The 1951 Stanford Indians football team represented Stanford University in the 1951 college football season. Stanford was led by first-year head coach Chuck Taylor. The team was a member of the Pacific Coast Conference and played their home games at

Stanford Stadium Stanford Stadium is an outdoor college football stadium on the west coast of the United States, located on the campus of Stanford University in Stanford, California. It is the home of the Stanford Cardinal and hosts the university's commencemen ...

Stanford, California Stanford is a census-designated place (CDP) in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States. It is the home of Stanford University. The population was 21,150 at the 2020 census. Stanford is an unincorporated area of ...

Coaching change

The 1950 season had ended in disappointing fashion after high expectations and a fast start. Head coach

Marchmont Schwartz Marchmont H. "Marchy" Schwartz (March 20, 1909 – April 18, 1991) was an American college football player and coach. He played football at the University of Notre Dame from 1929 to 1931, and was a two-time All-American at halfback. Schwartz se ...

had resigned following the season, and to replace him, Stanford hired Chuck Taylor, a former Stanford All-American guard and member of Stanford's undefeated 1940 team which defeated

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

in the

1941 Rose Bowl The 1941 Rose Bowl was the 27th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Wednesday, January 1. The undefeated and second-ranked Stanford Indians of the Pacific Coast Conference defeated the #7 ...

Season summary

Led by the passing attack of senior quarterback

Gary Kerkorian Gary Ray Kerkorian (January 14, 1930 – May 22, 2000) was an Armenian-American American football, football quarterback who played four seasons in the National Football League (NFL). College career Born into an Armenians, Armenian family, Kerkor ...

and senior end

Bill McColl William Frazer McColl Jr. (born April 2, 1930) is an American athlete, surgeon, and politician. He is best remembered as a college football star before becoming a professional with the Chicago Bears of the National Football League, for whom he ...

, Stanford ran out to a 9–0 start and took a #3 ranking into the Big Game, where they were 13-point favorites over rival

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Cal upset the Indians 20–7, but as PCC champions, Stanford was invited to the

1952 Rose Bowl The 1952 Rose Bowl was the 38th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Held on Tuesday, January 1, at the end of the 1951 college football season, it was the first nationally televised col ...

against

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

champion and 4th-ranked

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

. The Indians led at halftime 7–6 and trailed only 13–7 to start the fourth quarter, but a 27-point scoring outburst gave the Fighting Illini a convincing 40–7 victory.

Schedule

Aftermath

Taylor, at 31 the youngest major college football coach, was named

AFCA Coach of the Year The AFCA Coach of the Year Award is given annually to a college football coach by the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA). The award has had several different sponsors over the years, including Eastman Kodak Corporation, and thus also b ...

, the only time a Stanford coach has received the award. In addition to numerous awards, McColl was a Consensus All-American, finished fourth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy, and would go on to a seven-year professional career with the Chicago Bears. Kerkorian was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers and backed up Johnny Unitas with the Baltimore Colts.

Players drafted by the NFL

References

{{Pac-12 Conference football champions Stanford Stanford Cardinal football seasons Pac-12 Conference football champion seasons

Stanford Indians football The Stanford Cardinal football program represents Stanford University in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level and is a member of the Pac-12 Conference's North Division. The team is known as the Cardinal, adopted prior to the 1982 seas ...