogether, and no score until midway through the third quarter, when Tennessee end Buddy Cruze noticed that Tech had stopped double-teaming him. Halfback Johnny Majors (who would later be head coach for UT) passed to Cruze at the 35–yard line, and Cruze ran 64 yards down to the Tech goal line, setting up the touchdown that won the game 6–0."A Day of Decision", Sports Illustrated, Nov. 19, 1956, p28 In the poll that followed, Tennessee was the new No. 1 by a margin of 2 points (1,446 to 1,444) over Oklahoma. No. 4 Michigan State narrowly beat Purdue, 12–9. No. 5 Texas A&M beat SMU 33–7 in Dallas, and increased its record to 7–0–1. Though on probation since 1955 for recruiting violations, coach Bear Bryant's Aggies had appealed to the NCAA to allow them to play in the postseason (as the top contenders for the Southwest Conference title, they would receive an automatic bid in the Cotton Bowl). The next day, however, the NCAA announced that Texas A&M was still banned, because of an additional recruiting violation of a basketball player."Ban Fails To Lift For Aggie Bowl Bid," Amarillo Globe-Times, Nov. 14, 1956, p19 The next poll: No. 1 Tennessee, No. 2 Oklahoma, No. 3 Michigan State, No. 4 Georgia Tech, and No. 5 Texas A&M. November 17 No. 1 Tennessee beat visiting No. 19 Ole Miss 27–7, while No. 2 Oklahoma showed off its offense in crushing Missouri 67–14, sufficiently enough to regain the top spot in the next poll. No. 3 Michigan State traveled to Minnesota, which had been No. 6 a week before, but dropped to No. 17 after a loss to Iowa. The MSU visitors lost, 14–13, and dropped to tenth place in the next poll. No. 4 Georgia Tech beat Alabama 27–0. No. 5 Texas A&M beat visiting Rice, 21–7. No. 7 Iowa, which clinched an unexpected Big Ten championship by defeating No. 6 Ohio State 6–0, took Michigan State's place in the poll that followed. The Top 5 was No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Tennessee, No. 3 Iowa, No. 4 Texas A&M, and No. 5 Georgia Tech. November 24 No. 1 Oklahoma gained 656 net yards in a defeat of visiting Nebraska 54–6. No. 2 Tennessee beat Kentucky 20–7. No. 3 Iowa finished its season with a 48–8 non-league win over Notre Dame, then accepted a bid to the Rose Bowl to play the PCC champion, No. 11 Oregon State. No. 4 Texas A&M was idle as it prepared for its Thanksgiving Day game with Texas, which it won 34–21. In Jacksonville, No. 5 Georgia Tech beat No. 13 Florida 28–0, and traded places with A&M. Tech would be invited back to the city for the Gator Bowl at season's end. The next poll: No. 1 Oklahoma, No. 2 Tennessee, No. 3 Iowa, No. 4 Georgia Tech, and No. 5 Texas A&M. December 1 No. 1 Oklahoma closed its season with a 53–0 win over Oklahoma A&M, finishing 10–0, and with a 466–51 finish in points. Only one of its ten opponents (Colorado) finished 1956 with a winning record. In Nashville, No. 2 Tennessee beat Vanderbilt 27–7 to close with a 10–0 record and a spot in the Sugar Bowl, where it would face 8–2 Baylor. No. 4 Georgia Tech closed with a 35–0 win at Georgia. Unbeaten and once-tied (9–0–1), No. 5 Texas A&M won the Southwest Conference title, but the ban against post-season play sent runner-up TCU to the Cotton Bowl instead. The top five teams in the final poll remained the same from the previous week. Conference standings Major conference standings Major independents Minor conference standings Non-major independents NAIA standings Bowl games 