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1959 LSU

9–⁠2 (5–⁠1 Southeastern Conference), coached by Paul Dietzel, finished No. 3 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

LSU in 1959, game by game: won vs. Rice 26–3; won vs. No. 9 TCU 10–0; won vs. Baylor 22–0; won vs. Miami 27–3; won at Kentucky 9–0; won at Florida 9–0; won vs. No. 3 Ole Miss 7–3; lost at No. 13 Tennessee 13–14; won vs. Mississippi State 27–0; won vs. Tulane 14–6; lost vs. No. 2 Ole Miss 0–21+27−21Won 26–3 vs. Rice+23RiceWon 10–0 vs. No. 9 TCU+10No. 9 TCUWon 22–0 vs. Baylor+22BaylorWon 27–3 vs. Miami+24MiamiWon 9–0 at Kentucky+9KentuckyWon 9–0 at Florida+9FloridaWon 7–3 vs. No. 3 Ole Miss+4No. 3 Ole MissLost 13–14 at No. 13 Tennessee-1No. 13 TennesseeWon 27–0 vs. Mississippi State+27Mississippi Sta…Won 14–6 vs. Tulane+8TulaneLost 0–21 vs. No. 2 Ole Miss-21No. 2 Ole Miss
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 19vsRiceW 26–⁠373%
Sep 26vs9TCUW 10–⁠065%
Oct 3vsBaylorW 22–⁠080%
Oct 10vsMiamiW 27–⁠384%
Oct 17atKentuckyW 9–⁠070%
Oct 24atFloridaW 9–⁠062%
Oct 31vs3Ole MissW 7–⁠357%
Nov 7at13TennesseeL 13–⁠1469%
Nov 14vsMississippi StateW 27–⁠088%
Nov 21vsTulaneW 14–⁠689%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs2Ole MissSugar BowlL 0–⁠2149%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Ole Miss 21–⁠0 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 3 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 21st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 1
  2. Wk 2: 1
  3. Wk 3: 1
  4. Wk 4: 1
  5. Wk 5: 1
  6. Wk 6: 1
  7. Wk 7: 1
  8. Wk 8: 1
  9. Wk 9: 3
  10. Wk 10: 3
  11. Wk 11: 3
  12. Wk 12: 3
  13. Final: 3

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.

Heisman TrophyBilly Cannon, RB

Consensus All-AmericanBilly Cannon, RB

Record
9–⁠2
Conference
5–⁠1 tied for 2nd in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 3 peak No. 1
Points
164–⁠50
Coach
Paul Dietzel
Elo
1719 +67 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
21.2 No. 3 of 112 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—

Drafted in 1960

The 1960 draft
Rd 1Billy Cannon RBLos Angeles Rams
Rd 1Johnny Robinson SDetroit Lions
Rd 2Warren Rabb QBDetroit Lions

All-SEC

1 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

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

1959 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Georgia7–⁠010–⁠15
Ole Miss5–⁠110–⁠12
LSU5–⁠19–⁠23
Alabama4–⁠1–⁠27–⁠2–⁠210
Auburn4–⁠37–⁠3
Vanderbilt3–⁠2–⁠25–⁠3–⁠2
Georgia Tech3–⁠36–⁠5
Tennessee3–⁠4–⁠15–⁠4–⁠1
Florida2–⁠45–⁠4–⁠119
Kentucky1–⁠64–⁠6
Tulane0–⁠5–⁠13–⁠6–⁠1
Mississippi State0–⁠72–⁠7

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