1955 Iowa State Cyclones football team

The 1955 Iowa State Cyclones football team represented Iowa State College of Agricultural and Mechanic Arts (later renamed Iowa State University) in the Big Seven Conference during the 1955 college football season. In their second year under head coach Vince DiFrancesca, the Cyclones compiled a 1–7–1 record (1–4–1 against conference opponents), tied for fifth place in the conference, and were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 218 to 69.^[1][2] They played their home games at Clyde Williams Field in Ames, Iowa.

1955 Iowa State Cyclones football
Conference	Big Seven Conference
Record	1–7–1 (1–4–1 Big 7)
Head coach	Vince DiFrancesca (2nd season)
Captain	Jim McCaulley, Mel Wostoupal
Home stadium	Clyde Williams Field
Seasons ← 1954 1956 →

1955 Big Seven Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Oklahoma $	6	–	0	–	0			11	–	0	–	0
Nebraska	5	–	1	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Colorado	3	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Kansas State	3	–	3	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Kansas	1	–	4	–	1			3	–	6	–	1
Iowa State	1	–	4	–	1			1	–	7	–	1
Missouri	1	–	5	–	0			1	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The team's regular starting lineup on offense consisted of left end Mel Wostoupal, left tackle Ray Tweetan, left guard Bob Bird, center Grant Blaney, right guard Jim Lyons, right tackle Jim McCaulley, right end Harold Potts, quarterback John Breckenridge, left halfback Gary Lutz, right halfback Brucke Alexander, and fullback Marv Walter.^[2] Jim McCaulley and Mel Wostoupal were the team captains.^[2]

The team's statistical leaders included Donn Lorenzen with 179 rushing yards, John Breckenridge with 354 passing yards, and Harold Potts with 173 receiving yards and 18 points (three touchdowns).^[3] No Iowa State players were selected as first-team all-conference players.^[4]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 17	2:00 pm	Denver*	Clyde Williams Field Ames, IA	L 7–19	12,217	[5]
October 1	12:30 pm	at Illinois*	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	L 0–40	45,706
October 8	2:00 pm	at Kansas	Memorial Stadium Lawrence, KS	T 7–7	19,854
October 15	2:00 pm	Missouri	Clyde Williams Field Ames, IA (rivalry)	W 20–14	8,314
October 22	2:00 pm	Kansas State	Clyde Williams Field Ames, IA (rivalry)	L 7–9	14,740
October 29	8:05 pm	at Drake*	Drake Stadium Des Moines, IA	L 21–27	6,516–8,500	[6][7]
November 5	2:00 pm	Nebraska	Clyde Williams Field Ames, IA	L 7–10	11,237
November 12	2:00 pm	at No. 1 Oklahoma	Owen Field Norman, OK	L 0–52	46,455	[8][9]
November 19	3:00 pm	at Colorado	Folsom Field Boulder, CO	L 0–40	20,780
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

References

1. "1955 Iowa State Cyclones Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 21, 2017.
2. "2017 Iowa State Football Fact Book" (PDF). Iowa State University. 2017. p. 148.
3. 2017 Fact Book, pp. 112-113.
4. 2017 Fact Book, p. 75.
5. Bert McGrane (September 18, 1955). "Denver Jolts Cyclones, 19-7". The Des Moines Register. p. 1S.
6. Wilson, Brad (October 30, 1955). "Drake Jolts Iowa State, 27-21". The Des Moines Register. Des Moines, Iowa. p. 1S. Retrieved January 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com .
7. Wilson, Brad (October 30, 1955). "Drake (continued)". The Des Moines Register. Des Moines, Iowa. p. 7S. Retrieved January 3, 2022 – via Newspapers.com .
8. "1955 OU Football Season Schedule - SoonerStats - Historical scores, records, and stats for Oklahoma Sooners football, basketball, baseball, and softball".
9. Jerry Magee (November 13, 1955). "Big Red Knocks Wind Out of Cyclones 52-0: Long McDonald Run Highlights Scoring Parade". The Norman Transcript. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.