# 1955 college football rankings

Two human polls comprised the 1955 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 November 28, at the end of the 1955 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 19 | Week 2 Sep 26 | Week 3 Oct 3 | Week 4 Oct 10 | Week 5 Oct 17 | Week 6 Oct 24 | Week 7 Oct 31 | Week 8 Nov 7 | Week 9 Nov 14 | Week 10 Nov 21 | Week 11 (Final) Nov 28 | |
| 1. | UCLA (33) | UCLA (1–0) (34) | Maryland (2–0) (45) | Maryland (3–0) (88) | Michigan (3–0) (80) | Michigan (4–0) (76) | Maryland (6–0) (62) | Maryland (7–0) (74) | Oklahoma (7–0) (115) | Oklahoma (8–0) (103) | Oklahoma (9–0) (114) | Oklahoma (10–0) (218) | 1. |
| 2. | Oklahoma (32) | Georgia Tech (1–0) (3) | Michigan (1–0) (48) | Michigan (2–0) (27) | Maryland (4–0) (45) | Maryland (5–0) (33) | Oklahoma (5–0) (53) | Oklahoma (6–0) (54) | Maryland (8–0) (89) | Maryland (9–0) (46) | Michigan State (8–1) (39) | Michigan State (8–1) (88) | 2. |
| 3. | Michigan (34) | Oklahoma (0–0) (10) | Georgia Tech (2–0) (11) | Oklahoma (2–0) (13) | Oklahoma (3–0) (21) | Oklahoma (4–0) (29) | Michigan (5–0) (39) | Michigan (6–0) (63) | Michigan State (6–1) (44) | Michigan State (7–1) (37) | Maryland (10–0) (35) | Maryland (10–0) (55) | 3. |
| 4. | Ohio State (9) | Michigan (0–0) (6) | Notre Dame (1–0) (3) | Georgia Tech (3–0) (9) | Notre Dame (3–0) (7) | Navy (4–0) (7) | Navy (5–0) (4) | Michigan State (5–1) (7) | UCLA (7–1) (9) | Notre Dame (7–1) (2) | UCLA (9–1) (6) | UCLA (9–1) (9) | 4. |
| 5. | Maryland (8) | Maryland (1–0) (1) | Oklahoma (1–0) (12) | Notre Dame (2–0) (4) | Georgia Tech (4–0) (3) | Duke (4–0) (15) | Michigan State (4–1) (4) | UCLA (6–1) (3) | Notre Dame (6–1) (2) | UCLA (8–1) (6) | Notre Dame (8–1) (3) | Ohio State (7–2) (4) | 5. |
| 6. | Notre Dame (2) | Ohio State (0–0) | Army (1–0) (1) | Army (2–0) (8) | Wisconsin (3–0) (11) | Michigan State (3–1) (4) | UCLA (5–1) (2) | Notre Dame (5–1) (1) | West Virginia (7–0) (18) | Michigan (7–1) (1) | Ohio State (7–2) (5) | TCU (9–1) (9) | 6. |
| 7. | Army | Pittsburgh (1–0) | UCLA (1–1) | UCLA (2–1) | TCU (4–0) (4) | UCLA (4–1) (3) | West Virginia (6–0) (13) | West Virginia (6–0) (16) | Michigan (6–1) | TCU (7–1) (2) | TCU (8–1) (3) | Georgia Tech (8–1–1) | 7. |
| 8. | Navy (1) | Ole Miss (1–0) | Ohio State (1–0) (1) | TCU (3–0) (5) | Navy (3–0) | West Virginia (4–0) (9) | Auburn (4–0–1) (8) | Georgia Tech (6–1) | TCU (6–1) (3) | Texas A&M (7–1–1) | Texas A&M (7–1–1) | Auburn (8–1–1) (6) | 8. |
| 9. | Miami (FL) (5) | Navy (0–0) т | USC (2–0) (3) | Wisconsin (2–0) (11) | UCLA (3–1) (1) | Auburn (3–0–1) (5) | Notre Dame (4–1) | Navy (5–1) | Texas A&M (6–1–1) | Ohio State (6–2) (1) | Georgia Tech (7–1–1) | Notre Dame (8–2) | 9. |
| 10. | Georgia Tech (1) | USC (1–0) (1) т | TCU (2–0) (3) | USC (3–0) (3) | West Virginia (3–0) (11) | USC (4–1) (1) | USC (5–1) | TCU (6–1) (2) | Ohio State (5–2) (1) | Georgia Tech (7–1–1) | Auburn (7–1–1) | Ole Miss (9–1) (1) | 10. |
| 11. | Rice | Notre Dame (0–0) | Rice (1–0) | West Virginia (2–0) (13) | Duke (3–0) (4) | Notre Dame (3–1) | Texas A&M (5–1) | Ohio State (4–2) | Georgia Tech (6–1–1) | Navy (6–1–1) | Navy (6–1–1) | Pittsburgh (7–3) (1) | 11. |
