1953 Big Ten Conference football season explained

1953 Big Ten Conference football season
Sport:American football
No Of Teams:10
Top Pick:Stan Wallace
Season Champs:Michigan State
Season Champ Name:Champion
Second Place:Illinois
Mvp:Paul Giel
Seasonslistnames:Football
Prevseason Year:1952
Nextseason Year:1954

The 1953 Big Ten Conference football season was the 58th 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 1953 college football season.

The 1953 Michigan State Spartans football team, under head coach Clarence Munn, won the Big Ten championship in the program's first year of participating in the Big Ten. The Spartans compiled a 9–1 record and was ranked No. 3 in the final AP and UPI polls. End Don Dohoney was a consensus first-team All-American. Halfback Leroy Bolden was selected as the team's most valuable player.

The 1953 Illinois Fighting Illini football team, under head coach Ray Eliot, finished in second place in the Big Ten with a 7–1–1, led the conference with 25.3 points allowed per game, and was ranked No. 7 in the final AP Poll. Halfback J. C. Caroline was a consensus first-team All-American.

Minnesota quarterback Paul Giel was a consensus first-team All-American and received the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy as the Big Ten's most valuable player for the second consecutive year.

Season overview

Results and team statistics

Conf. RankTeamHead coachAP finalAP highOverall recordConf. recordPPGPAGMVP
1Michigan StateClarence Munn
  1. 3
  1. 2
9–15–124.011.0LeRoy Beldon
2IllinoisRay Eliot
  1. 7
  1. 3
7–1–15–125.314.8Don Ernst
3WisconsinIvy Williamson
  1. 15
  1. 8
6–2–14–1–119.912.2Alan Ameche
4Ohio StateWoody HayesNR
  1. 3
6–34–320.218.2George Jacoby
5 (tie)MichiganBennie Oosterbaan
  1. 20
  1. 4
6–33–318.111.2Tony Branoff
5 (tie)IowaForest Evashevski
  1. 9
  1. 9
5–3–13–320.810.1Bill Fenton
7MinnesotaWes FeslerNR
  1. 13
4–4–13–3–116.717.8Paul Giel
8PurdueStu HolcombNRNR2–72–49.918.6Tom Bettis
9IndianaBernie CrimminsNRNR2–71–513.225.2Harry Jagielski
10NorthwesternBob VoigtsNR
  1. 18
3-60-618.422.8Bob Lauter
Key
AP final = Team's rank in the final AP Poll of the 1953 season
AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1953 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[1]
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

Regular season

September 26

October 3

October 10

October 17

October 24

October 31

November 7

November 14

November 21

Bowl games

See main article: 1954 Rose Bowl. On January 1, 1954, Michigan State defeated the UCLA, 28 - 20, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Michigan State halfback Billy Wells was named the Rose Bowl player of the game. The 1954 Rose Bowl had the first color television "colorcast", viewable on 200 sets across the United States.[2]

Post-season developments

Two Big Ten teams changed head coaches between the 1953 and 1954 seasons:

Awards and honors

All-Big Ten honors

The following players were picked by the Associated Press (AP)as first-team players on the 1953 All-Big Ten Conference football team.

PositionNameTeamSelectors
EndDon DohoneyMichigan StateAP
EndBob ToppMichiganAP
TackleGeorge JacobyOhio StateAP
TackleCal JonesIowaAP
GuardJan SmidIllinoisAP
GuardTom BettisPurdueAP
CenterJerry HilgenbergIowaAP
BackPaul GielMinnesotaAP
BackJ. C. CarolineIllinoisAP
BackLeRoy BoldenMichigan StateAP
BackAlan AmecheWisconsinAP

All-American honors

At the end of the 1953 season, Big Ten players secured three of 11 consensus first-team picks for the 1953 College Football All-America Team.[6] The Big Ten's consensus All-Americans were:

PositionNameTeamSelectors
QuarterbackPaul GielMinnesotaAAB, AFCA, AP, FWAA, INS, TSN, UP, WCFF
EndDon DohoneyMichigan StateAFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, TSN, UP, WCFF
HalfbackJ. C. CarolineIllinoisAFCA, FWAA, UP, WCFF

Other Big Ten players who were named first-team All-Americans by at least one selector were:

PositionNameTeamSelectors
EndJoe CollierNorthwesternINS
CenterJerry HilgenbergIowaFWAA
FullbackAlan AmecheWisconsinFWAA

Other awards

Three Big Ten players finished among the top 10 in the voting for the 1953 Heisman Trophy: Minnesota running back Paul Giel (second); Wisconsin running back Alan Ameche (sixth); and Illinois running back J. C. Caroline (seventh).[7]

1954 NFL Draft

The following Big Ten players were among the first 100 picks in the 1954 NFL draft:[8]

NamePositionTeamRoundOverall pick
Stan WallaceBackIllinois16
John BauerGuardIllinois112
Rocky RyanEndIllinois221
Jim NealCenterMichigan State225
Jerry HilgenbergCenterIowa448
Don DohoneyEndMichigan State550
Billy WellsBackMichigan State556
George JacobyTackleOhio State665
Ken PanfilTacklePurdue670
Harry JagielskiTackleIndiana780

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 1953 Big Ten Conference Year Summary. Sports Reference LLC. SR/College Football. January 26, 2017.
  2. Gould, Jack - Television in Review: NBC Color Tournament of Roses Parade is Sent Over 22-City Network. New York Times, Monday, January 4, 1954
  3. News: Fesler Resigns as Minn. Coach. The Bakersfield Californian. December 14, 1953. 38.
  4. News: Warmath New Minn. Coach. Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune. January 30, 1954. 7.
  5. News: Munn, Daugherty Elevated at MSC. The Ludington Daily News. January 16, 1954. 1.
  6. Web site: 2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. February 4, 2017. 5–6. December 22, 2014. https://web.archive.org/web/20141222163944/http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2014/Awards.pdf. dead.
  7. Web site: 1952 Heisman Trophy Voting. Sports Reference LLC. SR/College Football. February 4, 2017.
  8. Web site: 1954 NFL Draft: Full Draft. National Football League. NFL.com. February 4, 2017.