1957 college football rankings

none August 2023 December 2025 1957 Oklahoma Auburn (AP)Ohio State (UPI) The 1957 college football rankings were an effort to rank the American football teams participating in the 1957 college football season. College football's governing body, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), did not issue rankings or conduct a championship game or playoffs to determine a national champion. The most widely-reported rankings were published by two of the major news agencies based on weekly polling conducted during the season and at the end of the regular season. The Associated Press (AP) conducted a weekly poll of sports writers throughout the country. This was known as the AP poll or the "writers poll". The United Press (UP) conducted a weekly poll of the nation's head football coaches. This was known as the UP poll or the "coaches poll". At the end of the regular season, Auburn was ranked No. 1 in the AP poll, and Ohio State was ranked No. 1 in the UP poll. Auburn did not play in a bowl game; Ohio State won the 1958 Rose Bowl. Neither agency conducted polling after the bowl games. Additional rankings were published at the end of the season by the International News Service (INS), Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), and Litkenhous, each of which ranked Ohio State at No. 1. Legend   Increase in ranking   Decrease in ranking   Not ranked previous week   National champion (#–#)   Win–loss record (Italics)   Number of first place votes т Tied with team above or below also with this symbol AP poll November 2025 The final AP poll was released on December 2, at the end of the regular season, weeks before the major bowls. The AP did not conduct poll after the bowl season regularly until 1968. 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 (Final) Aug Sep 23 Sep 30 Oct 7 Oct 14 Oct 21 Oct 28 Nov 4 Nov 11 Nov 18 Nov 25 Dec 2 Oklahoma (127) Texas A&M (4) Michigan State (20) Minnesota (9) Tennessee (3) Michigan (3) Baylor Pittsburgh Iowa (4) Duke Georgia Tech Navy Oregon State Miami (FL) (1) Auburn Penn State Ohio State (1) Notre Dame (2) USC Kentucky Oklahoma (1–0) (65) Texas A&M (1–0) Georgia Tech (1–0) u Michigan State (0–0) (4) d Navy (1–0) (1) u Minnesota (0–0) (1) d Duke (1–0) (2) u Tennessee (0–0) d Oregon State (1–0) u Michigan (0–0) d Baylor (1–0) d Iowa (0–0) (1) d Texas (1–0) npr Houston (1–0) npr SMU (1–0) npr Pittsburgh (0–1) т td Stanford (1–0) т npr Rice (1–0) npr Ole Miss (1–0) т tnpr Penn State (0–0) т d Auburn Kentucky Miami (FL) Notre Dame Ohio State USC Oklahoma (1–0) (81) Michigan State (1–0) (24) u Minnesota (1–0) (10) u Duke (2–0) (8) u Texas A&M (2–0) d Navy (2–0) (1) d Auburn (1–0) (6) npr Iowa (1–0) (3) u Oregon State (2–0) Michigan (1–0) Baylor (2–0) (1) Army (1–0) npr NC State (2–0) npr Georgia Tech (1–0–1) d Ole Miss (2–0) u Notre Dame (1–0) npr Stanford (2–0) d TCU (1–0–1) npr UCLA (2–0) npr Texas (2–0) d Houston Penn State Pittsburgh Rice SMU Tennessee Oklahoma (2–0) (65) Michigan State (2–0) (21) Texas A&M (3–0) (3) u Minnesota (2–0) (5) d Duke (3–0) (5) d Michigan (2–0) u Oregon State (3–0) (2) u Iowa (2–0) (4) Auburn (2–0) (5) d Army (2–0) u Arkansas (3–0) npr Notre Dame (2–0) u NC State (3–0) Ole Miss (3–0) u Rice (2–0) npr Wisconsin (2–0) npr Georgia Tech (1–0–1) d North Carolina (2–1) npr Tennessee (1–1) npr Pittsburgh (2–1) npr Baylor Navy Stanford TCU Texas UCLA Michigan State (3–0) (92) u Oklahoma (3–0) (64) d Texas A&M (4–0) (5) Minnesota (3–0) (6) Duke (4–0) (5) Iowa (3–0) (10) u Oregon State (4–0) (1) Notre Dame (3–0) (3) u Auburn (3–0) (6) Arkansas (4–0) (5) u Ole Miss (4–0) (1) u NC State (4–0) u Wisconsin (3–0) u North Carolina (3–1) u Navy (3–1) npr Pittsburgh (3–1) u LSU (3–1) npr Michigan (2–1) d Army (2–1) т td Rice (2–1) т Washington State (3–1) т background-color:#FFE6E6 npr Georgia Tech Tennessee Oklahoma (4–0) (89) u Texas A&M (5–0) (5) u Iowa (4–0) (16) u Duke (5–0) (10) u Auburn (4–0) (11) u Ole Miss (5–0) (10) u Notre Dame (3–0) (4) u Michigan State (3–1) (1) d Army (3–1) u LSU (4–1) u NC State (4–0–1) u Ohio State (3–1) (1) npr Rice (3–1) u Minnesota (3–1) d UCLA (4–1) npr Illinois (2–2) (1) т tnpr Navy (4–1) т d Oregon (4–1) npr Texas (3–2) npr Michigan (3–1) d Arkansas North Carolina Oregon State Pittsburgh Washington State Wisconsin Texas A&M (6–0) (59) u Oklahoma (5–0) (51) d Iowa (5–0) (20) Auburn (5–0) (19) u Notre Dame (4–0) (4) u Michigan State (4–1) (3) u Duke (5–0–1) (3) d Ohio State (4–1) (1) u Army (4–1) NC State (4–0–2) u Arkansas (5–1) (5) npr Michigan (4–1) u Texas (4–2) u Ole Miss (5–1) d Oregon (5–1) u Navy (5–1) (1) Tennessee (4–1) npr Colorado (3–2–1) npr Florida (3–1) npr Dartmouth (5–0) npr Illinois LSU Minnesota Rice UCLA Texas A&M (7–0) (65) Oklahoma (6–0) (48) Auburn (6–0) (50) u Michigan State (5–1) (6) u Iowa (5–0–1) (12) d Ohio State (5–1) (10) u Navy (6–1) u Army (5–1) u Tennessee (5–1) u NC State (5–0–2) (3) Michigan (4–1–1) u Arkansas (5–2) (1) d Oregon (6–1) u Ole Miss (6–1) (1) Notre Dame (4–1) d Duke (5–1–1) d Mississippi State (5–1) npr Georgia Tech (3–2–1) npr Missouri (5–1–1) (1) npr VMI (6–0–1) npr Colorado Dartmouth Florida Texas Texas A&M (8–0) (60) Oklahoma (7–0) (46) Auburn (7–0) (42) Michigan State (6–1) (9) Iowa (6–0–1) (19) Ohio State (6–1) (6) Tennessee (6–1) (1) u Ole Miss (7–1) (1) u Navy (6–1–1) d Army (6–1) d Duke (5–1–2) u Mississippi State (5–2) u VMI (7–0–1) u Clemson (5–2) npr Illinois (3–4) npr Oregon (6–2) d TCU (4–2–1) npr Michigan (4–2–1) d NC State (5–1–2) d Rice (4–3) npr Arkansas Georgia Tech Missouri Notre Dame Michigan State (7–1) (87) u Auburn (8–0) (88) u Ohio State (7–1) (23) u Texas A&M (8–1) (2) d Ole Miss (8–1) (5) u Oklahoma (7–1) (4) d Navy (7–1–1) (1) u Iowa (6–1–1) (2) d Notre Dame (5–2) (2) npr Army (7–1) Duke (6–1–2) (1) Tennessee (6–2) d Rice (5–3) u Mississippi State (6–2) d Oregon (7–2) u VMI (8–0–1) (1) d Arizona State (8–0) (3) npr Wisconsin (5–3) npr Michigan (5–2–1) d NC State (6–1–2) d Clemson Illinois TCU Auburn (9–0) (85) u Ohio State (8–1) (65) u Michigan State (8–1) (41) d Texas A&M (8–1) (2) Oklahoma (8–1) (8) u Iowa (7–1–1) (7) u Ole Miss (8–1) (6) d Navy (7–1–1) d Rice (6–3) u Army (7–1) Arizona State (9–0) (11) u Notre Dame (5–3) d Mississippi State (6–2) u Wisconsin (6–3) u NC State (7–1–2) u Duke (6–2–2) d VMI (8–0–1) d Tennessee (6–3) d Oregon State (8–2) npr