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1956 TCU

8–⁠3 (5–⁠1 Southwest Conference), coached by Abe Martin, finished No. 14 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

TCU in 1956, game by game: won at Kansas 32–0; won vs. Arkansas 41–6; won at Alabama 23–6; lost at No. 14 Texas A&M 6–7; lost vs. No. 19 Miami 0–14; won vs. No. 15 Baylor 7–6; lost at Texas Tech 7–21; won vs. Texas 46–0; won at Rice 20–17; won at SMU 21–6; won vs. No. 8 Syracuse 28–27+46−14Won 32–0 at Kansas+32KansasWon 41–6 vs. Arkansas+35ArkansasWon 23–6 at Alabama+17AlabamaLost 6–7 at No. 14 Texas A&M-1No. 14 Texas A&MLost 0–14 vs. No. 19 Miami-14No. 19 MiamiWon 7–6 vs. No. 15 Baylor+1No. 15 BaylorLost 7–21 at Texas Tech-14Texas TechWon 46–0 vs. Texas+46TexasWon 20–17 at Rice+3RiceWon 21–6 at SMU+15SMUWon 28–27 vs. No. 8 Syracuse+1No. 8 Syracuse
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 22atKansasW 32–⁠075%
Oct 6vsArkansasW 41–⁠668%
Oct 13atAlabamaW 23–⁠682%
Oct 20at14Texas A&ML 6–⁠755%
Oct 27vs19MiamiL 0–⁠1465%
Nov 3vs15BaylorW 7–⁠663%
Nov 10atTexas TechL 7–⁠2164%
Nov 17vsTexasW 46–⁠080%
Nov 24atRiceW 20–⁠1759%
Dec 1atSMUW 21–⁠663%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs8SyracuseCotton BowlW 28–⁠2744%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Syracuse 28–⁠27 in the Cotton Bowl; No. 14 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Southwest Conference.

In program history: The 17th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 7
  2. Wk 2: 4
  3. Wk 3: 8
  4. Wk 4: 4
  5. Wk 5: 4
  6. Wk 6: 10
  7. Wk 8: 17
  8. Wk 10: 18
  9. Wk 11: 14
  10. Final: 14

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 1956.

Record
8–⁠3
Conference
5–⁠1 2nd in Southwest Conference
AP final
No. 14 peak No. 4
Points
231–⁠110
Coach
Abe Martin
Elo
1663 +24 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
18.6 No. 10 of 111 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Offense
Meyer spread

Drafted in 1957

The 1957 draft
Rd 2Jim Swink BChicago Bears
Rd 7Chuck Curtis QBNew York Giants

All-Southwest Conference

3 first team, 2 second team

First team

  • Jim SwinkB
  • O’Day WilliamsEAP-2; UP-1
  • Norman HamiltonOTAP-1; UP-1

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1956 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1956 Southwest Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Texas A&M6–⁠09–⁠0–⁠15
TCU5–⁠18–⁠314
Baylor4–⁠29–⁠211
Arkansas3–⁠36–⁠4
SMU2–⁠44–⁠6
Rice1–⁠54–⁠6
Texas0–⁠61–⁠9

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