CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1959 Kansas

5–⁠5 (3–⁠3 Big Eight), coached by Jack Mitchell.

Schedule and results

Kansas in 1959, game by game: lost at No. 13 TCU 7–14; lost at Syracuse 21–35; won vs. Boston University 28–7; won at Nebraska 10–3; won vs. Kansas State 33–14; lost at No. 18 Oklahoma 6–7; won vs. Iowa State 7–0; lost at Colorado 14–27; won vs. Oklahoma State 28–14; lost vs. Missouri 9–13+21−14Lost 7–14 at No. 13 TCU-7No. 13 TCULost 21–35 at Syracuse-14SyracuseWon 28–7 vs. Boston University+21Boston Universi…Won 10–3 at Nebraska+7NebraskaWon 33–14 vs. Kansas State+19Kansas StateLost 6–7 at No. 18 Oklahoma-1No. 18 OklahomaWon 7–0 vs. Iowa State+7Iowa StateLost 14–27 at Colorado-13ColoradoWon 28–14 vs. Oklahoma State+14Oklahoma StateLost 9–13 vs. Missouri-4Missouri
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 19at13TCUL 7–⁠1426%
Sep 26atSyracuseL 21–⁠3524%
Oct 3vsBoston UniversityW 28–⁠760%
Oct 10atNebraskaW 10–⁠349%
Oct 17vsKansas StateW 33–⁠1475%
Oct 24at18OklahomaL 6–⁠723%
Oct 31vsIowa StateW 7–⁠056%
Nov 7atColoradoL 14–⁠2750%
Nov 14vsOklahoma StateW 28–⁠1444%
Nov 21vsMissouriL 9–⁠1356%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Missouri 13–⁠9; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Big Eight.

In program history: The 41st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 131 on file).

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 1959.

Record
5–⁠5
Conference
3–⁠3 tied for 3rd in Big Eight
AP final
Unranked
Points
163–⁠134
Coach
Jack Mitchell
Elo
1517 +38 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
9.0 No. 30 of 112 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captains
John Peppercorn and Ken Fitch

All-Big Seven

3 first team, 3 second team

First team

  • Curtis McClintonB
  • John PeppercornEAP-1; UPI-1
  • Fred HagemanCAP-1; UPI-1

Second team

  • John HadlBAP-2; UPI-2
  • Ken FitchOTAP-2
  • Benny BoydstonOGUPI-2

From Wikipedia’s 1959 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1959 Big Eight standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Oklahoma5–⁠17–⁠315
Missouri4–⁠26–⁠518
Iowa State3–⁠37–⁠3
Kansas3–⁠35–⁠5
Colorado3–⁠35–⁠5
Nebraska2–⁠44–⁠6
Kansas State1–⁠52–⁠8

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