October
October 1, #1 Maryland won 20-6 at #20 Baylor in Texas. #2 Michigan beat Michigan State 14-7 before a crowd of 97,239 at home in Ann Arbor. MSU had tied the score 7-7 after an errant punt by Michigan gave them the ball 39 yards from goal. Minutes later, Earl Morrall's punt was blocked to give Michigan the ball on the MSU 21, from which the winning score was made. #3 Georgia Tech beat SMU 20-7 in Atlanta. #4 Notre Dame defeated Indiana 19-0. #5 Oklahoma beat #12 Pittsburgh 26-14, marking its 21st consecutive win, and new record. The poll: 1.Maryland 2.Michigan 3.Oklahoma 4.Georgia Tech 5.Notre Dame
October 8 #1 Maryland beat Wake Forest 28-7, and #2 Michigan defeated visiting #6 Army, 26-2. Both stayed unbeaten, but Michigan took the top spot in the next poll. #3 Oklahoma defeated Texas 20-0 in Dallas. #4 Georgia Tech won 7-0 at LSU. #5 Notre Dame won 14-0 at #15 Miami, with both touchdowns coming on fourth down passes from Paul Hornung, before an Orange Bowl record crowd of 75,685. In a game that would decide the Pac-8 title, UCLA beat Oregon State 38-0. The poll: 1.Michigan 2.Maryland 3.Oklahoma 4.Notre Dame 5.Georgia Tech
October 15 #1 Michigan defeated Northwestern, 14-2. #2 Maryland won at North Carolina, 25-7. #3 Oklahoma beat Kansas 44-6. However, #5 Georgia Tech lost to visiting #17 Auburn 14-12, and #4 Notre Dame lost 21-7 when it hosted #13 Michigan State. They dropped from the top five and were replaced by #8 Navy (which had won 34-14 at Penn State) and #11 Duke (which had won at #14 Ohio State, 20-14). The poll: 1.Michigan 2.Maryland 3.Oklahoma 4.Navy 5.Duke
October 22 In Minneapolis #1 Michigan faced a 1-3-0 Minnesota team, and was stunned when the Gophers racked up two touchdowns in the first quarter. Michigan's Terry Barr blocked the extra point attempt on the second touchdown, but the nation's #1 team was losing 13-0. Still down 13-7 at the half, the Wolverines fought back. Jim Van Pelt passed to Tom Maentz for a touchdown, and Van Pelt added the extra point to save Michigan, 14-13. Minnesota would go on to a 3-6-0 finish. Meanwhile #2 Maryland won more convincingly at Syracuse, 34-13, to regain the top spot. #3 Oklahoma beat #14 Colorado, 56-21. #4 Navy won at Penn, 33-0. #5 Duke lost to Pitt, 26-7, and was replaced in the top five by #6 Michigan State, which beat Illinois 21-7.
The poll: 1.Maryland 2.Oklahoma 3.Michigan 4.Navy 5.Michigan State
October 29 Back at the top, #1 Maryland beat South Carolina 27-0, while #2 Oklahoma won at Kansas State, 40-7. #3 Michigan beat Iowa 33-21. #4 Navy lost at #9 Notre Dame, 21-7. #5 Michigan State won at Wisconsin, 27-0. UCLA returned to the Top Five from #6 after a 47-0 win over California.
The poll: 1.Maryland 2.Oklahoma 3.Michigan 4.Michigan State 5.UCLA
Read more about this topic: 1955 College Football Season
Famous quotes containing the word october:
“The autumnal change of our woods has not yet made a deep impression on our own literature yet. October has hardly tinged our poetry.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)