Florida (5–2–1) npr Michigan Oregon Auburn (10–0) (210) nc Ohio State (8–1) (71) Michigan State (8–1) (30) Oklahoma (9–1) (22) u Navy (8–1–1) (6) u Iowa (7–1–1) (7) Ole Miss (8–1–1) (3) Rice (7–3) u Texas A&M (8–2) d Notre Dame (6–3) u Texas (6–3–1) npr Arizona State (10–0) (10) d Tennessee (7–3) u Mississippi State (6–2–1) d NC State (7–1–2) Duke (6–2–2) Florida (6–2–1) u Army (7–2) d Wisconsin (6–3) d VMI (9–0–1) (1) d Oregon State United Press Coaches Poll The final United Press (UP) Coaches Poll was released prior to the bowl games on December 2.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=aI0jAAAAIBAJ&sjid=F5oFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2188%2C1221587 Reading Eagle Pennsylvania UPI Coaches rate Buckeyes tops in final poll December 2, 1957 18 Ohio State received 14 of the 35 first-place votes; Auburn received eleven, Michigan State eight, and two to Arizona State. + UP poll Rank Team 1st place votes Total points1Ohio State143072Auburn112903Michigan State82834Oklahoma1955Iowa1926Navy1777Rice1178Ole Miss819Notre Dame6010Texas A&M5811Texas36 12Arizona State23213Army1913Duke19 13Wisconsin1916Tennessee817Oregon718Clemson618UCLA620NC State5 Football Writers Association of America In January 1958, the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) published its ranking of the top teams. The rankings were based on voting by a five-man committee consisting of Bert McGrane of the Des Moines Register & Tribune; Bill Rives of the Dallas News; Bill Leiser of the San Francisco Chronicle; Fred Russell of the Nashville Banner; and I.R. McVay of Look magazine. Points were counted on the basis of three points for a first-place vote, two points for second, and one point for third. The top-ranked team in the FWAA rankings received the Grantland Rice Award. The top teams determined by the FWAA were: 1. Ohio State - 8 points (two first-place votes and one second-place vote) 2. Auburn - 5 points (three-way tie, each with one first-place vote) 2. Navy - 5 points (three-way tie, each with one first-place vote) 2. Michigan State - 5 points (three-way tie, each with one first-place vote) 5. Oklahoma - 4 points 6. Ole Miss - 2 points 7. Iowa - 1 point Ohio State FWA's No. 1 Team of '57 Nashville Banner January 3, 1957 13 https://www.newspapers.com/article/nashville-banner-ohio-state-fwas-no-1/153364339/ Newspapers.com INS poll The final 1957 INS rankings were released at the beginning of December. The rankings were determined by the votes of a "panel of experts" consisting of former coaches Bernie Bierman and Andy Kerr, sportswriter Francis J. Powers, INS columnist Bob Considine, and INS sports editor John Barrington.Bucks Nip Auburn by Single Point The Hammond Times December 2, 1957 1 (sports) https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times-ins/153355524/ Newspapers.com The INS panel selected the following as their top ten teams: 1. Ohio State, 38 points 2. Auburn, 37 points 3. Michigan State, 33 points 4. Oklahoma, 26 points 5. Iowa, 25 points 6. Ole Miss, 20 points 7. Navy, 20 points 8. Rice, 12 points 9. Texas A&M, 8 points 10. Notre Dame, 4 points Litkenhous Ratings An early mathematical