1951 Big Ten Conference football season

August 2023 1951 Big Ten Conference football season American football 9 Johnny Karras Illinois Champion Bill Reichardt Football 1950 1952 The 1951 Big Ten Conference football season was the 56th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference (also known as the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) and was a part of the 1951 college football season. The 1951 Illinois Fighting Illini football team, under head coach Ray Eliot, compiled a 9–0–1 record, won the Big Ten championship, was ranked No. 4 in the final AP poll, and defeated Stanford 40–7 in the 1952 Rose Bowl. The lone setback was a scoreless tie with Ohio State. Halfback Johnny Karras was the Big Ten's only consensus first-team All-American. Linebacker Chuck Boerio was selected as the team's most valuable player. The 1951 Wisconsin Badgers football team, under head coach Ivy Williamson, compiled a 7–1–1 record, led the conference in scoring defense (5.9 points allowed per game), and was ranked No. 8 in the final AP poll. Quarterback John Coatta was the first-team All-Big Ten quarterback. Defensive end Pat O'Donahue was selected as a first-team All-American by multiple selectors. Season overview Results and team statistics Conf. RankTeamHead coachAP finalAP highOverall recordConf. recordPPGPAGMVP1IllinoisRay Eliot#4#29–0–15–0–122.08.3Chuck Boerio2PurdueStu HolcombNRNR5–44–117.016.9Pete Brewster3WisconsinIvy Williamson#8#77–1–15–1–121.85.9Hal Faverty4MichiganBennie OosterbaanNR#154–54–215.013.6Don Peterson5Ohio StateWoody HayesNR#34–3–22–3–212.111.6Vic Janowicz6NorthwesternBob VoigtsNR#135-42-412.413.8John Steeb7MinnesotaWes FeslerNRNR2–6–11–4–118.028.7Ron Engel8IndianaBernie CrimminsNRNR2–71–515.924.9Gene Gedman9IowaLeonard RaffenspergerNRNR2–5–20–5–117.925.9Bill Reichardt Key AP final = Team's rank in the final AP Poll of the 1951 season AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1951 season PPG = Average of points scored per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold PAG = Average of points allowed per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold1951 Big Ten Conference Year Summary Sports Reference LLC SR/College Football February 4, 2017 https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/conferences/big-ten/1951.htmlFebruary 2021 InternetArchiveBot yes MVP = Most valuable player as voted by players on each team as part of the voting process to determine the winner of the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy; trophy winner in bold Preseason Regular season September 29 Illinois 27, UCLA 13. Texas 14, Purdue 0. Wisconsin 22, Marquette 6. Michigan State 25, Michigan 0. Ohio State 7, SMU 0. Northwestern 35, Colorado 14. Washington 25, Minnesota 20. Notre Dame 48, Indiana 6. Iowa 16, Kansas State 0. October 6 Illinois 14, Wisconsin 10. Purdue 34, Iowa 30. Stanford 23, Michigan 13. Michigan State 24, Ohio State 20. Northwestern 20, Army 14. California 55, Minnesota 14. Indiana 13, Pittsburgh 6. October 13 Illinois 41, Syracuse 20. Miami (FL) 7, Purdue 0 (game played Friday, October 12). Ohio State 6, Wisconsin 6. Michigan 33, Indiana 14. Ohio State 6, Wisconsin 6. Northwestern 21, Minnesota 7. Iowa 34, Pittsburgh 17. October 20 Illinois 27, Washington 20. Wisconsin 31, Purdue 7. Michigan 21, Iowa 0. Indiana 32, Ohio State 10. Northwestern 16, Navy 7. Nebraska 39, Minnesota 20. October 27 Illinois 21, Indiana 0. Notre Dame 30, Purdue 9. Wisconsin 41, Northwestern 0. Michigan 54, Minnesota 27. Ohio State 47, Iowa 21. November 3 Illinois 7, Michigan 0. Purdue 28, Penn State 0. Wisconsin 6, Indiana 0. Ohio State 3, Northwestern 0. Iowa 20, Minnesota 20. November 10 Illinois 40, Iowa 13. Purdue 35, Northwestern 14. Wisconsin 16, Pennsylvania 7. Cornell 