1956–57 NCAA football bowl games Major bowls Tuesday, January 1, 1957 Bowl Winner Runner-up Orange No. 20 Colorado Buffaloes 27 No. 19 Clemson Tigers 21 Cotton No. 14 TCU Horned Frogs 28   No. 8 Syracuse Orangemen 27 Sugar No. 11 Baylor Bears 13   No. 2 Tennessee Volunteers7 Rose   No. 3 Iowa Hawkeyes 35 No. 10 Oregon State Beavers 19 1956 Aluminum Bowl ChampionshipDecember 22, 19561956 Aluminum Bowl Saint Joseph's (IN) 0 Montana State 0 Other bowls Bowl Location Date Winner Score Runner-up Gator Jacksonville, FL December 29   No. 4 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets21–14 No. 13 Pittsburgh Panthers Sun El Paso, TX January 1 No. 17 George Washington Colonials13–0 7Texas Western Miners Minor bowls Bowl Winner Runner-up Tangerine West Texas State 20 Mississippi Southern 13 Burley Memphis State 32 East Tennessee State 12 Refrigerator Sam Houston State 27 Middle Tennessee State 13 Orange Blossom Classic - The Tennessee A&I (9–0) and the Florida A&M Rattlers (8–0) were considered to be the No. 1 and No. 2 teams "among the nation's Negro grid powers"."Negro Teams Clash For Title," The Bee (Danville, VA), Nov. 28, 1956, pD-3 The teams from the two historically black universities played at the Orange Bowl stadium in Miami, which hosted the Orange Blossom Classic as well as the New Year's Day, historically white universities, Orange Bowl game. A crowd of 41,808 watched Tennessee A&I win 41–39."Tennessee State Tigers Edge Rattlers 41-39 in Orange Blossom Classic," Fort Pierce News-Tribune, Dec. 9, 1956, p9-C Tennessee A&I were declared black college football national champion. Prairie View Bowl - On January 1, 1957, the Prairie View A&M Panthers hosted the SWAC champion Texas Southern Tigers in the Prairie View Bowl in Houston, Texas. Final polls 1956 college football rankings Final polls were released in the first week of December. auto + AP pollSooners Repeat As Nation's Best The Austin Statesman December 4, 1956 A16 https://www.newspapers.com/article/austin-american-statesman-sooners-repeat/148946803/ Newspapers.com Rank Team 1st Points1Oklahoma 104 1,7152Tennessee48 1,6183 Iowa 15 1,2704 Georgia Tech 1,2115 Texas A&M 1,0706 Miami (FL) 12 8677 Michigan 5998 Syracuse 4069 Michigan State 30910 Oregon State 22911 Baylor 19812 Minnesota 18313 Pittsburgh 17514 TCU 11815 Ohio State 6016 Navy 5717 George Washington 5118 USC 3319 Clemson 2820 Colorado 25 4em + UP pollAggies Rated 5th in Nation The Austin Statesman December 4, 1956 A16 https://www.newspapers.com/article/austin-american-statesman-sooners-repeat/148946803/ Newspapers.com Rank Team 1st Points1Oklahoma 263372Tennessee 53013Iowa3247 4Georgia Tech0211 5Texas A&M02026Miami (FL)11347Michigan01158Syracuse 0639Minnesota 06010Michigan State05511Baylor046 12Pittsburgh 03613Oregon State 02114TCU018 15USC 01516Wyoming 01317Yale01018Colorado 0919Navy 0820Duke06 Heisman Trophy voting The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player Player School Position 1st 2nd 3rd Total Paul Hornung Notre Dame QB 197 162 151 1,066 Johnny Majors Tennessee HB 172 171 136 994 Tommy McDonald Oklahoma HB 205 122 114 973 Jerry Tubbs Oklahoma C 121 137 87 724 Jim Brown Syracuse HB 118 68 71 518 Ron Kramer Michigan E 70 104 100 518 John Brodie Stanford QB 39 52 60 281 Jim Parker Ohio State G 34 51 44 248 Ken Ploen Iowa QB 36 10 22 150 Jon Arnett USC HB 20 25 18 128 Source: http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1956/12/05/page/60/article/hornung-gains-award-as-best-player-of-56 