ranking system was developed by Vanderbilt University professor Edward Litkenhous. These were known as the Litkenhous Ratings or the Litkenhous "difference-by-score" rankings.Litkenhous Names Ohio State as Top Grid Team in U.S. The Wichita Eagle December 10, 1957 20 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-wichita-eagle-litkenhous-names-ohio/153314399/ Newspapers.comOhio State No. 1 Football Team In Final Litratings The Nashville Banner December 11, 1957 37 https://www.newspapers.com/article/nashville-banner-ohio-state-no-1-footba/124785379/ Newspapers.comOhio State Tops Litkenhous Ratings St. Louis Post-Dispatch December 12, 1957 4 https://www.newspapers.com/article/st-louis-post-dispatch/153354509/ Newspapers.com Whereas other rankings were limited to the top 10 or 20 teams, Litkenhous ranked over 550 college football teams. The final Litkenhous rankings were issued in early December 1957, and his complete rankings from 1 to 170 are set forth below. 15em 1. Ohio State (9–1) - 106.7 2. Auburn (10–0) - 103.3 3. Michigan State (8–1) - 103.2 4. Iowa (7–1–1) - 103.1 5. Ole Miss (9–1–1) - 102.9 6. Navy (9–1–1) - 102.8 7. Wisconsin (6–3) - 101.9 8. Oklahoma (10–1) - 101.7 9. Rice (7–4) - 99.1 10. Texas A&M (8–3) - 98.4 11. Tennessee (8–3) - 98.2 12. Notre Dame (7–3) - 97.9 13. Purdue (5–4) - 97.6 14. Duke (6–3–2) - 97.6 15. Arizona State (10–0) - 96.9 16. Illinois (4–5) - 96.3 17. Florida (6–2–1) - 95.7 18. Clemson (7–3) - 94.3 19. Michigan (5–3–1) - 94.2 20. Mississippi State (6–2–1) 21. Texas (6–4–1) - 94.1 22. Arkansas (6–4 ) - 93.7 23. NC State (7–1–2) - 93.4 24. LSU (5–5) - 93.1 25. UCLA (8–2) - 93.1 26. Army (7–2) - 92.9 27. Minnesota (4–5) - 92.4 28. North Carolina (6–4) -91.4 29. TCU (5–4–1) - 90.8 30. Georgia Tech (4–4–2) - 90.4 31. Oregon State (8–2) - 89.9 32. Miami (FL) (6–3) - 89.8 33. Oregon (7–4) - 89.5 34. Kentucky (3–7) - 89.4 35. Stanford (6–4) - 89.3 36. South Carolina (5–5) - 88.4 37. Maryland (5–5) - 88.1 38. Washington State (6–4) - 88.1 39. Vanderbilt (5–3–2) - 86.9 40. SMU (4–5–1) - 86.5 41. California (1–9) - 85.6 42. Georgia (3–7) - 85.3 43. Baylor (3–6–1) - 84.6 44. Colorado - 84.2 45. West Virginia (7–2–1) - 84.2 46. Pittsburgh (4–6) - 83.1 47. Penn State (6–3) - 82.3 48. Houston (5–4–1) - 82.0 49. Oklahoma State (6–3–1) - 81.5 50. Mississippi Southern (8–3) - 81.0 51. Idaho (4–4–1) - 80.8 52. Virginia (3–6–1) - 80.5 53. Washington (2–8) - 80.4 54. Syracuse (5–3–1) - 90.0 55. Utah (6–4) - 79.2 56. Holy Cross (5–3–1) - 78.8 57. Missouri (5–4–1) - 78.8 58. Abilene Christian - 78.7 59. Boston College (7–2) - 78.3 60. Alabama (2–7–1) - 78.2 61. VMI (9–0–1) - 77.2 62. Florida State (4–6) - 76.1 63. Tulane (2–8) - 76.1 64. West Texas - 75.8 65. Louisville (9–1) - 75.7 66. USC (1–9) - 75.4 67. East Texas - 75.0 68. Drake (7–2) - 74.7 69. Detroit (6–3) - 74.6 70. Villanova (3–6) - 74.5 71. Texas Western (6–3) - 74.3 72. Yale (6–2–1) - 74.3 73. North Texas (5–5) - 73.9 74. Memphis State (6–4) - 73.8 75. Princeton (7–2) - 73.8 76. Northwestern (0–9) - 73.5 77. Bowling Green (6–1–2) - 73.4 78. Lenoir Rhyne - 73.4 79. Texas Tech (2–8) - 73.4 80. Kansas State (3–6–1) - 73.3 81. William & Mary (4–6) - 73.3 