| 12. | Iowa (4) | Texas Tech (1–0) | Pittsburgh (2–0) (1) | Navy (2–0) | Washington (4–0) (4) | Texas A&M (4–1) | Georgia Tech (5–1) | Texas A&M (5–1–1) | Auburn (5–1–1) (2) | Auburn (6–1–1) (4) | Michigan (7–2) | Michigan (7–2) | 12. |
| 13. | USC (2) | Rice (0–0) | West Virginia (1–0) (3) | Duke (2–0) (3) | Michigan State (2–1) | Georgia Tech (4–1) | Holy Cross (4–1) (1) | Miami (OH) (6–0) | Navy (5–1–1) | West Virginia (7–1) (1) | Pittsburgh (7–3) (1) | USC (6–4) | 13. |
| 14. | Wisconsin | Army (0–0) | Iowa (1–0) (1) | Auburn (2–0) | Ohio State (2–1) | Colorado (4–0) | TCU (5–1) | Auburn (4–1–1) | Ole Miss (7–1) | Ole Miss (8–1) | Miami (FL) (5–3) (2) | Miami (FL) (6–3) | 14. |
| 15. | Ole Miss | Miami (FL) (0–1) | Navy (1–0) (1) | Miami (FL) (1–1) | Rice (2–0–1) | Wisconsin (3–1) | Ohio State (3–2) | Ole Miss (6–1) | Miami (OH) (7–0) | Pittsburgh (6–3) (1) | Ole Miss (8–1) | Miami (OH) (9–0) | 15. |
| 16. | SMU | LSU (1–0) | Duke (1–0) | Clemson (3–0) | USC (3–1) | Baylor (4–1) | Pittsburgh (4–2) | USC (5–2) | Illinois (4–3) | Miami (OH) (8–0) | Miami (OH) (8–0) | Stanford (6–3–1) | 16. |
| 17. | Auburn | Arkansas (1–0) (1) | Wisconsin (1–0) | Purdue (2–0) | Auburn (2–0–1) | Boston College (3–0) (1) | Duke (4–1) | Kentucky (4–2–1) | Pittsburgh (5–3) | Tennessee (5–2–1) | Stanford (6–3–1) | Texas A&M (7–2–1) | 17. |
| 18. | Duke (1) | Baylor (1–0) | Penn State (1–0) (1) | Washington (3–0) (1) | Army (2–1) | TCU (4–1) | Miami (OH) (5–0) | Syracuse (3–2) | Duke (4–2–1) т | Stanford (5–3–1) | Duke (6–2–1) | Navy (6–2–1) | 18. |
| 19. | West Virginia (1) | Florida (1–0) т | Washington (2–0) (1) | Kentucky (2–1) | Texas A&M (3–1) | Yale (4–0) | Washington (4–1–1) | Army (4–2) | Mississippi State (6–2) т | Oregon State (6–2) | Vanderbilt (7–2) | West Virginia (8–2) | 19. |
| 20. | Purdue (1) | Purdue (0–0) (1) т | Baylor (2–0) | Stanford (2–1) | Colorado (3–0) тKentucky (2–1–1) т | Holy Cross (4–0) | Ole Miss (5–1) | Mississippi State (6–1) | Iowa (3–3–1) тMiami (FL) (3–3) т | Duke (5–2–1) | Syracuse (5–3) | Army (6–3) | 20. |
| | Preseason Aug | Week 1 Sep 19 | Week 2 Sep 26 | Week 3 Oct 3 | Week 4 Oct 10 | Week 5 Oct 17 | Week 6 Oct 24 | Week 7 Oct 31 | Week 8 Nov 7 | Week 9 Nov 14 | Week 10 Nov 21 | Week 11 (Final) Nov 28 | |
| | | Dropped: AuburnDukeIowaSMUWest VirginiaWisconsin | Dropped: ArkansasFloridaLSUMiami (FL)Ole MissPurdueTexas Tech | Dropped: BaylorIowaOhio StatePenn StatePittsburghRice | Dropped: ClemsonMiami (FL)PurdueStanford | Dropped: ArmyKentuckyOhio StateRiceWashington | Dropped: BaylorBoston CollegeColoradoWisconsinYale | Dropped: DukeHoly CrossPittsburghWashington | Dropped: ArmyKentuckySyracuseUSC | Dropped: IllinoisIowaMiami (FL)Mississippi State | Dropped: Oregon StateTennesseeWest Virginia | Dropped: DukeSyracuseVanderbilt | |

## Final Coaches Poll

The final UP Coaches Poll was released prior to the bowl games, on November 28. Oklahoma received 24 of the 35 first-place votes; Michigan State received seven, and two each to Maryland and UCLA.
