1959 McMNC: Syracuse University

AP Top 10: Final Record -- Key Bowl Results

1. Syracuse: 11-0-0 -- W, Cotton, 23-14
2. Mississippi: 10-1-0 -- W, Sugar, 21-0
3. LSU: 9-2-0 -- L, Sugar, 0-21
4. Texas: 9-2-0 -- L, Cotton, 14-23
5. Georgia: 10-1-0 -- W, Orange, 14-0
6. Wisconsin: 7-3-0 -- L, Rose, 8-44
7. TCU: 8-3-1 -- L, Bluebonnet, 7-23
8. Washington: 10-1-0 -- W, Rose, 44-8
9. Arkansas: 9-2-0 -- W, Gator, 14-7
10. Alabama: 7-2-2 -- L, Liberty, 0-7

Interesting that every team in the Top 10 played in a bowl game in 1959, including the top four teams facing each other. All they needed was a "plus-one" concept, and they'd have saved us many years of anguish.

Again, like 1958, we have an obvious answer, but let's verify it before crowning the Orangemen of old. In the end, this exploration includes Syracuse, Mississippi, Georgia and Washington.

Immediately, we can eliminate #2 Mississippi because Georgia won the SEC with a perfect 7-0 league mark. The Rebels lost a 7-3 decision on the road to LSU in league play, even though they avenged that loss emphatically in the Sugar Bowl later. Tough luck, but oh well.

Georgia won the SEC, and their only loss was a big loss (30-14) at 6-4 South Carolina. Otherwise, the Bulldogs beat #10 Alabama by 14 points at home, they beat 5-3-2 Vanderbilt at home by 15 points, they beat #19 Florida (5-4-1) by 11 points at home, they beat UPI #19 Auburn (7-3) at home by a point, they beat 6-5 Georgia Tech on the road by seven, and they beat #18 Missouri (6-5) in the Orange Bowl. This is similar to LSU's 1958 schedule: nothing great, but a lot of good wins. Overall, their SOS rating was 51%, so that fits, too. A good year for Georgia, but the resume is not "great" enough to overcome a perfect team in Syracuse.

Or is it?

Syracuse beat 5-4-1 Navy by 26 points on the road, they beat 6-4 Holy Cross by 36 points at home, they shut out #20 Pittsburgh (6-4) on the road by 35 points, they #12 Penn State (9-2) by two points on the road, they beat 5-4-1 UCLA on the road by 28 points, and they beat #4 Texas in the Cotton Bowl. They had three wins over ranked teams, but those were really the only good teams they played all year as they garnered a 55% SOS rating. This was like a current college basketball schedules: you play enough teams that look good on paper but suck in reality in order to build your RPI (Navy, Holy Cross, UCLA in this case). But hey, they do trump Georgia.

So it's down to Washington.

The Huskies make their McMNC debut here with a banging bowl win. No team can match that 36-point thumping of #6 Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl. Washington's one loss was to #14 USC (8-2) at home by seven points, and their overall SOS rating was only 49%. The overpowering bowl win is probably not enough to compensate for that one loss in a debate versus Syracuse, but let's look at the rest of the schedule anyway: a one-point over 8-2 Oregon on the road, a 16-point win over UCLA on the road, and a 20-0 win over 6-4 Washington State at home. They beat one ranked team all year (Wisconsin) and lost to the only other ranked team that they played.

That's just not enough to beat the Orange for the McMNC, is it?

McMNC Revisions
1. Syracuse
2. Georgia
3. Washington
4. Mississippi
5. Arkansas

RUNNING SCORECARD:
Tennessee: +1938, +1942, +1950, -1951
Iowa: +1956
Georgia Tech: +1952
Illinois: +1951
Michigan: +1947, =1948
Georgia: +1946
Alabama: +1945
Purdue: +1943
Stanford: +1940
California: +1937
Pittsburgh: +1936, -1937
Syracuse: =1959
LSU: =1958
Texas A&M: =1939
Michigan State: -1952, +1953
Ohio State: -1942, +1944, =1954
Oklahoma: +1949, -1950, =1955, -1956, +1957
TCU: -1938
Maryland: -1953
Auburn: -1957
Army: -1944, -1945
Minnesota: -1936, -1940, =1941
Notre Dame: -1943, -1946, -1947, -1949