1953 Duke Blue Devils football team

The 1953 Duke Blue Devils football team was an American football team that represented Duke University as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 1953 college football season. In their third year under head coach William D. Murray, the Blue Devils complied an overall record of 7–2–1, with a conference record of 4–0, and finished as ACC co-champion.^[2]

1953 Duke Blue Devils football
ACC co-champion
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 18
AP	No. 18
Record	7–2–1 (4–0 ACC)
Head coach	William D. Murray (3rd season)
MVP	Bob Burrows
Captain	Howard Pitt
Home stadium	Duke Stadium
Seasons ← 1952 1954 →

1953 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Maryland +	3	–	0	–	0			10	–	1	–	0
No. 18 Duke +	4	–	0	–	0			7	–	2	–	1
South Carolina	2	–	3	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
North Carolina	2	–	3	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Wake Forest	2	–	3	–	0			3	–	6	–	1
Clemson	1	–	2	–	0			3	–	5	–	1
NC State	0	–	3	–	0			1	–	9	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll[1]

Duke won a share of the 1953 ACC Championship, and finished the season ranked 18th in the final AP poll.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 19	at South Carolina	No. 10	Carolina Stadium Columbia, SC	W 20–7	30,000	[3]
September 26	Wake Forest	No. 10	Duke Stadium Durham, NC (rivalry)	W 19–0	20,000	[4]
October 3	at Tennessee*	No. 12	Shields–Watkins Field Knoxville, TN	W 21–7	30,000	[5]
October 10	Purdue*	No. 8	Duke Stadium Durham, NC	W 20–14	30,000	[6]
October 17	vs. Army*	No. 7	Polo Grounds New York, NY	L 13–14	21,284	[7]
October 24	NC State	No. 16	Duke Stadium Durham, NC (rivalry)	W 31–0	15,000	[8]
October 31	vs. Virginia*	No. 13	Foreman Field Norfolk, VA (Oyster Bowl)	W 48–6	25,000	[9]
November 7	vs. Navy*	No. 10	Municipal Stadium Baltimore, MD	T 0–0	15,000	[10]
November 21	at No. 12 Georgia Tech*	No. 15	Grant Field Atlanta, GA	L 10–13	40,000	[11]
November 28	North Carolina		Duke Stadium Durham, NC (Victory Bell)	W 35–20	40,000	[12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "1953 Atlantic Coast Conference Year Summary". sports-reference.com. Retrieved January 16, 2013.
2. "1953 Duke Blue Devils Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 4, 2024.
3. "Devils beat Gamecocks". The Rocky Mount Telegram. September 20, 1953. Retrieved January 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Duke whips Decons 19–0". Greensboro Daily News. September 27, 1953. Retrieved January 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Duke defeats Tennessee, 21–7". The News and Observer. October 4, 1953. Retrieved March 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Purdue bows to Duke, 20–14". The Cincinnati Enquirer. October 11, 1953. Retrieved January 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Army upsets Duke Blue Devils 14–13". The Ogden Standard-Examiner. October 18, 1953. Retrieved January 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Duke power blasts State in 31–0 game". The Macon Telegraph & News. October 25, 1953. Retrieved January 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Duke swamps Virginia, 48–6". The Baltimore Sun. November 1, 1953. Retrieved January 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Duke, Navy slug out 0–0 tie". Asheville Citizen-Times. November 8, 1953. Retrieved January 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Georgia Tech overhauls Duke, 13–10". The Dayton Daily News. November 22, 1953. Retrieved January 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Duke defeats N. Carolina 35 to 20". The Pensacola News Journal. November 29, 1953. Retrieved January 4, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.