1959 Ole Miss Rebels football team

The 1959 Ole Miss Rebels football team represented the University of Mississippi during the 1959 college football season. Ole Miss finished the season with an overall record of ten wins and one loss (10–1), tied for second in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and with a victory over LSU in the Sugar Bowl. The team gave up only 21 points all season, and were retroactively named national champions by Berryman, Billingsley, Dunkel and Sagarin (however, it is not recognized by the NCAA).^[2] Syracuse was crowned as the national champion by both the AP and the UPI wire services.^[2] The team was later rated the third best squad from 1956 to 1995 by Sagarin.^[3]

1959 Ole Miss Rebels football
National champion (Berryman, Billingsley, Dunkel, Sagarin)[1] Sugar Bowl champion
Sugar Bowl, W 21–0 vs. LSU
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 2
AP	No. 2
Record	10–1 (5–1 SEC)
Head coach	Johnny Vaught (13th season)
Home stadium	Hemingway Stadium Crump Stadium
Seasons ← 1958 1960 →

1959 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 5 Georgia $	7	–	0	–	0			10	–	1	–	0
No. 3 LSU	5	–	1	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
No. 2 Ole Miss #	5	–	1	–	0			10	–	1	–	0
No. 10 Alabama	4	–	1	–	2			7	–	2	–	2
Auburn	4	–	3	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Vanderbilt	3	–	2	–	2			5	–	3	–	2
Georgia Tech	3	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Tennessee	3	–	4	–	1			5	–	4	–	1
No. 19 Florida	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	4	–	1
Kentucky	1	–	6	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Tulane	0	–	5	–	1			3	–	6	–	1
Mississippi State	0	–	7	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
$ – Conference champion # Berryman, Billingsley, Dunkel, Sagarin national champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 19	at Houston*	No. 8	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	W 16–0	45,000	[4]
September 26	at Kentucky	No. 4	McLean Stadium Lexington, KY	W 16–0	33,000	[5]
October 3	No. 11 (small) Memphis State*	No. 3	Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS (rivalry)	W 43–0	12,500	[6]
October 10	at Vanderbilt	No. 5	Dudley Field Nashville, TN (rivalry)	W 33–0	25,000	[7]
October 17	Tulane	No. 5	Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS (rivalry)	W 53–7	23,500	[8]
October 24	vs. No. 10 Arkansas*	No. 4	Crump Stadium Memphis, TN (rivalry)	W 28–0	32,004	[9]
October 31	at No. 1 LSU	No. 3	Tiger Stadium Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)	L 3–7	67,327	[10]
November 7	No. 18 (small) Chattanooga*	No. 5	Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS	W 58–0	14,500	[11]
November 14	vs. No. 9 Tennessee	No. 5	Crump Stadium Memphis, TN (rivalry)	W 37–7	32,515	[12]
November 28	at Mississippi State	No. 2	Scott Field Starkville, MS (Egg Bowl)	W 42–0	34,000	[13]
January 1, 1960	vs. No. 3 LSU*	No. 2	Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl)	W 21–0	81,141	[14]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[15]

Roster

• QB Bobby Franklin
• E Johnny Brewer
• G/PK Robert Khayat
• DB Billy Brewer
• HB Cowboy Woodruff

References

1. NCAA. "National Poll Champions" (PDF). 2020 NCAA Division I Football records. NCAA.org. p. 117. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
2. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). "National Poll Champions" (PDF). 2012 NCAA Division I Football Records. NCAA.org. p. 73. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
3. "Vaught passes away". CBS Interactive. February 4, 2006. Archived from the original on January 30, 2008. Retrieved March 23, 2013.
4. "Ole Miss grinds out 16–0 victory". The Birmingham News. September 20, 1959. Retrieved October 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "2d-half spurt by Ole Miss tops U.K. 16–0". The Courier-Journal. September 27, 1959. Retrieved October 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Brief Summary Of Cumulative Football Statistics". National Collegiate Athletic Association. Retrieved December 17, 2022.
7. "Ole Miss runs wild, trounces Vandy, 33–0". The Atlanta Journal. October 11, 1959. Retrieved October 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Ole Miss Rebels glide over Green Wave, 53–7". The Clarion-Ledger. October 18, 1959. Retrieved September 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Rebels crush Arkansas, 28–0, as Flowers leads in assault before awed crowd of 32,004". The Commercial Appeal. October 25, 1959. Retrieved October 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Billy Cannon's 89-yard punt return gives LSU 7–3 victory over Ole Miss in 'Game of Year'". The Daily Advertiser. November 1, 1959. Retrieved October 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Ole Miss Rebs maul Chattanooga, 58–0". The Clarion-Ledger. November 8, 1959. Retrieved August 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Rebels rip Vols, 37–7, on second half surge". The Commercial Appeal. November 15, 1959. Retrieved March 31, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Ole Miss romps; Sugar Bowl next". Portland Press Herald. November 29, 1959. Retrieved October 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Ole Miss slaughters LSU, 21–0, in Sugar Bowl". The Knoxville Journal. January 2, 1960. Retrieved October 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
15. DeLassus, David. "Mississippi Yearly Results: 1955–1959". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on October 20, 2012. Retrieved March 23, 2013.