1952 Syracuse Orangemen football team

The 1952 Syracuse Orangemen football team represented Syracuse University in the 1952 college football season.^[2] The Orangemen were led by fourth-year head coach Ben Schwartzwalder and played their home games at Archbold Stadium in Syracuse, New York.

1952 Syracuse Orangemen football
Eastern champion
Orange Bowl, L 6–61 vs. Alabama
Conference	Independent
Ranking
AP	No. 14
Record	7–3
Head coach	Ben Schwartzwalder (4th season)
Captains	Richard Beyer Joe Szombathy[1]
Home stadium	Archbold Stadium
Seasons ← 1951 1953 →

1952 Eastern college football independents records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Rochester			–					8	–	0	–	0
Hofstra			–					8	–	1	–	0
No. 19 Princeton			–					8	–	1	–	0
Franklin & Marshall			–					7	–	1	–	0
Villanova			–					7	–	1	–	1
Holy Cross			–					8	–	2	–	0
Yale			–					7	–	2	–	0
Penn State			–					7	–	2	–	1
No. 14 Syracuse			–					7	–	3	–	0
Bucknell			–					6	–	3	–	0
Colgate			–					6	–	3	–	0
Pittsburgh			–					6	–	3	–	0
Carnegie Tech			–					4	–	3	–	0
Harvard			–					5	–	4	–	0
Boston University			–					5	–	4	–	1
Penn			–					4	–	3	–	2
Army			–					4	–	4	–	1
Boston College			–					4	–	4	–	1
Tufts			–					3	–	4	–	1
Drexel			–					3	–	4	–	0
Fordham			–					2	–	5	–	1
NYU			–					2	–	5	–	1
Columbia			–					2	–	6	–	1
Brown			–					2	–	7	–	0
Cornell			–					2	–	7	–	0
Dartmouth			–					2	–	7	–	0
Temple			–					2	–	7	–	1
Buffalo			–					1	–	7	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

This was a historically successful season for the Orangemen, which included victories over rivals Penn State and Colgate. Syracuse lost only twice in the regular season: their season opener against the former college all-stars of the Bolling Air Force Base,^[3] and to eventual national champions Michigan State. Syracuse finished the regular season with a record of 7–2 and were ranked 14th in the final AP Poll, their first ranked finish in school history.

The team was awarded its first Lambert Trophy, which signified them as champions of the East. They were invited to the 1953 Orange Bowl after Navy refused the bid.^[4] This was the school's first ever bowl game, where they lost to Alabama in a lopsided 61–6 game.^[5]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 20		Bolling Field		Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY	L 12–13	18,000	[3]
September 26	8:15 p.m.	Boston University		Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY	W 34–21	15,000	[6][7]
October 3		at Temple		Temple Stadium Philadelphia, PA	W 27–0	10,500	[8]
October 11		Cornell		Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY	W 26–6	23,000	[9]
October 18		at No. 1 Michigan State		Macklin Stadium East Lansing, MI	L 7–48	38,254	[10]
October 25		Holy Cross		Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY	W 20–19	18,000	[11]
November 8		No. 15 Penn State		Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY (rivalry)	W 25–7	15,000
November 15		Colgate	No. 13	Archbold Stadium Syracuse, NY (rivalry)	W 20–14	32,000	[12]
November 22		at Fordham	No. 15	Triborough Stadium New York, NY	W 26–13	10,000	[13]
January 1		vs. No. 9 Alabama	No. 14	Burdine Stadium Miami, FL (Orange Bowl)	L 6–61	66,280	[5]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[2][1]