Factoid 39 - College Football from 1950 to 1959

The 1950s saw only one school add Division One college football and that school was the United States Air Force Academy. The school was only founded one year prior to adding football to its program.

Sixteen schools claimed a title via one poll or another in the 1950s: Princeton; LSU; Auburn; Illinois; Oklahoma; Georgia Tech; Notre Dame; Iowa; Tennessee; Kentucky; Maryland; Michigan State; UCLA; Mississippi; Syracuse; and Ohio State.

Oklahoma and Michigan State dominated the decade. Oklahoma won five national titles coached by legendary Coach Bud Wilkinson, while Michigan State won four coached by another legendary coach, Duffy Daugherty.

However, even more legendary coaches were on the rise as the start of the decade saw Bear Bryant’s Kentucky Wildcats upset the Oklahoma Sooners, coached by Bud Wilkinson, by a score of 13 to seven in the Sugar Bowl. Woody Hayes was also an up and coming coach, winning two titles for The Ohio State Buckeyes in this decade.