CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1954 Ole Miss

9–⁠2 (5–⁠0 Southeastern Conference), coached by John Vaught, finished No. 6 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Ole Miss in 1954, game by game: won vs. North Texas 35–12; won vs. Kentucky 28–9; won at Villanova 52–0; won at Vanderbilt 22–7; won vs. Tulane 34–7; lost at No. 7 Arkansas 0–6; won at LSU 21–6; won at Memphis 51–0; won at Houston 26–0; won vs. Mississippi State 14–0; lost vs. No. 6 Navy 0–21+52−21Won 35–12 vs. North Texas+23North TexasWon 28–9 vs. Kentucky+19KentuckyWon 52–0 at Villanova+52VillanovaWon 22–7 at Vanderbilt+15VanderbiltWon 34–7 vs. Tulane+27TulaneLost 0–6 at No. 7 Arkansas-6No. 7 ArkansasWon 21–6 at LSU+15LSUWon 51–0 at Memphis+51MemphisWon 26–0 at Houston+26HoustonWon 14–0 vs. Mississippi State+14Mississippi Sta…Lost 0–21 vs. No. 6 Navy-21No. 6 Navy
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 17vsNorth TexasW 35–⁠1289%
Sep 25vsKentuckyW 28–⁠954%
Oct 2atVillanovaW 52–⁠065%
Oct 9atVanderbiltW 22–⁠773%
Oct 16vsTulaneW 34–⁠789%
Oct 23at7ArkansasL 0–⁠659%
Oct 30atLSUW 21–⁠662%
Nov 6atMemphisW 51–⁠096%
Nov 13atHoustonW 26–⁠057%
Nov 27vsMississippi StateW 14–⁠074%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs6NavySugar BowlL 0–⁠2154%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Navy 21–⁠0 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 6 in the final AP poll; Southeastern Conference champions.

In program history: The 16th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 124 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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 1954.

Southeastern Conference champions5–⁠0 in the conference

Record
9–⁠2
Conference
5–⁠0 first in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 6 peak No. 5
Points
283–⁠68
Coach
John Vaught
Elo
1690 +86 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
17.0 No. 11 of 111 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Jimmy Patton and Allen “Red” Muirhead

All-SEC

2 first team, 1 second team

First team

  • Rex BogganOTAP-1
  • Eagle DayQBAP-2; UP

Second team

  • Allen MuirheadRBAP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1954 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1954 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ole Miss5–⁠09–⁠26
Georgia Tech6–⁠28–⁠3
Kentucky5–⁠27–⁠3
Florida5–⁠25–⁠5
Georgia3–⁠2–⁠16–⁠3–⁠1
Auburn3–⁠38–⁠313
Mississippi State3–⁠36–⁠4
Alabama3–⁠3–⁠24–⁠5–⁠2
LSU2–⁠55–⁠6
Tulane1–⁠6–⁠11–⁠6–⁠3
Tennessee1–⁠54–⁠6
Vanderbilt1–⁠52–⁠7

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