82. Pacific (5–3–2) - 73.0 83. Virginia Tech (4–6) - 73.0 84. Delaware (4–3) - 72.9 85. Wake Forest (0–10) - 72.5 86. Hardin Simmons (5–5) - 72.4 87. Middle Tennessee (10–0) - 72.4 88. Lamar Tech (8–0–2) - 71.8 89. Iowa State - 71.7 90. McNeese State (8–2) - 71.7 91. Chattanooga (4–5–1) - 71.5 92. Miami (OH) (6–3) - 70.9 93. Kansas (5–4–1) - 70.6 94. Tulsa (4–6) - 70.6 95. Cincinnati (5–4–1 ) - 70.5 96. Dartmouth (7–1–1) - 70.5 97. Boston University (5–3) - 70.4 98. St. Joseph's (IN) - 70.2 99. Lehigh (8–1) - 70.0 100. Pittsburg State - 69.6 101. Xavier (5–5) - 69.1 102. Dayton - 68.9 103. Concordia (MN) - 68.7 104. Louisiana Tech (6–4) - 68.1 105. Northwestern Louisiana - 68.0 106. Trinity (TX) - 67.9 107. Denison - 67.8 108. Penn (3–6) - 67.7 109. Cal Poly - 67.4 110. Rutgers (5–4) - 67.1 111. San Francisco Austin - 67.1 112. Williams - 66.9 113. Fresno State (5–5) - 66.3 114. Amherst - 66.0 115. Texas A&I - 65.8 116. Brown (5–4) - 65.6 117. Indiana (1–8) - 65.6 118. St. Benedict's - 65.5 119. Wofford - 65.5 120. Idaho State (9–0) - 65.4 121. Lincoln (MO) - 65.3 122. Wyoming (4–3–3) - 65.1 123. Arizona State-Flagstaff (8–1) - 64.8 124. Macalester - 64.7 125. Nebraska (1–9) - 64.4 126. San Jose State (3–7) - 64.3 127. McMurry - 64.2 128. West Chester (8–0) - 64.0 129. Tufts - 63.9 130. Kearney - 63.5 131. Tampa (6–3) - 62.5 132. BYU (5–3–2) - 62.3 133. Denver (6–4) - 62.0 134. St. Norbert (8–0) - 62.0 135. George Washington (2–7) - 61.9 136. Montana State (8–2) - 61.9 137. Marshall (6–3) - 61.6 138. Gettysburg - 61.5 139. Toledo (5–4) - 61.5 140. Hillsdale - 61.3 141. Marquette (0–10) - 61.3 142. Stockton - 60.5 143. Florence (AL) - 60.3 144. The Citadel (5–4–1) - 60.1 145. New Mexico (4–6) - 59.9 146. Howard Payne - 59.6 147. UC Santa Barbara (6–2) - 59.3 148. Air Force (3–6–1) - 59.3 149. Elon - 59.3 150. Sam Houston (3–5–1) - 59.2 151. Muskingum - 59.1 152. Southeastern Louisiana - 59.1 153. Western Michigan (4–4–1) - 58.9 154. Cornell (3–6) - 58.3 155. Richmond (4–6) - 58.8 156. Iowa State Teachers - 58.7 157. Akron (7–1–1) - 58.4 158. Fresno JC - 58.3 159. Wichita (1–9 ) - 58.2 160. Wheaton - 58.1 161. Davidson (5–3) - 58.0 162. St. Ambrose - 57.8 163. Butler - 57.5 164. New Mexico A&M (3–7 ) - 57.5 165. Bradley - 57.4 166. Ohio (2–6–1) - 57.4 167. Hawaii (4–4–1) - 57.2 168. Wittenberg - 57.2 169. Utah State (2–7–1) - 57.1 170. Connecticut (5–4–1) - 56.8 Selected others 173. Arizona (1–8–1) - 56.7 182. Eastern Kentucky - 55.5 185. Furman (3–7) - 55.2 191. Colgate (3–6) - 54.5 192. East Tennessee 195. Tennessee Tech 218. Harvard (3–5) - 50.9 219. Youngstown - 50.9 227. Wooster - 49.2 229. Columbia (1–8) - 49.0 230. Carson Newman - 48.9 Ohio State No. 1 Football Team In Final Litratings The Nashville Banner December 11, 1957 37 https://www.newspapers.com/article/nashville-banner-ohio-state-no-1-footba/124785379/ Newspapers.comLitkenhous Names Ohio State as Top Grid Team in U.S. The Wichita Eagle December 10, 1957 20 https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-wichita-eagle-litkenhous-names-ohio/153314399/ Newspapers.com See also 1957 College Football All-America Team References * Category:College football rankings