Chicago Tribune Associated Press Hornung gains award as best player of '56 December 5, 1956 2, sec. 4http://heisman.com/roster.aspx?rp_id=22&path=football Heisman Trophy Paul Hornung 1956 January 27, 2017 Statistical leaders Individual Total offense The following players were the individual leaders in total offense during the 1956 season: Major college RankPlayerTeamGamesPlays Total Yds TdRTouchdowns-for-which-responsible is player's total of touchdowns scored and touchdown passes thrown 1 John Brodie Stanford 10295 1,642 14 2 Paul Hornung Notre Dame 10205 1,337 10 3 Bob Newman Washington State 10213 1,177 9 4 Tom Flores Pacific 10171 1,16718 5 Guy Martin Colgate 92081,165 10 6 Jim Crawford Wyoming 10202 1,114 15 7 Johnny Majors Tennessee 10167 1,101 12 8 Billy Stacy Mississippi State 10209 1,077 9 9 Bob Reinhart San Jose State 10212 1,068 12 10 Jim Brown Syracuse 8162 1,062 15 Official Collegiate Football Record Book 1957 National Collegiate Athletic Association 61 Small college Rank Player Team Games Plays Total Yds 1 Dick Jamieson Bradley 10 240 1925 2 John "Yommie" Costello Pennsylvania Military 9 167 1739 3 Jim Stehlin Brandeis 9 316 1566 4 Edward "Bo" Murray Grambling 9 164 1418 5 Bill Engelhardt Omaha 9 273 1398 6 Williams Western Reserve 7 258 1218 7 Bob Webb St. Ambrose 9 179 1211 8 Bill Rhodes Colorado Western 10 134 1200 9 Joe Ortiz College of Emporia 9140 1182 10 Ron Parrish Linfield9 199 1146 Official Collegiate Football Record Book 1957 National Collegiate Athletic Association 69 Passing The following players were the individual leaders in pass completions during the 1956 season: Major college RankPlayerTeamGamesCompl.Att.Pct.Compl.Yds.Int.TDs1 John BrodieStanford10139240.579163314122Bob NewmanWashington State1091170.5351240883 Bob ReinhartSan Jose State1090172.52311385104 Guy MartinColgate988170.51811001595Gene SaurHardin-Simmons1078133 .58696810 86Ralph HunsakerArizona1075148.507823 1247Joe ClementsTexas1074151.4907931678Tom FloresPacific1073 127.57511198119Charlie ArnoldSMU1071157.45296414 810Carroll JohnstonBYU1071167.425945158 Official Collegiate Football Record Book 1957 National Collegiate Athletic Association 61 Small college RankPlayerTeamGamesCompl.Att.Pct.Compl.Yds.Int.TDs1 Jim StehlinBrandeis9116206.5631155116 2 Dick JamiesonBradley1095192.49517961221 3Jack KempOccidental992184.500112387 4GardaLebanon Valley883163.509874127 5WilliamsWestern Reserve778150.520872108 6Bob WebbSt. Ambrose977147.5241278714 7Robert AnastasAmer Intern974147.504833199 7John "Yommie" CostelloPennsylvania Military974149.49717021017 9Frank SudockAlbright972170.424993143 10 Ron ParrishLinfeld963143.441889137 Official Collegiate Football Record Book 1957 National Collegiate Athletic Association 70 Rushing The following players were the individual leaders in rushing yards during the 1956 season: Major college Rank Player Team Games Yds Rushes Avg 1 Jim CrawfordWyoming10 1,1042005.522 Billy Ray BarnesWake Forest101,0101686.013 Jim BrownSyracuse8 9861586.244 HillUtah State109201406.575 Jim BakhtiarVirginia108792034.336 Mel DillardPurdue98731934.527 Tommy McDonaldOklahoma108531197.178 Clendon ThomasOklahoma108171047.869 Don ClarkOhio State97971395.7310C. R. RobertsUSC107751206.4611Ed SuttonNorth Carolina107481206.2312Don BosselerMiami (FL)107231614.4913Bobby MulgadoArizona State107211076.7414Jim RoseboroOhio State97121524.6815Bob