1944 Big Ten Conference football season

August 2023 1944 Big Ten Conference football season Football 9 Elroy Hirsch Ohio State Champion Les Horvath Football 1943 1945 The 1944 Big Ten Conference football season was the 49th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference (also known as the Western Conference) and was a part of the 1944 college football season. The 1944 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, under head coach Carroll Widdoes, compiled a perfect 9–0 record, won the Big Ten championship, led the conference in scoring offense (31.9 points per game), and was ranked No. 2 in the final AP Poll. The team was retroactively selected as a national champion by the National Championship Foundation. Quarterback Les Horvath was a consensus first-team pick for the 1944 College Football All-America Team and received the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy as the most valuable player in the Big Ten and . End Jack Dugger and center John Tavener were also consensus first-team All-Americans. Michigan, under head coach Fritz Crisler, compiled an 8–2 record, finished in second place in the conference, and was ranked No. 8 in the final AP Poll. Fullback Don Lund received the team's most valuable player award. Indiana, under head coach Bo McMillin, compiled a 7–3 record and led the conference in scoring defense (7.9 points per game). Center John Tavener was a consensus first-team All-American and received Indiana's most valuable player award. Season overview Results and team statistics Conf. RankTeamHead coachAP finalAP highOverall recordConf. recordPPGPAGMVP1Ohio StateCarroll Widdoes#2#29–06–031.98.8Les Horvath2MichiganFritz Crisler#8#58–25–220.49.1Don Lund3PurdueCecil IsbellNR#75–54–220.716.6Babe Dimancheff4MinnesotaGeorge HauserNRNR5–3–13–2–125.018.0John Lundquist5IndianaBo McMillinNR#157–34–329.27.9John Tavener6IllinoisRay Eliot#15#95–4–13–327.314.9Buddy Young7WisconsinHarry StuhldreherNR#193–62–412.420.0Clarence Esser8NorthwesternPappy WaldorfNRNR1–7–10–5–111.317.8Max Morris9IowaSlip MadiganNRNR1–70–66.630.0Bob Snyder Key AP final = Team's rank in the final AP Poll of the 1945 season AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1945 season PPG = Average of points scored per game PAG = Average of points allowed per game1944 Big Ten Conference Year Summary Sports Reference LLC SR/College Football January 5, 2017 https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/conferences/western/1944.html 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 trophyHorvath Voted Big Nine's Most Valuable: Buckeye Star 21st To Receive Tribune Award Chicago Tribune Wilfrid Smith December 17, 1944 2-1 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/8215806/horvath_voted_big_nines_most_valuable/ Regular season Bowl games During the 1944 season, the Big Ten maintained its long-standing ban on postseason games. Accordingly, no Big Ten teams participated in any bowl games. All-Big Ten players the complete All-Big Ten selections 1944 All-Big Nine Conference football team The following players were picked by the Associated Press (AP) and/or the United Press (UP) as first-team players on the 1944 All-Big Nine Conference football team.All-Western Conference Team The Logan Daily News November 27, 1944 5 https://www.newspapers.com/image/87289320/?terms=ponsetto%2Bdugger%2BassociatedFour Ohio State Stars Named on the All-Conference Team The Milwaukee Journal (UP story) November 22, 1944 6 https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1499&dat=19441122&id=EjIdAAAAIBAJ&sjid=GiMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2320,2793204 Jack Dugger, end, Ohio State (AP, UP) Frank Bauman, end, Purdue (AP, UP) Milan Lazetich, tackle, Michigan (AP, UP) Bill Willis, tackle, Ohio State (AP, UP) Bill Hackett, guard, Ohio State (AP, UP) Ralph Serpico, guard, Illinois (AP, UP) John Tavener, center, Indiana (AP, UP) Les Horvath, halfback/quarterback, Ohio State (AP, UP) Joe Ponsetto, quarterback, Michigan (AP) Buddy Young, halfback, Illinois (AP, UP) Babe Dimancheff, fullback/halfback, Purdue (AP, UP) Bob Wiese, fullback, Michigan (UP) All-Americans the complete All-America selections 1944 College Football All-America Team At the end of the 1944 season, Big Ten players secured four of the consensus first-team picks for the 1944 College Football All-America Team.2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) 2014 August 16, 2014 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: Jack Dugger, end, Ohio State (FWAA, INS, SN, UP, WC) Bill Hackett, guard, Ohio State (AAB, AP, COL, FN, FWAA, CP, WC) John Tavener, center, Indiana (UP, FWAA, INS, LK, CP) Les Horvath, quarterback, Ohio State (AAB, AP, COL, FN, FWAA, INS, LK, NEA, SN, UP, CP, WC) Other Big Ten players who were named first-team All-Americans by at least one selector were: Bill Willis, tackle, Ohio State (LK, SN, UP) Ralph Serpico, guard, Illinois (SN) Buddy Young, quarterback, Illinois (LK) Jug Girard, halfback, Wisconsin (LK) Babe Dimancheff, fullback, Purdue (INS, CP) 1945 NFL draft The following Big Ten players were selected in the first 10 rounds of the 1945 NFL draft:1945 NFL Draft: Full Draft National Football League NFL.com January 4, 2017 http://www.nfl.com/draft/history/fulldraft?season=1945 NamePositionTeamRoundOverall pickElroy HirschWide receiverMichigan15Don LundBackMichigan17Jack DuggerEndOhio State212Wayne WilliamsBackMinnesota213Milan LazetichTackleMichigan216Stan MohrbacherGuardIowa324Gordon ApplebyCenterOhio State326Bob WieseBackMichigan539Forest MastersonCenterIowa540Pete PihosWide receiverIndiana541Dick BarwegenGuardPurdue644Gene FeketeBackOhio State649Chuck DellagoGuardMinnesota652Fred NegusCenterWisconsin759Jack MeadEndWisconsin764Pat O'BrienTacklePurdue873Nick VodickBackNorthwestern875Les JoopTackleIllinois982 References