The 1954 Big Ten Conference football season was the 59th season of

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

played by the member schools of the

Big Ten Conference 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 ...

(also known as the Western Conference) and was a part of the

1954 college football season The 1954 college football season saw three teams finish unbeaten and untied, with Ohio State Buckeyes and the UCLA Bruins sharing the national championship as the No. 1 picks of the AP Poll and the UPI Poll, respectively. Although the winners o ...

. The 1954 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, under head coach

Woody Hayes Wayne Woodrow Hayes (February 14, 1913 – March 12, 1987) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Denison University (1946–1948), Miami University in Oxford, Ohio (1949–1950), and Ohio State University (1951 ...

, won the conference football championship, compiled a 10–0, was ranked No. 1 in the final

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

, and defeated

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

in the

1955 Rose Bowl The 1955 Rose Bowl was the 41st edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Saturday, January 1. The top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes of the Big Ten Conference defeated the USC Trojans of ...

. Halfback

Howard Cassady Howard Albert "Hopalong" Cassady (March 2, 1934 – September 20, 2019) was an American professional football player who was a halfback and split end. He won the Heisman Trophy in 1955, and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame ...

was selected as the team's most valuable player and was a consensus first-team All-American. The

1954 Wisconsin Badgers football team The 1954 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin in the 1954 Big Ten Conference football season. Season Senior Alan Ameche earned All-America honors, was named the Big 10 Player of the Year, and was the recipie ...

, under head coach

Ivy Williamson Ivan B. "Ivy" Williamson (February 4, 1911 – February 19, 1969) was a player and coach of American football and basketball, and a college athletics administrator. He played college football and basketball at the University of Michigan from 193 ...

, compiled a 7–2 record and was ranked No. 9 in the final AP Poll. Fullback

Alan Ameche Alan Ameche (; June 1, 1933 – August 8, 1988), nicknamed "The Iron Horse", or simply "The Horse", was an American football player who played six seasons with the Baltimore Colts in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football ...

won the 1954

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

as the best player in college football and the

Chicago Tribune Silver Football The Chicago Tribune Silver Football is awarded by the ''Chicago Tribune'' to the college football player determined to be the best player from the Big Ten Conference. The award has been presented annually since 1924, when Red Grange of Illinois wa ...

as the most valuable player in the Big Ten Conference. Ameche broke

Ollie Matson Ollie Genoa Matson II (May 1, 1930 – February 19, 2011) was an American Olympic medal winning sprinter and professional American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1952 to 1966. Drafted into the N ...

's career rushing record, finishing his tenure at Wisconsin with 3,212 rushing yards. Purdue quarterback

Len Dawson Leonard Ray Dawson (June 20, 1935 – August 24, 2022) was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Kansas City Chiefs franchise. Aft ...

led the conference with 1,464 passing yards.

Season overview

Results and team statistics

Key
AP final = Team's rank in the final

of the 1954 season
AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1954 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 bold
MVP = Most valuable player as voted by players on each team as part of the voting process to determine the winner of the

trophy; trophy winner in bold

Preseason

Two Big Ten teams changed head coaches between the 1953 and 1954 seasons: * In December 1953,

Wes Fesler Wesley Eugene Fesler (June 29, 1908 – July 30, 1989) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach of football and basketball. He was a three-sport athlete at Ohio State University and a consensus first-team selection to ...

resigned as Minnesota's head coach to accept a position as a partner, vice president and sports director at Minneapolis radio station

WDGY WDGY (740 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station licensed to Hudson, Wisconsin, and serving the Minneapolis-St. Paul radio market. It is owned by WRPX, inc. and airs a Classic Hits/Oldies radio format. The station's studios and offices are ...

. In January 1954,

Murray Warmath Murray Warmath (December 26, 1912 – March 16, 2011) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Mississippi State University from 1952 to 1953 and at the University of Minnesota from 1954 to 1971, compili ...

signed a four-year contract as Minnesota's new head football coach. * In January 1954, Michigan State's head coach

Clarence Munn Clarence Lester "Biggie" Munn (September 11, 1908 – March 18, 1975) was an American football player, coach, and college athletics administrator. He was the head football coach at Albright College (1935–1936), Syracuse University (1946), and mos ...

was elevated to a new position as the school's athletic director. Longtime line coach

Duffy Daugherty Hugh Duffy Daugherty (September 8, 1915 – September 25, 1987) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Michigan State University from 1954 to 1972, compiling a record of 109–69–5. His 1965 and 1966 teams won ...

became the new head football coach.

Regular season

September 25

On September 25, 1954, the Big Ten football teams played two conference games and six non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in five wins and one loss. * ''Ohio State 28, Indiana 0''. * ''Wisconsin 52, Marquette 14''. * ''Michigan 14, Washington 0''. * ''Minnesota 19, Nebraska 7''. * ''Iowa 14, Michigan State 10''. * ''Purdue 31, Missouri 0''. * ''Northwestern 27, Iowa State 14''. * ''Penn State 14, Illinois 12''.

October 2

On October 2, 1954, the Big Ten football teams played one conference game and eight non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in five wins and three losses, giving the Big Ten a 10–4 record in non-conference games played to that date. * ''Ohio State 21, California 13''. * ''Wisconsin 6, Michigan State 0''. * ''Army 26, Michigan 7''. * ''Minnesota 46, Pittsburgh 7''. * ''Iowa 48, Montana 6''. * ''Purdue 27, Notre Dame 14''. * ''Indiana 34, Pacific 6''. * ''USC 12, Northwestern 7''. * ''Stanford 12, Illinois 2''.

