1959 LSU Tigers football
Sugar Bowl, L 0–21 vs. Ole Miss
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 3
APNo. 3
Record9–2 (5–1 SEC)
Head coach
Home stadiumTiger Stadium
1959 Southeastern Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 5 Georgia $ 7 –0 –010 –1 –0
No. 3 LSU 5 –1 –09 –2 –0
No. 2 Ole Miss # 5 –1 –010 –1 –0
No. 10 Alabama 4 –1 –27 –2 –2
Auburn 4 –3 –07 –3 –0
Vanderbilt 3 –2 –25 –3 –2
Georgia Tech 3 –3 –06 –5 –0
Tennessee 3 –4 –15 –4 –1
No. 19 Florida 2 –4 –05 –4 –1
Kentucky 1 –6 –04 –6 –0
Tulane 0 –5 –13 –6 –1
Mississippi State 0 –7 –02 –7 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • # Berryman, Billingsley, Dunkel, Sagarin national champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1959 LSU Tigers football team was an American football team that represented Louisiana State University (LSU) as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1959 NCAA University Division football season. In their fifth year under head coach Paul Dietzel, the Tigers complied an overall record of 9–2, with a conference record of 5–1, and finished tied for second in the SEC.[1]

Preseason

The Tigers were a near unanimous pre-season favorite to repeat as national champions in 1959. Most of the players from the national championship team of 1958 were returning, including the All-American halfback Billy Cannon, who had come in third in the 1958 Heisman balloting.

Season

LSU had no real trouble in winning its first 6 games in 1959, though its offense was not as potent as 1958's. Its defense made up for it by being even stingier, allowing only 6 points in 6 games. In the 7th game of the season LSU faced its sternest test—undefeated Ole Miss on Halloween in Tiger Stadium. That game between No. 1 LSU and No. 3 Ole Miss was touted as 1959's "Game of the Year." Ole Miss held a 3–0 lead until the 4th quarter, often punting on first down due to the very wet conditions on the field. With about 10 minutes left in the game, Ole Miss punted and Billy Cannon took the punt at the LSU 11. Cannon charted a course along the Ole Miss sidelines, weaving between Rebel defenders, eluding tacklers, and racing towards the goal line for an 89 yard punt return touchdown. Ole Miss then started a determined drive and marched down to the two yard line where it was 4th and goal with 18 seconds left. Ole Miss quarterback Doug Elmore was stopped at the one by Cannon and his teammates to ensure the 7–3 victory. However, the next week, LSU lost its next SEC game against Tennessee at Knoxville, 14–13, when Cannon's attempt at a 2 pt conversion failed. The loss not only cost LSU a shot as repeating as national champion, it also denied them the SEC championship, which went to the Georgia Bulldogs, and ended a 19-game win streak—the longest in school history—that started in the last game of 1957. The Tigers defeated Mississippi State and Tulane to finish the season 9–1, and they were ranked No. 3 in the nation behind No. 1 Syracuse and No. 2 Ole Miss.

In the meantime Billy Cannon won the Heisman Trophy by one of the widest margins in the history of the trophy balloting at the time. The Tigers were invited to play in the Sugar Bowl, and their opponent was Ole Miss, in a rematch. At first Paul Dietzel, LSU's coach, was not anxious to replay the Rebels, but he was persuaded to do so by the athletic director, Jim Corbett. By the time January 1 came, three LSU star players were injured, including quarterback Warren Rabb, and halfbacks Wendell Harris and Johnny Robinson. The Tigers were soundly beaten by the Rebels, 21–0, and were outgained 373–74.

Following the Sugar Bowl, Cannon signed a professional contract with the Houston Oilers of the American Football League, which was scheduled to begin play in September 1960, spurning an offer from the National Football League's Los Angeles Rams.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 19Rice*No. 1
NBCW 26–348,613[2]
September 26No. 9 TCU*No. 1
  • Tiger Stadium
  • Baton Rouge, LA
W 10–065,694[3]
October 3vs. Baylor*No. 1
W 22–032,308–35,455[4]
October 10Miami (FL)*No. 1
  • Tiger Stadium
  • Baton Rouge, LA
W 27–364,864[5]
October 17at KentuckyNo. 1
W 9–033,230[6]
October 24at FloridaNo. 1
W 9–047,578[7]
October 31No. 3 Ole MissdaggerNo. 1
  • Tiger Stadium
  • Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)
W 7–367,327[8]
November 7at No. 13 TennesseeNo. 1
L 13–1445,682[9]
November 14Mississippi StateNo. 3
  • Tiger Stadium
  • Baton Rouge, LA (rivalry)
W 27–063,272[10]
November 21TulaneNo. 3
W 14–665,057[11]
January 1, 1960vs. No. 2 Ole MissNo. 3
NBCL 0–2181,141[12]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

  1. ↑ "1959 LSU Fighting Tigers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  2. ↑ "Surprising Owls had LSU worried". Waco Tribune-Herald. September 20, 1959. Retrieved October 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ↑ "LSU trims TCU in air". Victoria Advocate. September 27, 1959. Retrieved October 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "35,000 watch LSU Tigers romp over Baylor, 22 to 0". The Shreveport Times. October 4, 1959. Retrieved October 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ↑ "LSU starts slow, gains win No. 4". Lincoln Sunday Journal and Star. October 11, 1959. Retrieved October 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ "LSU shades Cats, 9–0". Arizona Daily Star. October 18, 1959. Retrieved October 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Cannon carries LSU past Florida, 9–0". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. October 25, 1959. Retrieved October 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ↑ "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.
  9. ↑ "Vols end long LSU spurt". The Montana Standard. November 8, 1959. Retrieved March 31, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ "LSU routs Maroons". Monroe Morning World. November 15, 1959. Retrieved October 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Cannon's 45-yard touchdown run boosts Bengals to 14–6 win, Sugar Bowl invite". The Daily Advertiser. November 22, 1959. Retrieved September 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Ole Miss slaughters LSU, 21–0, in Sugar Bowl". The Knoxville Journal. January 2, 1960. Retrieved October 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

Additional sources

  • The Fighting Tigers: Seventy-Five Years of LSU Football by Peter Finney, LSU Press, Baton Rouge, 1968
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