# 1952 college football rankings

Two human polls comprised the 1952 college football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll.

## Legend

| | Increase in ranking |
| | Decrease in ranking |
| | Not ranked previous week |
| | National champion |
| (#–#) | Win–loss record |
| (Italics) | Number of first place votes |
| т | Tied with team above or below also with this symbol |

## AP Poll

The final AP Poll was released on December 1, at the end of the 1952 regular season, weeks before the major bowls. The AP would not release a post-bowl season final poll regularly until 1968.
| | Preseason Aug | Week 1 Sep 29 | Week 2 Oct 6 | Week 3 Oct 13 | Week 4 Oct 20 | Week 5 Oct 27 | Week 6 Nov 3 | Week 7 Nov 10 | Week 8 Nov 17 | Week 9 Nov 24 | Week 10 (Final) Dec 1 | |
| 1. | Michigan State (77) | Michigan State (1–0) (52) | Wisconsin (2–0) (27) | Michigan State (3–0) (39) | Michigan State (4–0) (49) | Michigan State (5–0) (38) | Michigan State (6–0) (33) | Michigan State (7–0) (57) | Michigan State (8–0) (80) | Michigan State (9–0) (88) | Michigan State (9–0) (207) | 1. |
| 2. | Maryland (79) | Illinois (1–0) (4) | Michigan State (2–0) (24) | Maryland (4–0) (31) | Maryland (5–0) (36) | Maryland (6–0) (32) | Maryland (7–0) (35) | Georgia Tech (8–0) (32) | Georgia Tech (9–0) (14) | USC (9–0) (24) | Georgia Tech (11–0) (36) | 2. |
| 3. | Georgia Tech (15) | Maryland (2–0) (7) | California (3–0) (23) | California (4–0) (21) | Oklahoma (3–0–1) (23) | Oklahoma (4–0–1) (20) | Georgia Tech (7–0) (27) | Maryland (7–0) (24) | UCLA (8–0) (9) | Georgia Tech (10–0) (20) | Notre Dame (7–2–1) (4) | 3. |
| 4. | Oklahoma (16) | California (2–0) | Maryland (3–0) (22) | Georgia Tech (4–0) (4) | California (5–0) (9) | Georgia Tech (6–0) (7) | Oklahoma (5–0–1) (27) | UCLA (8–0) (15) | USC (8–0) (11) | Oklahoma (7–1–1) (3) | Oklahoma (8–1–1) (14) | 4. |
| 5. | Illinois (7) | Texas (2–0) (5) | Georgia Tech (3–0) (12) | Duke (4–0) (9) | Georgia Tech (5–0) (5) | USC (6–0) (7) | UCLA (7–0) (11) | USC (7–0) (7) | Oklahoma (6–1–1) (1) | UCLA (8–1) | USC (9–1) (2) | 5. |
| 6. | Tennessee (5) | Georgia Tech (2–0) | Duke (3–0) (12) | Oklahoma (2–0–1) (5) | Duke (5–0) (5) | Duke (6–0) (10) | USC (6–0) (3) | Notre Dame (5–1–1) (3) | Ole Miss (7–0–2) (4) | Ole Miss (7–0–2) (5) | UCLA (8–1) (1) | 6. |
| 7. | Wisconsin (4) | USC (2–0) (5) | USC (3–0) (6) | USC (4–0) (2) | USC (5–0) (1) | UCLA (6–0) (6) | Kansas (6–1) | Tennessee (6–1) | Tennessee (7–1) (4) | Notre Dame (6–2–1) | Ole Miss (8–0–2) (3) | 7. |
| 8. | California (2) | Wisconsin (1–0) (1) | Notre Dame (1–0–1) (3) | Kansas (4–0) (1) | UCLA (5–0) (3) | Purdue (3–1–1) (1) | Tennessee (5–1) | Oklahoma (5–1–1) | Maryland (7–1) | Alabama (8–2) (1) | Tennessee (8–1–1) | 8. |
| 9. | TCU (1) | Kansas (2–0) | Kansas (3–0) (1) | Purdue (2–0–1) | Virginia (4–0) (5) | Kansas (5–1) | Purdue (3–2–1) | Texas (6–2) | Notre Dame (5–2–1) | Tennessee (7–1–1) | Alabama (9–2) | 9. |
