For 1954, another way to get datapoints is to use the packs. Obviously, cards in a series can only appear in a pack with other cards from that series. 1954 Bowman Football are a pretty common pack unlike other years, and so some have been opened in a documented venue.
The penny packs are useless, of course, but some of the 7 card nickel packs also exist and have been opened. Here's a video of one being opened several years ago (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zqcbn6_bro0), which alone should have debunked this 32 card series myth if the pack is authentic.
In order the cards are:
32 Elroy Hirsch
17 Bill Bowman
57 Chuck Bednarik
18 Leo Rucka
58 Art Hunter
19 John Cannady
59 William McColl
Hirsch + a 3 card sequence from "series 1" and a 3 card sequence from "series 2".
And another one from the same guys:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tv8S3DLJNqk
118 Stautner
111 Lavelli
119 Ray Smith
112 Leon Hart
120 Neil Worden
9 Pete Pihos
33 Harold Giancanelli
Series 4 and series 1 in the same pack (with several non-commons besides the ruined gum card).
And a third, this time going from the back of the pack to the front:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssu2jyT2Cys
119 Ray Smith
118 Stuatner
117 Olszewski
116 George Connor
115 Al Carmichael
114 Richard Lem Mon
113 Charlie Conerly
1 sequence of most of a row in order (collation must have sucked).
There are more, but the short of it is further evidence that this was either 1 series or 2 series following the 1955 baseball pattern of cards removed and replaced in a rotating sheet, making series a very different concept than the Topps concept.