CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1953 LSU

5–⁠3–⁠3 (2–⁠3–⁠3 Southeastern Conference), coached by Gaynell Tinsley.

LSU, 1953
Photo: LSU Press, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Schedule and results

LSU in 1953, game by game: won vs. Texas 20–7; tied vs. No. 5 Alabama 7–7; won vs. Boston College 42–6; tied vs. Kentucky 6–6; won at Georgia 14–6; tied at Florida 21–21; lost vs. No. 18 Ole Miss 16–27; lost at Tennessee 14–32; lost vs. Mississippi State 13–26; won at Arkansas 9–8; won vs. Tulane 32–13+36−18Won 20–7 vs. Texas+13TexasTied 7–7 vs. No. 5 Alabama0No. 5 AlabamaWon 42–6 vs. Boston College+36Boston CollegeTied 6–6 vs. Kentucky0KentuckyWon 14–6 at Georgia+8GeorgiaTied 21–21 at Florida0FloridaLost 16–27 vs. No. 18 Ole Miss-11No. 18 Ole MissLost 14–32 at Tennessee-18TennesseeLost 13–26 vs. Mississippi State-13Mississippi Sta…Won 9–8 at Arkansas+1ArkansasWon 32–13 vs. Tulane+19Tulane
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 19vsTexasW 20–⁠737%
Sep 26vs5AlabamaT 7–⁠754%
Oct 3vsBoston CollegeW 42–⁠673%
Oct 10vsKentuckyT 6–⁠657%
Oct 17atGeorgiaW 14–⁠642%
Oct 24atFloridaT 21–⁠2145%
Oct 31vs18Ole MissL 16–⁠2749%
Nov 7atTennesseeL 14–⁠3236%
Nov 14vsMississippi StateL 13–⁠2657%
Nov 21atArkansasW 9–⁠854%
Nov 28vsTulaneW 32–⁠1376%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Tulane 32–⁠13; unranked in the final AP poll; 8th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 84th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 2: 19
  2. Wk 3: 14
  3. Wk 5: 14
Record
5–⁠3–⁠3
Conference
2–⁠3–⁠3 8th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 14
Points
194–⁠159
Coach
Gaynell Tinsley
Elo
1530 +22 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
10.5 No. 25 of 110 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—

All-SEC

1 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

  • Joe TuminelloEAP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1953 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1953 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama4–⁠0–⁠36–⁠3–⁠313
Georgia Tech4–⁠1–⁠19–⁠2–⁠18
Kentucky4–⁠1–⁠17–⁠2–⁠116
Ole Miss4–⁠1–⁠17–⁠2–⁠1
Auburn4–⁠2–⁠17–⁠3–⁠117
Mississippi State3–⁠1–⁠35–⁠2–⁠3
Tennessee3–⁠2–⁠16–⁠4–⁠1
LSU2–⁠3–⁠35–⁠3–⁠3
Florida1–⁠3–⁠23–⁠5–⁠2
Vanderbilt1–⁠53–⁠7
Georgia1–⁠53–⁠8
Tulane0–⁠71–⁠8–⁠1

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