Alabama takes the belt, 61–6, at a neutral site over Syracuse.
AP poll, week 10: Syracuse No. 16 at Alabama No. 8 · No. 1 that week: Wisconsin. The belt vs. the polls →
Where this game sits in the lineage
Alabama took the belt here, ending Syracuse’s run of 54 days and 2 defenses (reign #104) and starting reign #105. It lasted 260 days and 0 defenses, until Southern Miss took it on September 18, 1953.
For Alabama this was its 5th shot at the belt; it had held the belt once before — and it took it back here.
This is the only time Alabama and Syracuse have met with the belt on the line.
About this game
Alabama defeated Syracuse 61-6 on January 1, 1953, in a postseason matchup played at a neutral site. With this victory, Alabama claimed the college football belt from Syracuse.
Written by Claude, strictly from this site’s own record of the game — the score and what it meant for the belt. CFBD doesn’t have a box score for games this old, so nothing here is invented beyond what’s verifiably on file.
Sources Game record: College Football Data (id 31408) · This game in the downloadable dataset