| Ranking | Team | Conference | Bowl |
| 1 | Oklahoma | Big Seven | Won Orange, 20–6 |
| 2 | Michigan State | Big Ten | Won Rose, 17–14 |
| 3 | Maryland | ACC | Lost Orange, 6–20 |
| 4 | UCLA | Pacific Coast | Lost Rose, 14–17 |
| 5 | Ohio State | Big Ten | none |
| 6 | TCU | Southwest | Lost Cotton, 13–14 |
| 7 | Georgia Tech | SEC | Won Sugar, 7–0 |
| 8 | Auburn | SEC | Lost Gator, 13–25 |
| 9 | Ole Miss | SEC | Won Cotton, 14–13 |
| 10 | Notre Dame | Independent | none |
| 11 | Pittsburgh | Independent | Lost Sugar, 0–7 |
| 12 | USC | Pacific Coast | none |
| 13 | Michigan | Big Ten | none |
| 14 | Texas A&M | Southwest | none |
| 15 | Army | Independent | none |
| 16 | Duke | ACC | none |
| 17 | West Virginia | Southern | none |
| 18 | Miami (FL) | Independent | none |
| 19 | Iowa | Big Ten | none |
| 20 | Miami (OH) | Mid-American | none |
| 20 | Navy | Independent | none |
| 20 | Stanford | Pacific Coast | none |
| 23 | Kentucky | SEC | none |
| 23 | Tennessee | 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 included rankings of over 650 teams. The top 200 teams in the Litkehous analysis were:
1. Oklahoma (11-0) - 109.2 2. UCLA (9-2) - 107.5 3. TCU (9-2) - 107.2 4. Maryland (10-1) - 107.0 5. Michigan State (9-1) - 106.9 6. Georgia Tech (9-1-1) - 101.7 7. Ohio State (7-2) - 100.9 8. Ole Miss (10-1) - 100.5 9. USC (6-4) - 99.9 10. Notre Dame (8-2) - 99.0 11. Michigan (7-2) - 98.3 12. Stanford (6-3-1)195 - 98.2 13. Texas A&M (7-2-1) -98.2 14. Miami (FL) (9-0) - 97.2 15. Vanderbilt (8-3) - 96.9 16. Tennessee (6-3-1) - 95.7 17. Army (6-3) - 95.4 18. Pittsburgh (7-4) - 95.3 19. Duke (7-2-1) - 95.2 20. Navy (6-2-1) - 94.5 21. Iowa (3-5-1) - 93.3 22. West Virginia (8-2) - 93.0 23. Auburn (8-2-1) - 92.6 24. LSU (3-5-2) - 92.1 25. Texas (5-5) - 92.1 26. Kentucky (6-3-1) - 92.0 27. Illinois (5-3-1) - 91.9 28. Purdue (5-3-1) - 91.9 29. Miami (OH) - 91.3 30. SMU (4-6) - 91.1 31. Washington (5-4-1) - 90.8 32. Wisconsin (4-5) - 90.6 33. Arkansas (5-4-1) - 90.0 34. Clemson (7-3) - 89.6 35. Xavier (7-2) - 89.5 36. Baylor (5-5) - 88.8 37. Mississippi State (6-4) - 88.8 38. Tulane (5-4-1) - 87.8 39. Florida (4-6) - 87.6 40. Syracuse (5-3) - 87.6 41. Georgia (4-6) - 87.3 42. Mississippi Southern (9-1) - 86.6 43. Oregon (6-4) - 86.5 44. Minnesota (3-6) - 85.9 45. Pacific (5-4) - 85.5 46. Texas Tech (7-3-1) - 85.5 47. Rice (2-7-1) - 84.5 48. Colorado (6-4) - 83.9 49. Boston College (5-2-1) - 83.4 50. Arizona State (8-2-1) - 83.3 51. Indiana (3-6) - 82.9 52. Texas Western (6-2-2) - 82.7 53. Oregon State (6-3) - 81.7 54. Wichita (7-2-1) - 81.0 55. Yale (7-2) - 81.0 56. Denver (8-2) - 80.9 57. Penn State (5-4) - 80.3 58. Colgate (6-3) - 79.8 59. Houston (6-4) - 79.7 60. Nebraska (5-5) - 79.2 61. Trinity (TX) (9-0) - 78.3 62. North Carolina (3-7) - 78.0 63. Utah (6-3) - 77.7 64. Wake Forest (5-4-1) - 77.6 65. George Washington - 76.8 66. Chattanooga (5-4-1) - 76.7 67. Delaware (8-1) - 76.7 68. California (2-7-1) - 76.3 69. North Texas (5-4-1) - 76.3 70. San Jose State (5-3-1) - 76.2 71. Virginia Tech (6-3-1) - 75.9 72. Kent State (6-2-1) 73. Bowling Green (7-1-1) - 75.7 74. Arizona (5-4-1) - 75.2 75. Missouri (1-9) - 75.0 76. Princeton (7-2) - 74.8 77. Kansas State (4-6) - 74.1 78. Louisiana Tech (9-1) - 73.9 79. NC State (4-5-1) - 73.6 80. Colorado A&M (8-2) - 73.4 81. West Texas (4-4-1) - 73.0 82. Alabama (0-10) - 72.9 83. Wyoming (8-3) - 72.8 84. Detroit (5-3-1) - 72.4 85. Lafayette (6-2) - 72.4 86. Boise (7-2) - 72.3 87. Louisville (7-2) - 72.1 88. Northwestern (0-8-1) - 72.0 89. Compton (11-0) - 71.9 90. Ohio (5-4) - 71.9 91. Dayton (3-6-1) - 71.4 92. Florida State (5-5) - 71.3 93. Cornell (5-4) - 71.0 94. Hardin–Simmons (5-5) - 70.7 95. Tennessee Tech (7-3) - 69.9 96. Kansas (3-6-1) - 69.5 97. Oklahoma A&M (2-8) - 69.2 98. Harvard (3-4-1) - 69.0 99. Richmond (4-3-2) - 68.7 100. Central Michigan (8-1) - 68.6 101. South Carolina (3-6) - 68.6 102. Tampa (7-2) - 68.6 103. Virginia (1-9) - 68.6 104. Southwest Texas (6-1-2) - 68.5 105. Idaho (2-7) - 68.2 106. Rhode Island (6-1-2) - 68.2 107. Trinity (CT) (7-0) - 67.8 108. Gettysburg - 67.7 109. William & Mary (1-7-1) - 67.7 110. Marquette (2-6-1) - 67.6 111. Dartmouth (3-6) - 66.7 112. Lehigh (7-2) - 66.6 113. Sam Houston (6-1-2) - 66.6 114. Villanova (1-9) - 66.6 115. Iowa State - 66.4 116. Washington State (1-7-2) - 66.4 117. Marshall (3-6) - 66.2 118. Utah State (4-6) - 66.2 119. Maine (5-1-1) - 65.6 120. McNeese (7-1-1) - 65.5 121. Cincinnati (1-6-2) - 65.1 122. Holy Cross (6-4) - 65.1 123. Memphis State (2-7) - 64.8 124. Tulsa (2-7-1) - 64.2 125. Youngstown - 64.0 126. Muskingum (8-0) - 63.7 127. Northeast Oklahoma A&M - 63.4 128. Fresno State (9-1) - 63.2 129. Brown (2-7) - 63.1 130. Hawaii (7-4) - 62.8 131. East Texas (5-4-1) - 62.8 132. Abilene Christian (3-5-2) - 62.4 133. Arkansas State (6-3) - 62.2 134. Connecticut (4-4) - 61.8 135. Southeastern Louisiana - 61.5 136. Cal Poly (7-3) - 61.0 137. Akron (6-2) - 60.7 138. Howard Payne - 60.7 139. Florence 60.1 140. Heidelberg (9-0) - 60.0 141. Murray - 59.8 142. McMurry - 59.6 143. Boston University (2-6) - 59.0 144. Tufts - 58.8 145.