20, Michigan 7. Ohio State 16, Pittsburgh 14. Minnesota 16, Indiana 14. November 17 Illinois 0, Ohio State 0. Purdue 19, Minnesota 13. Wisconsin 34, Iowa 7. Northwestern 6, Michigan 0. Michigan State 30, Indiana 26 November 24 Illinois 3, Northwestern 0. Purdue 21, Indiana 13. Wisconsin 30, Minnesota 6. Michigan 7, Ohio State 0. Iowa 20, Notre Dame 20. Bowl games 1952 Rose Bowl Post-season developments Awards and honors All-Big Ten honors the complete All-Big Ten selections 1951 All-Big Ten Conference football team The following players were picked by the Associated Press (AP)as first-team players on the 1951 All-Big Ten Conference football team. The AP picked separate offensive and defensive units, whereas the UP selected a single, eleven man unit. AP offense and UP overall selections PositionNameTeamSelectorsQuarterbackJohn CoattaWisconsinAP, UPHalfbackJohnny KarrasIllinoisAP, UPHalfbackPaul GielMinnesotaAPHalfbackVic JanowiczOhio StateUPFullbackBill ReichardtIowaAP, UPEndLowell PerryMichiganAP, UPEndRex SmithIllinoisAPEndLeo SugarPurdueAP [defensive end], UP [end]TackleTom JohnsonMichiganAP, UPTackleChuck UlrichIllinoisAP, UPGuardDon MacRaeNorthwesternAP, UPGuardChuck StudleyIllinoisAP, UPCenterWayne RobinsonMinnesotaAPCenterChuck BoerioIllinoisAP [linebacker], UP [center] AP defensive unit PositionNameTeamSelectorsDefensive endPat O'DonahueWisconsinAPDefensive endLeo SugarPurdueAP [defensive end], UP [end]Defensive tackleDick LoganOhio StateAPDefensive tackleJerry SmithWisconsinAPDefensive guardRobert KennedyWisconsinAPDefensive guardDeral TeteakWisconsinAPLinebackerChuck BoerioIllinoisAP [linebacker], UP [center]LinebackerRoger ZatkoffMichiganAPDefensive backVic JanowiczOhio StateAPDefensive backAl BroskyIllinoisAPDefensive backFred BruneyOhio StateAP All-American honors the complete All-America selections 1951 College Football All-America Team At the end of the 1951 season, only one Big Ten player secured a consensus first-team pick on the 1951 College Football All-America Team.2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) 2014 February 4, 2017 5–6 http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2014/Awards.pdf December 22, 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20141222163944/http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2014/Awards.pdf dead The Big Ten's consensus All-Americans were: PositionNameTeamSelectorsHalfbackJohnny KarrasIllinoisAFCA, AAB, FWAA, TSN, UP, CP, WCFF Other Big Ten players who were named first-team All-Americans by at least one selector were: PositionNameTeamSelectorsOffensive endHal FavertyWisconsinINSOffensive tackleChuck UlrichIllinoisINSCenterChuck BoerioIllinoisNEADefensive endPat O'DonahueWisconsinAP, FWAA, NEADefensive endLeo SugarPurdueCTDefensive tackleTom JohnsonMichiganCTDefensive backAl BroskyIllinoisAP [defensive halfback], FWAA [safety] Other awards Illinois running back Johnny Karras finished sixth in the voting for the 1951 Heisman Trophy.1951 Heisman Trophy Voting Sports Reference LLC SR/College Football February 4, 2017 https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/awards/heisman-1951.html 1952 NFL draft The following Big Ten players were among the first 100 picks in the 1952 NFL draft:1952 NFL Draft: Full Draft National Football League NFL.com February 4, 2017 http://www.nfl.com/draft/history/fulldraft?season=1952 NamePositionTeamRoundOverall pickJohnny KarrasBackIllinois216Pete BrewsterEndPurdue221Joe CampanellaTackleOhio State336Chuck UlrichTackleIllinois441Pat O'DonahueEndWisconsin557Tom JohnsonTackleMichigan663Bill ReichardtBackIowa776Vic JanowiczBackOhio State779Mel BecketCenterIndiana887Wayne RobinsonCenterMinnesota889Hubert JohnstonTackleIowa891Jerry SmithTackleWisconsin894Deral TeteakGuardWisconsin9100 References