It concluded with two teams having claim to the major college national championship: Three small college teams also claimed national championships: LSU halfback Billy Cannon won the Heisman Trophy, and Penn State quarterback Richie Lucas received the Maxwell Award.
In the preseason poll released on September 14, the defending champion LSU Tigers were ranked first, followed by Oklahoma, Auburn, SMU, and Army.
With more than 100 sportswriters weighing in, eighteen different schools received first place votes.
[8] As the regular season progressed, a new poll would be issued on the Monday following the weekend's games.
3 Mississippi registered a third shutout, beating Memphis State 43–0, but fell to fifth.
10 Texas rose to fourth after its third shutout in a row, a 33–0 walloping of California.
5 Mississippi yielded some points for the first time in the season, but beat Tulane 53–7.
2 Northwestern killed another giant on the road, beating Notre Dame 30–24.
3 Mississippi, both 6–0, met in Baton Rouge and both schools had great defenses.
LSU had outscored its opposition 103–6, while Ole Miss had a 189–7 point differential over all comers.
Billy Cannon returned a Jake Gibbs punt 89 yards for the game's only touchdown, but the Rebels had a chance to win the game when it drove to the LSU 1–yard line in the closing seconds, only to see third-string quarterback Doug Elmore stopped cold on fourth and goal by Cannon.
Northwestern would close the season on a three-game losing streak after a 6-0 start.
1 Syracuse exercised its top status, brushing off overmatched Colgate 71–0.
3 LSU returned to its winning ways, beating Mississippi State at home, 27–0.
1 Syracuse won at Boston University, 46–0, for its fifth shutout as it reached the 9–0 mark.
3 LSU beat Tulane 14–6, then accepted an invitation to play in the Sugar Bowl.
9 Wisconsin, which closed its season and clinched the Big Ten title with an 11–7 win at Minnesota, rose to 5th.
1 Syracuse was idle as it prepared for its December 5 trip to Los Angeles to play UCLA.
Both LSU and Ole Miss were invited to a rematch in New Orleans at the Sugar Bowl.
1 Syracuse closed its season with trip to the Los Angeles Coliseum to face the upset-minded (but 5–3–1) No.
17 UCLA Bruins [9] In a nationally televised game, the Orangemen took a 14–0 lead and went on to win 36–8 to finish the season with a perfect 10–0 record.
[4][5][11] The Orangemen prepared to play SWC champion Texas in the Cotton Bowl.
Friday, January 1, 1960 Behind future Heisman Trophy winner Ernie Davis, the Orangemen proved the voters' decision to name them national champions in the final polls was a wise one.
It was the first Cotton Bowl for the Longhorns under coach Darrell Royal, who guided Texas to national championships in 1963, 1969, and 1970, and compiled a career record of 167–47–5 (.774) in Austin from 1957 through 1976.
LSU was Ole Miss's sole loss of the regular season.
The Rebels outgained the Bayou Bengals and Heisman Trophy winner Billy Cannon 373–74 in front of a largely pro-LSU crowd of over 83,000 at Tulane Stadium.
Immediately following the game, Cannon signed a contract with the Houston Oilers of the fledgling American Football League, spurning the Los Angeles Rams and general manager Pete Rozelle, who would become the Commissioner of the National Football League in late-January.
In 1959, United Press International (UPI) conducted its "small college" coaches' poll for the second time; they voted the Bowling Green Falcons, who had a 9–0 record and outscored their opponents 274–83, as the number one team.
[16] United Press International (coaches) final poll Published on November 27[17] The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player Source: [18][19] For the year 1960, the NCAA recognizes six published All-American teams as "official" designations for purposes of its consensus determinations.
The following chart identifies the NCAA-recognized consensus All-Americans and displays which first-team designations they received.