Calling all CFB Historians...

A lot of inaccuracies and misconceptions in this thread. I will try to straighten them out:

* INS was not the "coaches' poll", it was a panel of experts including both coaches and sportswriters. The UP poll was voted on by the coaches (i.e. American Football Coaches Association) beginning in 1950.

* INS merged with UP in 1958 to form UPI. At this time only the poll of the AFCA (UP Poll) was carried forward.

* William Randolph Hearst's International News Service was a respected service, but its football poll only existed from 1952-1957. The AP poll was founded in 1936 and was the most widely recognized in 1952.

* Michigan State was not in the Big Ten in 1952, which is why they did not go to the Rose Bowl.

* The polls were all taken prior to the bowls at this time. Prior to the bowls, Michigan State was 9-0 and GT was 11-0. Michigan State's opponents with winning records at that time were 7-2 Syracuse, 7-2-1 Penn State, 7-2-1 Notre Dame, 5-4 Michigan, and 4-3-2 Purdue (Big Ten co-champions).

* Michigan State was probably aided in the polls by playing a "national" schedule with teams from the East, West, Midwest, and Texas.

* Georgia Tech's opponents with winning records when the polls were taken were 9-2 Alabama, 8-2 Duke, 7-3 Florida, and 7-4 Georgia.

* Georgia Tech was probably hurt in the polls by playing a more regional schedule, with only one opponent from outside the South (Army).

* Michigan State probably benefitted from finishing 9-0 and #2 in the polls in 1951.

Here is a brief summary of the INS Poll:
http://homepages.cae.wisc.edu/~dwilson/rsfc/history/kirlin/INS.html

Here is a summary of the coaches' poll:
http://www.afca.com/lev2.cfm/386
 
GT65_UGA89 said:
From what I've researched, the first final AP poll to be released after the bowl games was 1968 (Ohio St. the Nat'l Champ).
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Almost right - the final AP poll was post-bowls in 1965, then they reverted to pre-bowls for 1966-1967, then back to post-bowls for good in 1968.

There was actually a post-bowl AP poll in 1947 also, although the AP maintained that the pre-bowl poll was the "poll of record". See the story here:

http://www.infoplease.com/ipsa/A0746482.html
 
* Michigan State was not in the Big Ten in 1952, which is why they did not go to the Rose Bowl.
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Northwestern was part of the Big 10 at one time, right? Did Northwestern eventually leave and Michigan State take their spot?
 
You are probably thinking of University of Chicago, an original member that withdrew in 1946. It was then called the Big Nine for several years until Michigan State was added.
 
I didn't realize Syracuse was MSU's most successful opponent that year. They played Tech's most successful opponent, Alabama, in the Orange Bowl.

"Bama upset Syracuse 61-6. Maybe if MSU had a team as strong as UA on their schedule, Tech would've been unanimous.
 
mm42 said:
* Michigan State probably benefitted from finishing 9-0 and #2 in the polls in 1951.
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I still believe that this is the biggest reason many voters gave MSU the nod on their ballots in '52.

Good stuff posted there mm42, thank you for the info.
 
augustabuzz said:
I didn't realize Syracuse was MSU's most successful opponent that year. They played Tech's most successful opponent, Alabama, in the Orange Bowl.
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MSU's most respected opponent was Notre Dame. They finished #3 in the final poll and were ranked above Syracuse the whole season.

Bama upset Syracuse 61-6. Maybe if MSU had a team as strong as UA on their schedule, Tech would've been unanimous.
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The margin of Alabama's victory over Syracuse was a surprise, but it was not an upset as Alabama was ranked #9 and Syracuse #14 going into the game.

Tech's problem in 1952 was quite simple: Michigan State was #1 in the preseason poll and stayed #1 wire-to-wire. We were close to them in the AP poll voting until their win over Notre Dame late in the season - after that we trailed them badly.
 
mm42 said:
You are probably thinking of University of Chicago, an original member that withdrew in 1946. It was then called the Big Nine for several years until Michigan State was added.
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Yes, I was thinking of University of Chicago.
 
mm42 said:
MSU's most respected opponent was Notre Dame. They finished #3 in the final poll and were ranked above Syracuse the whole season.



The margin of Alabama's victory over Syracuse was a surprise, but it was not an upset as Alabama was ranked #9 and Syracuse #14 going into the game.

Tech's problem in 1952 was quite simple: Michigan State was #1 in the preseason poll and stayed #1 wire-to-wire. We were close to them in the AP poll voting until their win over Notre Dame late in the season - after that we trailed them badly.
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MSU's most respected opponent was Notre Dame. They finished #3 in the final poll and were ranked above Syracuse the whole season.

I stated that Syracuse was more successful, I didn't say that there wasn't a ND bias in the bowls in the 50's.

The margin of Alabama's victory over Syracuse was a surprise, but it was not an upset as Alabama was ranked #9 and Syracuse #14 going into the game.

It was most definitely an upset to the gamblers, as UA was an underdog.

And as for MSU's "national" schedule, going across the street to the bakery does not demand respect.
 
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