| 1953 Big Ten Conference football season | |
|---|---|
| Sport | American football |
| Teams | 10 |
| Top draft pick | Stan Wallace |
| Champion | Michigan State |
| Runners-up | Illinois |
| Season MVP | Paul Giel |
| Football seasons | |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 3Michigan State + | 5 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 7Illinois + | 5 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 15Wisconsin | 4 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 6 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio State | 4 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 3 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 4 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 20Michigan | 3 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 9Iowa | 3 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 1 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 0 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The1953 Big Ten Conference football season was the 58th season ofcollege football played by the member schools of theBig Ten Conference (also known as the Western Conference) and was a part of the1953 college football season.
The1953 Michigan State Spartans football team, under head coachBiggie 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. EndDon Dohoney was a consensus first-team All-American. Halfback Leroy Bolden was selected as the team's most valuable player.
The1953 Illinois Fighting Illini football team, under head coachRay 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. HalfbackJ. C. Caroline was a consensus first-team All-American.
Minnesota quarterbackPaul Giel was a consensus first-team All-American and received theChicago Tribune Silver Football trophy as the Big Ten's most valuable player for the second consecutive year.
| Conf. Rank | Team | Head coach | AP final | AP high | Overall record | Conf. record | PPG | PAG | MVP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michigan State | Biggie Munn | #3 | #2 | 9–1 | 5–1 | 24.0 | 11.0 | LeRoy Beldon |
| 2 | Illinois | Ray Eliot | #7 | #3 | 7–1–1 | 5–1 | 25.3 | 14.8 | Don Ernst |
| 3 | Wisconsin | Ivy Williamson | #15 | #8 | 6–2–1 | 4–1–1 | 19.9 | 12.2 | Alan Ameche |
| 4 | Ohio State | Woody Hayes | NR | #3 | 6–3 | 4–3 | 20.2 | 18.2 | George Jacoby |
| 5 (tie) | Michigan | Bennie Oosterbaan | #20 | #4 | 6–3 | 3–3 | 18.1 | 11.2 | Tony Branoff |
| 5 (tie) | Iowa | Forest Evashevski | #9 | #9 | 5–3–1 | 3–3 | 20.8 | 10.1 | Bill Fenton |
| 7 | Minnesota | Wes Fesler | NR | #13 | 4–4–1 | 3–3–1 | 16.7 | 17.8 | Paul Giel |
| 8 | Purdue | Stu Holcomb | NR | NR | 2–7 | 2–4 | 9.9 | 18.6 | Tom Bettis |
| 9 | Indiana | Bernie Crimmins | NR | NR | 2–7 | 1–5 | 13.2 | 25.2 | Harry Jagielski |
| 10 | Northwestern | Bob Voigts | NR | #18 | 3-6 | 0-6 | 18.4 | 22.8 | Bob Lauter |
Key
AP final = Team's rank in the finalAP Poll of the 1953 season[1]
AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1953 season[1]
PPG = Average of points scored per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold[1]
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 theChicago Tribune Silver Football trophy; trophy winner in bold
On January 1, 1954, Michigan State defeated theUCLA, 28–20, at the Rose Bowl inPasadena, California. Michigan State halfbackBilly Wells was named the Rose Bowl player of the game. The 1954 Rose Bowl had the firstcolor television "colorcast", viewable on 200 sets across the United States.[2]
Two Big Ten teams changed head coaches between the 1953 and 1954 seasons:
The following players were picked by theAssociated Press (AP)as first-team players on the1953 All-Big Ten Conference football team.
| Position | Name | Team | Selectors |
|---|---|---|---|
| End | Don Dohoney | Michigan State | AP |
| End | Bob Topp | Michigan | AP |
| Tackle | George Jacoby | Ohio State | AP |
| Tackle | Cal Jones | Iowa | AP |
| Guard | Jan Smid | Illinois | AP |
| Guard | Tom Bettis | Purdue | AP |
| Center | Jerry Hilgenberg | Iowa | AP |
| Back | Paul Giel | Minnesota | AP |
| Back | J. C. Caroline | Illinois | AP |
| Back | LeRoy Bolden | Michigan State | AP |
| Back | Alan Ameche | Wisconsin | AP |
At the end of the 1953 season, Big Ten players secured three of 11 consensus first-team picks for the1953 College Football All-America Team.[6] The Big Ten's consensus All-Americans were:
| Position | Name | Team | Selectors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterback | Paul Giel | Minnesota | AAB, AFCA, AP, FWAA, INS, TSN, UP, WCFF |
| End | Don Dohoney | Michigan State | AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, TSN, UP, WCFF |
| Halfback | J. C. Caroline | Illinois | AFCA, FWAA, UP, WCFF |
Other Big Ten players who were named first-team All-Americans by at least one selector were:
| Position | Name | Team | Selectors |
|---|---|---|---|
| End | Joe Collier | Northwestern | INS |
| Center | Jerry Hilgenberg | Iowa | FWAA |
| Fullback | Alan Ameche | Wisconsin | FWAA |
Three Big Ten players finished among the top 10 in the voting for the 1953 Heisman Trophy: Minnesota running backPaul Giel (second); Wisconsin running backAlan Ameche (sixth); and Illinois running backJ. C. Caroline (seventh).[7]
The following Big Ten players were among the first 100 picks in the1954 NFL draft:[8]
| Name | Position | Team | Round | Overall pick |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stan Wallace | Back | Illinois | 1 | 6 |
| John Bauer | Guard | Illinois | 1 | 12 |
| Rocky Ryan | End | Illinois | 2 | 21 |
| Jim Neal | Center | Michigan State | 2 | 25 |
| Jerry Hilgenberg | Center | Iowa | 4 | 48 |
| Don Dohoney | End | Michigan State | 5 | 50 |
| Billy Wells | Back | Michigan State | 5 | 56 |
| George Jacoby | Tackle | Ohio State | 6 | 65 |
| Ken Panfil | Tackle | Purdue | 6 | 70 |
| Harry Jagielski | Tackle | Indiana | 7 | 80 |