Conference Independent AP No. 1 Home stadium Archbold Stadium | Coaches No. 1 1959 record 11–0 | |
Head coach Ben Schwartzwalder (11th year) | ||
The 1959 Syracuse Orangemen football team represented Syracuse University in the 1959 college football season. Led by eleventh-year head coach Ben Schwartzwalder, the independent Orangemen were undefeated and won the school's only national championship in football, topping the rankings by wide margins in the final polls in early December.
They met fourth-ranked Texas in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas on New Year's Day, and led 15–0 at halftime and 23–6 after the three quarters. Texas scored midway through the fourth quarter to draw to 23–14, but there was no further scoring, and Syracuse gained its first bowl win. Unranked at the start of the season, Syracuse finished with an 11–0 record with five shutouts, and outscored its opponents 413–73.
Notable players included sophomore running back Ernie Davis (1939–1963), winner of the Heisman Trophy in 1961 and the first selection of the 1962 NFL Draft. In the Cotton Bowl, he scored the first two touchdowns and threw a pass to Gerhard Schwedes for the third.