KyaskyArmy97071295.4816Tommy LorinoAuburn10692828.4417Jerry BrownNebraska106901295.3518Joel WellsClemson106781564.3519Jim SwinkTCU106651584.2120Pete HartHardin-Simmons106641315.07 Official Collegiate Football Record Book 1957 National Collegiate Athletic Association 61 Small college Rank Player Team Games Yds Rushes Avg 1Bill RhodesColorado Western1012001309.23 2Walter LivingstonHeidelberg910861756.21 3James C. "Pancho" VillaAllegheny810731348.01 4Edward "Bo" MurrayGrambling910281109.35 5Tom DingleWooster910271755.87 6JarockSt. Norbert910001258.00 7AddlemanCollege of Emporia99641486.51 8KimmelYoungstown89401685.60 9SmithDenison99131585.78 10TaylorGeneva98691376.34 Official Collegiate Football Record Book 1957 National Collegiate Athletic Association 69 Receiving The following players were the individual leaders in receptions during the 1956 season: Major college Rank Player Team Receptions ReceivingYards Touchdowns 1 Art PowellSan Jose State4058352Bill SteigerWashington State3960753BairdHardin-Simmons3745514Brad BombaIndiana3140715AldrichIdaho3040915JamesMissouri3036237JamisonColgate2928968CameraStanford2835029Farrell FunstonPacific2756359EllingsenWashington State2745519WilsonDenver273834 Official Collegiate Football Record Book 1957 National Collegiate Athletic Association 63 Small college Rank Player Team Receptions ReceivingYards Touchdowns 1Tom RychlecAmer Inter403533 2HillPennsylvania Military3985210 3Don CarothersBradley3369710 4Jim E. MoraOccidental323281 5AndersonLos Angeles State306037 6Bob SchembsWhitman293923 6SteinBrandeis292070 8WestmeyerSt. Ambrose285385 8PayneWilliam Jewell283433 10Tom ZesigerOhio Wesleyan275135 10CiminoOmaha274855 Official Collegiate Football Record Book 1957 National Collegiate Athletic Association 70 Scoring The following players were the individual leaders in scoring during the 1956 season: Major college Rank Player Team Pts TD PAT FG 1 Clendon ThomasOklahoma1081800 2Jim BrownSyracuse10614220 3Jack HillUtah State10515150 4Tommy McDonaldOklahoma1021700 5Jim Crawford Wyoming 9614120 6Bob KyaskyArmy851410 7John BayukColorado661100 7Jack CallColgate661100 9Dean DerbyWashington63718110Hewes AgnewPrinceton61101011Mike BrownDartmouth60100011John David CrowTexas A&M60100011Lou ValliStanford60100011Del ShofnerBaylor60100015Jim TaylorLSU5988116Bobby MulgadoArizona State5688016Buford WaterhouseDrake5692016Paul HornungNotre Dame56714019Bobby JordanVMI5587020Dennis McGillYale5490020Charlie McCueKansas54900 Official Collegiate Football Record Book 1957 National Collegiate Athletic Association 66 Small college Rank Player Team Pts TD PAT FG 1Larry HoudekKansas Wesleyan11419002John SteffenRiver Falls State11114270 3Al FrazierFlorida A&M10915190 4Tom SchwalbachNorthern Michigan10314190 5George KelleherTrinity (CT)9914150 5Bob "Spinner" MartinBates991590 7LarsonCarthage971570 8VillaAllegheny961600 8BullardLenoir-Rhyne961600 8GarberCapital96 points1600 Team Total offense The following teams were the leaders in total offense during the 1956 season: Major college Rank Team Gamesplayed Totalplays Yardsgained Yardsper game 1 Oklahoma 10 775 4817 481.7 2 Hardin-Simmons 10 786 3912 391.2 3 Auburn 10 670 3749 374.9 4 Pacific 10 684 3645 364.5 5 Arizona State 10 625 3609 360.9 6 Michigan State 9 585 3231 359.0 7 TCU 10 718 3563 356.3 8 Virginia Tech 10 726 3559 355.9 9 Yale 9 574 3199 355.4 10 Denver 10 676 3505 350.5 Official Collegiate Football Record Book 1957 National