Top Ten

Except for a handful of late finishers, the college football season ended last week, marked on its tortured course with good balance among top teams, more than the usual number of close, exciting games and a rash of upsets. The season's surprises: the failure of perennially strong Notre Dame and Michigan State to live up to early-season form; the rise of unheralded Louisiana State and the foundling Air Force Academy to the top. At season's close, TIME'S Top Ten:

1) Louisiana State (10-0)--had its first unbeaten, untied season in 50 years, looked forward to a relatively easy New Year's Day in the Sugar Bowl against slow, unimaginative Clemson.

2) Iowa (7-1-1)--parlayed the passing of Quarterback Randy Duncan, the running of fleet Halfback Willie Fleming into its second Big Ten title in three years, a shot at California and Joe Kapp in the Rose Bowl.

3) Army (8-0-1)--threw away its conservative offense of past years, opened up with a "lonesome end," unbalanced line and a multifarious passing attack, capped its best year since 1949 by surviving newfangled Navy trickery for a workmanlike 22-6 victory in the annual interservice grudge match.

4) Oklahoma (9-1)--was not quite up to great Sooner teams of the past, nonetheless came within a point of an unbeaten season (a 15-14 loss to Texas), dumped rugged Oklahoma State 7-0, looked forward to an Orange Bowl date with Syracuse New Year's Day.

5) Wisconsin (7-1-1)--with a rugged defensive line and a sophomore quarterback named Dale Hackbart who can do everything, it managed a strong second-place finish in the Big Ten.

6) Auburn (9-0-1.)--content just to keep winning, no matter how unimpressively, got by fired-up Alabama 14-8 to complete its second straight season without defeat.

7) Air Force Academy (9-0-1)--proved an infant prodigy in its fourth season of existence, beat faltering Colorado 20-14 and accepted a Jan. 1 date with Texas Christian in the Cotton Bowl.

8) Ohio State (6-1-2)--avoided the forward pass as though it were poison, used a crunching ground game that ate up yardage in small but steady chunks to gain third place in the Big Ten.

9) Texas Christian (8-2)--suffered the understandable letdown and lost to Southern Methodist 20-13 after clinching the Southwest Conference title and a place in the Cotton Bowl with a competent but starless team.

10) Mississippi (8-2)--was well-balanced, showed occasional flashes of brilliance in the course of a schedule dotted with second-rate opposition, proved in whipping Mississippi State 21-0 that it merited its invitation to play Florida in the 'Gator Bowl Dec. 27.

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