| 10. | Notre Dame | Duke (2–0) | Princeton (2–0) (3) | UCLA (4–0) | Wisconsin (3–1) | Villanova (6–0) | Notre Dame (4–1–1) | Purdue (3–2–2) | Texas (7–2) | Texas (7–2) | Texas (8–2) | 10. |
| 11. | Texas | Tennessee (1–0) (2) | UCLA (3–0) | Virginia (3–0) (7) | Penn (3–0–1) | California (5–1) | Villanova (6–0–1) | Ole Miss (6–0–2) | Tulsa (6–1–1) (3) | Tulsa (7–1–1) (8) | Wisconsin (6–2–1) | 11. |
| 12. | Penn | Villanova (2–0) (2) | Oklahoma (1–0–1) (1) | Wisconsin (2–1) | Villanova (5–0) | Tennessee (4–1) | Duke (6–1) | Alabama (7–1) | Michigan (5–3) | Wisconsin (6–2–1) | Tulsa (8–1–1) (3) | 12. |
| 13. | Stanford | Princeton (1–0) (1) | Illinois (1–1) | Stanford (4–0) | Tennessee (3–1) | Notre Dame (3–1–1) | Texas (5–2) | Syracuse (5–2) | Wisconsin (6–2) | Duke (8–2) | Maryland (7–2) | 13. |
| 14. | Princeton | UCLA (2–0) | Villanova (3–0) | Penn (2–0–1) | Ohio State (3–1) | Texas (4–2) | Ole Miss (5–0–2) | Pittsburgh (5–2) (1) | Alabama (7–2) | Purdue (4–3–2) | Syracuse (7–2) | 14. |
| 15. | Washington State | Ohio State (1–0) | Virginia (2–0) (3) | Villanova (4–0) | Kansas (4–1) | Michigan (3–2) | Penn State (5–1–1) | Wisconsin (5–2) | Syracuse (6–2) | Maryland (7–2) | Florida (6–3) | 15. |
| 16. | USC (1) | Virginia (1–0) (2) | Purdue (1–0–1) | Ohio State (2–1) | Notre Dame (2–1–1) | Virginia (4–1) | Alabama (6–1) | Princeton (6–1) | Pittsburgh (6–2) (1) | Syracuse (7–2) | Duke (8–2) | 16. |
| 17. | Kansas (1) | Rice (1–0) | Navy (2–0) | Illinois (2–1) | Penn State (4–0–1) (2) | Penn (3–0–2) | Florida (4–2) | Washington (6–2) | Princeton (7–1) | Florida (6–3) | Ohio State (6–3) | 17. |
| 18. | UCLA | Ole Miss (1–0–1) | Alabama (3–0) | Alabama (4–0) | Pittsburgh (3–1) | Wisconsin (3–2) | Wisconsin (4–2) | Florida (5–2) | Kansas (7–2) | Princeton (8–1) | Purdue (4–3–2) | 18. |
| 19. | Duke | Notre Dame (0–0–1) | Georgia (3–0) | Penn State (3–0–1) | Michigan (2–2) | Alabama (5–1) | Princeton (5–1) | Kansas (6–2) | Houston (6–2) | Kentucky (5–3–2) | Princeton (8–1) | 19. |
| 20. | Ohio State | Oklahoma (0–0–1) | Penn State (2–0–1) (1) | Navy (3–0) | Texas (3–2) | Florida (3–2) | Holy Cross (5–1) | Michigan (4–3) | Duke (7–2) | Virginia (7–2) | Kentucky (5–3–2) | 20. |
| | Preseason Aug | Week 1 Sep 29 | Week 2 Oct 6 | Week 3 Oct 13 | Week 4 Oct 20 | Week 5 Oct 27 | Week 6 Nov 3 | Week 7 Nov 10 | Week 8 Nov 17 | Week 9 Nov 24 | Week 10 (Final) Dec 1 | |
| | | Dropped: PennStanfordTCUWashington State | Dropped: Ole MissOhio StateRiceTennesseeTexas | Dropped: GeorgiaNotre DamePrinceton | Dropped: AlabamaIllinoisNavyPurdueStanford | Dropped: Ohio StatePenn StatePittsburgh | Dropped: CaliforniaMichiganPennVirginia | Dropped: DukeHoly CrossPenn StateVillanova | Dropped: FloridaPurdueWashington | Dropped: HoustonKansasMichiganPittsburgh | Dropped: Virginia | |

