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1952 Duke

8–⁠2 (5–⁠0 Southern Conference), coached by Bill Murray, finished No. 16 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Duke in 1952, game by game: won vs. Washington and Lee 34–0; won at SMU 14–7; won vs. No. 11 Tennessee 7–0; won at South Carolina 33–7; won at NC State 57–0; won at No. 9 Virginia 21–7; lost vs. No. 4 Georgia Tech 7–28; lost vs. Navy 6–16; won at Wake Forest 14–7; won at North Carolina 34–0+57−21Won 34–0 vs. Washington and Lee+34Washington and …Won 14–7 at SMU+7SMUWon 7–0 vs. No. 11 Tennessee+7No. 11 TennesseeWon 33–7 at South Carolina+26South CarolinaWon 57–0 at NC State+57NC StateWon 21–7 at No. 9 Virginia+14No. 9 VirginiaLost 7–28 vs. No. 4 Georgia Tech-21No. 4 Georgia TechLost 6–16 vs. Navy-10NavyWon 14–7 at Wake Forest+7Wake ForestWon 34–0 at North Carolina+34North Carolina
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 20vsWashington and LeeW 34–⁠060%
Sep 26atSMUW 14–⁠747%
Oct 4vs11TennesseeW 7–⁠043%
Oct 11atSouth CarolinaW 33–⁠754%
Oct 18atNC StateW 57–⁠076%
Oct 25at9VirginiaW 21–⁠740%
Nov 1vs4Georgia TechL 7–⁠2855%
Nov 8vsNavyL 6–⁠1671%
Nov 15atWake ForestW 14–⁠753%
Nov 22atNorth CarolinaW 34–⁠070%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat North Carolina 34–⁠0; No. 16 in the final AP poll; Southern Conference champions.

In program history: The 13th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 108 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 19
  2. Wk 2: 10
  3. Wk 3: 6
  4. Wk 4: 5
  5. Wk 5: 6
  6. Wk 6: 6
  7. Wk 7: 12
  8. Wk 9: 20
  9. Wk 10: 13
  10. Final: 16

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1952.

Southern Conference champions5–⁠0 in the conference

Record
8–⁠2
Conference
5–⁠0 first in Southern Conference
AP final
No. 16 peak No. 5
Points
227–⁠72
Coach
Bill Murray
Elo
1659 +123 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
16.4 No. 15 of 113 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Louis Tepe
Most valuable player
Louis Tepe

All-Southern Conference

6 first team, 4 second team

First team

  • Worth LutzBUP-1
  • Ed MeadowsOTUP-1; INS-1
  • Bob BurrowsOGUP-1; INS-1
  • Truett GrantOGINS-1
  • Carl BoninOGINS-1
  • John CareyOGINS-1

Second team

  • Charlie SmithBUP-2
  • Jack KistlerBUP-2
  • Howard PittEUP-2
  • Lou TepeCUP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1952 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1952 Southern Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Duke5–⁠08–⁠216
West Virginia5–⁠17–⁠2
Wake Forest5–⁠15–⁠4–⁠1
William & Mary4–⁠14–⁠5
George Washington5–⁠1–⁠16–⁠2–⁠1
Virginia Tech4–⁠45–⁠6
Furman2–⁠2–⁠16–⁠3–⁠1
South Carolina3–⁠45–⁠5
Washington and Lee3–⁠43–⁠7
VMI2–⁠3–⁠13–⁠6–⁠1
NC State2–⁠43–⁠7
North Carolina1–⁠22–⁠6
The Citadel1–⁠3–⁠13–⁠5–⁠1
Davidson1–⁠62–⁠7
Clemson0–⁠12–⁠6–⁠1
Richmond0–⁠61–⁠9

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.