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1953 Maryland

10–⁠1 (3–⁠0 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Jim Tatum, finished No. 1 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Maryland in 1953, game by game: won at Missouri 20–6; won vs. Washington and Lee 52–0; won at Clemson 20–0; won vs. Georgia 40–13; won at North Carolina 26–0; won at Miami 30–0; won vs. South Carolina 24–6; won vs. George Washington 27–6; won vs. No. 11 Ole Miss 38–0; won vs. No. 11 Alabama 21–0; lost vs. No. 4 Oklahoma 0–7+52−7Won 20–6 at Missouri+14MissouriWon 52–0 vs. Washington and Lee+52Washington and …Won 20–0 at Clemson+20ClemsonWon 40–13 vs. Georgia+27GeorgiaWon 26–0 at North Carolina+26North CarolinaWon 30–0 at Miami+30MiamiWon 24–6 vs. South Carolina+18South CarolinaWon 27–6 vs. George Washington+21George Washingt…Won 38–0 vs. No. 11 Ole Miss+38No. 11 Ole MissWon 21–0 vs. No. 11 Alabama+21No. 11 AlabamaLost 0–7 vs. No. 4 Oklahoma-7No. 4 Oklahoma
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 19atMissouriW 20–⁠663%
Sep 26vsWashington and LeeW 52–⁠084%
Oct 3atClemsonW 20–⁠068%
Oct 10vsGeorgiaW 40–⁠1373%
Oct 17atNorth CarolinaW 26–⁠066%
Oct 23atMiamiW 30–⁠078%
Oct 31vsSouth CarolinaW 24–⁠680%
Nov 7vsGeorge WashingtonW 27–⁠682%
Nov 14vs11Ole MissW 38–⁠069%
Nov 21vs11AlabamaW 21–⁠073%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs4OklahomaOrange BowlL 0–⁠757%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Oklahoma 7–⁠0 in the Orange Bowl; No. 1 in the final AP poll; Atlantic Coast Conference champions.

In program history: The 2nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 120 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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 1953.

National championsNo. 1 in the final AP poll, and a title the school claims

Atlantic Coast Conference champions3–⁠0 in the conference, shared with Duke

Heisman voteBernie Faloney, fourth

Consensus All-AmericanStan Jones, OT

Record
10–⁠1
Conference
3–⁠0 shared first in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 1 peak No. 1
Points
298–⁠38
Coach
Jim Tatum
Elo
1777 +133 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
23.8 No. 2 of 110 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Offense
Split-T

Drafted in 1954

The 1954 draft
Rd 1Bernie Faloney BSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 2Chet Hanulak BCleveland Browns
Rd 4Ralph Felton BWashington Redskins
Rd 4Dick Nolan BNew York Giants
Rd 4Charlie Boxold BSan Francisco 49ers

All-ACC

4 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

  • Bill WalkerEAP-2
  • Bob MorganOTAP-2
  • John BowersoxOGAP-2
  • John IrvineCAP-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 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Duke4–⁠07–⁠2–⁠118
Maryland3–⁠010–⁠11
South Carolina2–⁠37–⁠3
North Carolina2–⁠34–⁠6
Wake Forest2–⁠33–⁠6–⁠1
Clemson1–⁠23–⁠5–⁠1
NC State0–⁠31–⁠9

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