## Final Coaches Poll

The final UP Coaches Poll was released prior to the bowl games, on December 2. Michigan State received 32 of the 35 first-place votes; one each went to Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, and Oklahoma.
| Ranking | Team | Conference | Bowl |
| 1 | Michigan State | Independent | none |
| 2 | Georgia Tech | SEC | Won Sugar, 24–7 |
| 3 | Notre Dame | Independent | none |
| 4 | Oklahoma | Big Seven | none |
| 4 | USC | Pacific Coast | Won Rose, 7–0 |
| 6 | UCLA | Pacific Coast | none |
| 7 | Ole Miss | SEC | Lost Sugar, 7–24 |
| 8 | Tennessee | SEC | Lost Cotton, 0–16 |
| 9 | Alabama | SEC | Won Orange, 61–6 |
| 10 | Wisconsin | Big Ten | Lost Rose, 0–7 |
| 11 | Texas | Southwest | Won Cotton, 16–0 |
| 12 | Purdue | Big Ten | none |
| 13 | Maryland | Southern | none |
| 14 | Princeton | Independent | none |
| 15 | Ohio State | Big Ten | none |
| 15 | Pittsburgh | Independent | none |
| 17 | Navy | Independent | none |
| 18 | Duke | Southern | none |
| 19 | Houston | MVC | none |
| 19 | Kentucky | SEC | none |
* Prior to the 1975 season, the Big Ten and Pacific Coast (later AAWU / Pac-8) conferences allowed only one postseason participant each, for the Rose Bowl.
* The Ivy League has prohibited its members from participating in postseason football since the league was officially formed in 1954.

## Litkenhous Ratings

The Litkenhous Ratings released in mid-December 1952 provided numerical rankings to over 600 college football programs. The top 150 ranked teams were:
1. Michigan State (9–0) - 115.1 2. Georgia Tech (12–0) - 111.9 3. USC (10–1) - 111.3 4. Oklahoma (8–1–1) - 111.1 5. UCLA (8–1) - 111.0 6. Tennessee (8–2–1) - 109.6 7. Notre Dame (7–2–1) - 105.0 8. Florida (8–3) - 103.4 9. Ole Miss (8–1–2) - 103.1 10. Alabama (10–2) - 102.9 11. California (7–3) - 102.2 12. Maryland (7–2) - 102.2 13. Texas (9–2) - 101.8 14. Wisconsin (6–3–1) - 101.2 15. Ohio State (6–3) - 100.9 16. Duke (8–2) - 100.5 17. Michigan (5–4) - 99.7 18. Purdue (4–3–2) - 99.7 19. Kansas (7–3) - 99.2 20. Mississippi State (5–4) - 96.9 21. Houston (8–2) - 96.1 22. Tulsa (8–2–1) 95.9 23. Washington (7–3) - 95.4 24. Illinois (4–5) - 94.9 25. Colorado (6–2–2) - 94.5 26. Navy (6–2–1) - 93.9 27. Cincinnati (8–1–1) - 93.5 28. TCU (4–4–2) - 93.4 29. Arizona State (6–3) - 92.7 30. Kentucky (5–4–2) - 92.3 31. Georgia (7–4) - 92.0 32. Pittsburgh (6–3) - 92.0 33. SMU (4–5–1) - 92.0 34. Virginia (8–2) - 91.8 35. LSU (3–7) - 91.7 36. Rice (5–5) - 91.6 37. Tulane (5–5) - 91.6 38. Villanova (7–1–1) - 91.3 39. Miami (OH) (7–3) - 90.8 40. Missouri (5–5) - 90.8 41. Minnesota (4–3–2) - 90.2 42. Princeton (8–1) - 90.0 43. East Texas (11–0) - 89.8 44. Texas A&M (3–6–1) - 89.7 45. Nebraska (5–4–1) - 89.2 46. Baylor (4–4–2) - 88.6 47. Stanford (5–5) - 88.0 48. Chattanooga (7–3) - 87.8 49. Pacific (7–3–1) - 87.7 50. Vanderbilt (3–5–2) - 87.5 51. Penn State (7–2–1) 52. Mississippi Southern (10–2) 53. Army (4–4–1) 54. Auburn (2–8) 55. Penn (4–3–2) 56. Arizona (6–4) 57. Oklahoma A&M (3–7) 58. Northwestern (2-6-1) 59. Holy Cross (8–2) 60. Washington State (4–6) 61. Indiana (2–7) 62. Marquette (3–5–1) 63. Syracuse (7–3) 64. Iowa (2–7) 65. Arkansas (2–8) 66. West Virginia (7–2) 67. North Carolina (2–6) 68. San Jose State (6–3) 69. Wake Forest (5–4–1) 70. Yale (7–2) 71. North Texas (7–3) 72. Utah (6–3–1) 73. Fordham (2–5–1) 74. Miami (FL) (4–7) 75. Texas Tech (3–7–1) 76. South Carolina (5–5) 77. William & Mary (4–5) 78. Oregon State (2–7) 79. Clemson (2–6–1) 80. Iowa State (3–6) 81. Hardin–Simmons (5–3–2) 82. Detroit (3–6) 83. Arkansas State (8–3) 84. Santa Clara (2–6–1) 85. Dayton 86. Idaho (4–4–1) 87. Xavier (4–6) 88. Oregon (2–7–1) 89. Bowling Green 90. Colorado A&M (6–4) 91. Compton 92. New Mexico (7–2) 93. Kansas State (1–9) 94. Wyoming (5–4) 95. Lenoir Rhyne 96. Tyler JC 97. Columbia (2–6–1) 98. Abilene Christian (6–3–1) 99. Pasadena JC 100. Boston University (5–4–1) 101. John Carroll 102. West Chester (7–0) 103. Cornell (2–7) 104. Colgate (6–3) 105. Dartmouth (2–7) 106. Ohio (6–2–1) 107. Boston College (4–4–1) 108. Boise JC (8-1) 109. Western Kentucky (9–1) 110. George Washington (6–2–1) 111. BYU (4–6) 112. Texas Western (5–5–1) 113. McNeese (7–3) 114. Wichita (3–6–1) 115. Central Michigan (7–2) 116. Harvard (5–4) 117. Del Mar 118. Tennessee Tech (9–2) 119. Trinity (TX) 120. Heidelberg 121. Furman (6–3–1) 122. Sam Houston (6–4) 123. Louisiana Tech (6–1–2) 124. Southeastern Louisiana 125. Gustavus Adolphus 126. Idaho State (8–0) 127. Bucknell (6–3) 128. Rutgers (4–4–1) 129. Virginia Tech (5–6) 130. Southwestern Louisiana (5–2–2) 131. Southwest Texas (7–2) 132. American International 133. Temple (2–7–1) 134. El Camino 135. Shippensburg 136. Toledo (4–5) 137. Colorado College 138. Western Reserve (5–4) 139. Rhode Island (7–1) 140. East Los Angeles 141. El Dorado 142. Baldwin Wallace 143. Bradley 144. Connecticut (5–3) 145. VMI (3–6–1) 146. The Citadel (3–5–1) 147. Tampa (8–3–1) 148. Utah State (3–7–1) 149. Louisville (3–5) 150. Western Michigan (4–4)