October 9

On October 9, 1954, the Big Ten football teams played four conference games and two non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in two wins, giving the Big Ten a 12–4 record in non-conference games played to that date. * ''Ohio State 40, Illinois 7''. * ''Wisconsin 13, Rice 7''. * ''Michigan 14, Iowa 13''. * ''Minnesota 26, Northwestern 7''. * ''Purdue 13, Duke 13''. * ''Michigan State 21, Indiana 14''.

October 16

On October 16, 1954, the Big Ten football teams played four conference games and two non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in two losses, giving the Big Ten a 12–6 record in non-conference games played to that date. * ''Ohio State 20, Iowa 14''. * ''Wisconsin 20, Purdue 6''. * ''Michigan 7, Northwestern 0''. * ''Minnesota 19, Illinois 6''. * ''Missouri 20, Indiana 14''. * ''Notre Dame 20, Michigan State 19''.

October 23

On October 23, 1954, the Big Ten football teams played four conference games and two non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in one win and one loss, giving the Big Ten a 13–7 record in non-conference games played to that date. * ''Ohio State 31, Wisconsin 14''. * ''Michigan 34, Minnesota 0''. * ''Iowa 27, Indiana 14''. * ''Purdue 27, Michigan State 13''. * ''Pittsburgh 14, Northwestern 7''. * ''Illinois 34, Syracuse 6''.

October 30

On October 30, 1954, the Big Ten football teams played against each other in five conference games. * ''Ohio State 14, Northwestern 7''. * ''Iowa 13, Wisconsin 7''. * ''Indiana 13, Michigan 9''. * ''Minnesota 19, Michigan State 13''. * ''Purdue 28, Illinois 14''.

November 6

On November 6, 1954, the Big Ten football teams played three conference games and four non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in three wins and one loss, giving the Big Ten a 16–8 record in non-conference games played to that date. * ''Ohio State 26, Pittsburgh 0''. * ''Wisconsin 34, Northwestern 13''. * ''Michigan 14, Illinois 7''. * ''Minnesota 44, Oregon State 6''. * ''Iowa 25, Purdue 14''. * ''Miami (OH) 6, Indiana 0''. * ''Michigan State 54, Washington State 6''.

November 13

On November 13, 1954, the Big Ten football teams played against each other in five conference games. * ''Ohio State 28, Purdue 6''. * ''Wisconsin 27, Illinois 14''. * ''Michigan 33, Michigan State 7''. * ''Minnesota 22, Iowa 20''. * ''Indiana 14, Northwestern 13''.

November 20

On November 20, 1954, the Big Ten football teams played four conference games and two non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in one win and one loss, giving the Big Ten a 17–9 record in non-conference games played to that date. * ''Ohio State 21, Michigan 7''. * ''Wisconsin 27, Minnesota 0''. * ''Notre Dame 34, Iowa 18''. * ''Purdue 13, Indiana 7''. * ''Michigan State 40, Marquette 10''. * ''Northwestern 20, Illinois 7''.

Bowl games

On January 1, 1955, Ohio State (ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll) defeated

(ranked No. 17 in the AP Poll) by a 20–7 score before a crowd of 89,191 in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

(ranked No. 2) was not permitted to play in the Rose Bowl due to the

Pacific Coast Conference The Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) was a college athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. Though the Pac-12 Conference claims the PCC's history as part of its own, with eight of the ten PCC members (including a ...

's no-repeat rule. Ohio State quarterback

Dave Leggett William David Leggett (September 18, 1933 – March 26, 2013) was a National Football League quarterback. He played collegiately at Ohio State University from 1952–1954. In 1954, he led Ohio State to an undefeated 10–0 season and a berth in ...

was selected as the game's most valuable player.

Post-season developments

On February 3, 1955,

Bob Voigts Werner Robert Voigts (March 29, 1916 – December 7, 2000) was an American football and basketball player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Northwestern University from 1947 to 1954, compiling a record of 33–39–1. Voigts led ...

resigned as Northwestern's head football coach. Voigts had come under fire from alumni after Northwestern won only one conference game in two seasons. Less than a week later,

Lou Saban Louis Henry Saban (October 13, 1921 – March 29, 2009) was an American football player and coach. He played for Indiana University in college and as a professional for the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference between 1946 a ...

was announced as Voigts' replacement. Saban had been an assistant coach at Northwestern in 1954. He had played for Indiana in 1941 and 1942 and for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

from 1946 to 1949.

Awards and honors

All-Big Ten honors

The following players were picked by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

(AP) and/or the sports editors (Ed) as first-team players on the

1954 All-Big Ten Conference football team The 1954 All-Big Ten Conference football team consists of American football players chosen by the Associated Press (AP), the United Press (UP), and newspaper sports editors (Ed) as the best players at their positions during the 1954 Big Ten Confere ...

All-American honors

At the end of the 1954 season, Big Ten players secured three of 11 consensus first-team picks for the

1954 College Football All-America Team The 1954 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams in 1954. The eight selectors recognized by the ...

. The Big Ten's consensus All-Americans were: Other Big Ten players who were named first-team All-Americans by at least one selector were:

Other awards

Wisconsin running back

won the 1954

1955 NFL Draft

The following Big Ten players were among the first 100 picks in the 1955 NFL Draft:

References

{{Big Ten Conference football navbox