146. Jacksonville - 58.2 147. Eastern Montana - 58.2 148. Mt. San Antonio - 58.2 149. New Hampshire (2-4-2) - 58.2 150. Middle Tennessee (7-2-1) - 58.1 151. Northwestern Louisiana - 57.9 152. Rutgers (3-5) - 57.9 153. Cameron State - 57.8 154. Southwestern Louisiana (5-4) - 57.2 155. Bucknell (2-6-1) - 57.0 156. Yuba - 57.0 157. Eastern Kentucky - 56.6 158. Lenoir Rhyne - 56.6 159. Tyler JC - 56.5 160. William Carey - 56.5 161. Penn (0-9) - 56.4 162. Stephen F. Austin (5-4) - 56.4 163. South Dakota State (6-2-1) - 55.8 164. Hillsdale (9-0) - 55.6 165. Toledo (3-5-1) - 55.5 166. Springfield - 55.4 167. Idaho State (8-1) - 55.2 168. Morris Harvey - 55.2 169. Westminster (PA) - 55.1 170. Alfred - 55.0 171. Concordia (MN) - 55.0 172. Lewis & Clark - 55.0 173. Worchester Poly - 55.0 174. Columbia (1-8) - 54.9 175. Moravian - 54.9 176. Omaha - 54.9 177. St. Joseph (IN) - 54.8 178. Midwestern - 54.7 179. San Francisco CC - 54.7 180. Evansville (6-3) - 54.6 181. Antelope Valley - 54.3 182. Texas A&I (4-6) - 54.2 183. Menlo JC 184. Iowa State Teachers (8-1) - 53.5 185. Davidson (5-4) - 53.4 186. Kilgore JC 187. Wofford 188. VMI (1-9) - 53.2 189. Porterville - 53.1 190. Michigan State Normal (7-2) - 53.0 191. St. Cloud - 53.0 192. St. Olaf - 52.8 193. UMass (4-4) - 52.7 194. Western Kentucky (3-6) - 52.4 195. New Mexico (2-8) - 52.4 196. Juniata (8-0-1) - 52.2 197. Lamar Tech (4-6) - 52.1 198. Wharton City - 52.1 199. Newberry - 51.9 200. El Camino - 51.5 215. Drake (4-4) - 53.0 224. Montana (3-7) - 48.7 225. South Dakota (4-4) - 48.7 232. North Dakota (6-3) - 46.3 254. New Mexico A&M (3-7) - 46.3 255. BYU (1-9) - 46.2 262. Washington University (5-4) - 45.9

## HBCU rankings

The Pittsburgh Courier, a leading African American newspaper, ranked the top 1955 teams from historically black colleges and universities in an era when college football was largely segregated. The rankings were published on December 10:
* 1. Grambling (10–0)
* 2. Maryland State (9–0)
* 3. Florida A&M (7–1–1)
* 4. Tennessee A&I (7–2)
* 5. Southern (7–2–1)
* 6. Langston (6–2–1)
* 7. North Carolina A&T (4–1–3)
* 8. Texas Southern (7–2–1)
* 9. North Carolina College (4–1–2)
* 10. Prairie View A&M (8–2–1)
* 11. Kentucky State (7–2)
* 12. Delaware State (7–1)
* 13. Morgan State (6–2)
* 14. Virginia State (5–2–2)
* 15. Morris Brown (6–3)
The Associated Negro Press also published rankings on December 8:
* 1. Grambling (10–0)
* 2. Maryland State (9–0)
* 3. Florida A&M (7–1–1)
* 4. Southern (7–2–1)
* 5. Langston (6–2–1)
* 6. Tennessee A&I (7–2)
* 7. Texas Southern (7–2–1)
* 8. Prairie View A&M (8–2–1)
* 9. North Carolina A&T (4–1–3)
* 10. Lincoln (MO) (6–3)
* 11. Kentucky State (7–2)
* 12. Morris Brown (6–3)
* 13. Morgan State (6–2)
* 14. Delaware State (7–1)