## HBCU rankings

The Pittsburgh Courier, a leading African American newspaper, ranked the top 1952 teams from historically black colleges and universities in an era when college football was largely segregated. The rankings were published on December 20:
* 1. Florida A&M (8–2)
* 2. Virginia State (8–1)
* 3. Lincoln (MO) (7–0–1)
* 4. Tennessee A&I (8–2)
* 5. Texas Southern (9–0–1)
* 6. Maryland State (9–1)
* 7. Southern (9–2)
* 8. Bethune-Cookman (7–1)
* 9. Prairie View A&M (7–2)
The Associated Negro Press also published rankings on December 20:
* 1. Florida A&M (8–2)
* 2. Lincoln (MO) (7–0–1)
* 3. Texas Southern (9–0–1)
* 4. Virginia State (8–1)
* 5. Prairie View A&M (7–2)
* 6. Tennessee A&I (8–2)
* 7. Morris Brown (6–3)
* 8. Bethune-Cookman (7–1)
* 9. Maryland State (9–1)
* 10. Southern (9–2)
* 11. North Carolina A&T (6–4)
* 12. Grambling (7–3–1)
* 13. Texas College (4–3–1)
* 14. Central State (4–4)
* 15. South Carolina State (6–2)
* 16. Morris College (6–1)
* 17. Howard (6–2–1)
* 18. Allen (5–5)
* 19. North Carolina College (4–4)
* 20. Morgan State (4–4–1)
* 21. Hampton (4–5)
* 22. Alcorn (5–5)
* 23. Kentucky State (4–6–1)
* 24. Fisk (6–2)
* 25. Albany State (7–2)
* 26. Wiley (4–5)
* 27. Xavier (LA) (4–5)
* 28. Johnson C. Smith (5–2)
* 29. St. Augustine's (5–2)
* 30. Lane (6–2)
* 31. Fort Valley State (5–4–1)
* 32. West Virginia State (6–4)
* 33. Winston-Salem State (4–4)
* 34. Lincoln (PA) (5–3–1)
* 35. Elizabeth City (6–2)
* 36. Fayetteville State