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1953 Stanford

6–⁠3–⁠1 (5–⁠1–⁠1 Pacific Coast Conference), coached by Chuck Taylor, finished No. 19 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Stanford in 1953, game by game: lost vs. Pacific 20–25; won vs. Oregon 7–0; lost at Illinois 21–33; won at Oregon State 21–0; won vs. No. 4 UCLA 21–20; won at Washington 13–7; won vs. Washington State 48–19; lost at No. 17 USC 20–23; won vs. San José State 54–0; tied vs. California 21–21+54−12Lost 20–25 vs. Pacific-5PacificWon 7–0 vs. Oregon+7OregonLost 21–33 at Illinois-12IllinoisWon 21–0 at Oregon State+21Oregon StateWon 21–20 vs. No. 4 UCLA+1No. 4 UCLAWon 13–7 at Washington+6WashingtonWon 48–19 vs. Washington State+29Washington StateLost 20–23 at No. 17 USC-3No. 17 USCWon 54–0 vs. San José State+54San José StateTied 21–21 vs. California0California
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 19vsPacificL 20–⁠2558%
Sep 26vsOregonW 7–⁠070%
Oct 3atIllinoisL 21–⁠3338%
Oct 10atOregon StateW 21–⁠058%
Oct 17vs4UCLAW 21–⁠2031%
Oct 24atWashingtonW 13–⁠737%
Oct 31vsWashington StateW 48–⁠1965%
Nov 7at17USCL 20–⁠2328%
Nov 14vsSan José StateW 54–⁠074%
Nov 21vsCaliforniaT 21–⁠2156%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Tied California 21–⁠21; No. 19 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Pacific Coast Conference.

In program history: The 39th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 109 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 5: 20
  2. Wk 6: 17
  3. Wk 7: 11
  4. Wk 8: 16
  5. Wk 9: 16
  6. Wk 10: 19
  7. Final: 19

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.

Heisman voteBobby Garrett, fifth

Led the nationBobby Garrett: passing yards (1,637 yds), passing touchdowns (17 TD), passer rating (142.2); Johnny Carson: receptions (45 catches), receiving yards (663 yds)

Record
6–⁠3–⁠1
Conference
5–⁠1–⁠1 2nd in Pacific Coast Conference
AP final
No. 19 peak No. 11
Points
246–⁠148
Coach
Chuck Taylor
Elo
1580 +66 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
9.7 No. 27 of 110 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—

Drafted in 1954

The 1954 draft
Rd 1Bobby Garrett QBCleveland Browns

All-Pacific Coast

3 first team, 2 second team

First team

  • Bobby GarrettBAP-1; UP-1; TW
  • Sam MorleyEAP-1; UP-1; TW
  • John SteinbergEAP-1; UP-1; TW

Second team

  • Norman ManoogianOGAP-2
  • Phil WilsonOGUP-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 Pacific Coast Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
UCLA6–⁠18–⁠25
Stanford5–⁠1–⁠16–⁠3–⁠119
USC4–⁠2–⁠16–⁠3–⁠1
California2–⁠2–⁠24–⁠4–⁠2
Washington State3–⁠44–⁠6
Oregon State3–⁠53–⁠6
Washington2–⁠4–⁠13–⁠6–⁠1
Oregon2–⁠5–⁠14–⁠5–⁠1
Idaho0–⁠31–⁠8

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