Collegiate Athletic Association 65 Small college Rank Team Gamesplayed Totalplays Yardsgained Yardsper game 1 Florida A&M 8 418 3800475.0 2 Tufts 7 450 3083 440.4 3 Tennessee A&I 9 564 3803422.6 4 Bradley 10 642 4110 411.0 5 College of Emporia 9 576 3687 409.7 6 Grambling 9 505 3618402.0 7 Alfred 7 407 2800400.0 8 Texas Southern 10 645 3959 395.9 9 Montana State 9 624 3488387.6 10 Bowling Green 9 6153434 381.6 Official Collegiate Football Record Book 1957 National Collegiate Athletic Association 71 Rushing offense The following teams were the leaders in rushing offense during the 1956 season: Major college Rank Team Yardsper game 1 Oklahoma 391.0 2 VPI 283.5 3 Auburn 276.0 3 Army 276.0 5 Ohio State 274.2 6 USC 269.5 7 Washington 268.8 8 Yale 264.7 9 Texas A&M 263.8 10 Michigan State 256.9 Small college Rank Team Yardsper game 1 Tufts 359.9 2 Florida A&M 347.9 3 Montana State 339.1 4 College of Emporia322.4 5 West Texas State 319.9 6 Bowling Green 318.3 7 Denison 315.4 8 Texas Southern 298.6 9 Colorado Western 289.1 10 Lewis and Clark 283.8 Passing offense The following teams were the leaders in passing offense during the 1956 season: Major college Rank Team Yardsper game1Washington State206.82Stanford204.43Pacific188.94San Jose State188.15Hardin-Simmons156.96Rice137.37Navy133.08Texas130.39Colgate129.010BYU128.6 Small college Rank Team Yardsper game1Pennsylvania Military207.72Bradley196.43St. Ambrose183.04Brandeis169.25Loras153.36Buffalo142.17Tennessee A&I141.78Hamilton138.79Occidental137.610New Haven State136.9 Total defense The following teams were the leaders in total defense during the 1956 season: Major college Rank Team Gamesplayed Totalplays Yardsgained Yardsper game 1 Miami (FL)105901894189.4 2 Oklahoma106341938193.8 3 Ole Miss105721955195.5 4 South Carolina105581998199.8 5 Georgia Tech105372003200.3 6 Navy95431840204.4 7 Auburn105402083208.3 8 Texas A&M106012088208.8 9 Penn State95341903211.4 10 Pittsburgh105912154215.4 Small college Rank Team Gamesplayed Totalplays Yardsgained Yardsper game 1 Tennessee A&I94631070 118.9 2Hillsdale94671128125.3 3Westminster84411105138.1 4 Capital84241203150.4 5 Moravian83941208151.0 6 Allen93781367151.9 7 Florida A&M84051259157.4 8 Juniata73781120160.0 9 Montana State94921506167.3 10 South Carolina State94651531170.1 Official Collegiate Football Record Book 1957 National Collegiate Athletic Association 71 Rushing defense The following teams were the leaders in rushing defense during the 1956 season: Major college Rank Team Yardsper game1Miami (FL)106.92Navy113.1 3Holy Cross123.34Georgia Tech128.45Boston College130.16Texas A&M130.27West Virginia136.98Oklahoma138.39Iowa142.810Ole Miss144.9 Small college Rank Team Yardsper game1Hillsdale51.12Tennessee A&I52.93New Haven State56.64Gettysburg73.75Mississippi Southern75.16Florida A&M79.37Juniata80.68Capital82.09Allen87.110Moravian88.4 Passing defense The following teams were the leaders in passing defense during the 1956 season: Major college Rank Team Yardsper game1Villanova43.82Dartmouth45.33South Carolina47.64Penn State48.25TCU49.75Wake Forest49.77Ole Miss50.68Clemson52.69Auburn52.810NC State53.0 Small college Rank Team Yardsper game1West Virginia Tech29.12Mankato State30.33Virginia Union36.34Concordia41.85Davidson42.76North Dakota43.07Colorado State43.68Akron45.69Idaho State47.110Westminster47.6 See also 1956 College Football All-America Team 1956 Little All-America college football team References