1955 Big Ten Conference football season

Last updated

1955 Big Ten Conference football season
Sport American football
Number of teams10
Top draft pick Earl Morrall
Champion Ohio State
  Runners-up Michigan State
Season MVP Howard Cassady
Football seasons
  1954
1956  
1955 Big Ten Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 5 Ohio State $ 6 0 07 2 0
No. 2 Michigan State 5 1 09 1 0
No. 12 Michigan 5 2 07 2 0
Purdue 4 2 15 3 1
Illinois 3 3 15 3 1
Wisconsin 3 4 04 5 0
Iowa 2 3 13 5 1
Minnesota 2 5 03 6 0
Indiana 1 5 03 6 0
Northwestern 0 6 10 8 1
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1955 Big Ten Conference football season was the 60th 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 1955 college football season.

Contents

The 1955 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, under head coach Woody Hayes, won the Big Ten football championship with a record of 7–2 and was ranked No. 5 in the final AP Poll. Halfback Howard Cassady was a consensus first-team All-American and won both the 1955 Heisman Trophy as the best player in college football and the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the most valuable player in the Big Ten.

The 1955 Michigan State Spartans football team, under head coach Duffy Daugherty, compiled a 9–1 record, defeated UCLA in the 1956 Rose Bowl, and was ranked No. 2 behind Oklahoma in the final AP Poll. Quarterback Earl Morrall was a consensus first-team All-American and was the first Big Ten player selected in the 1956 NFL draft with the second overall pick. Tackle Norm Masters was also a first-team All-American.

The 1955 Michigan Wolverines football team, under head coach Bennie Oosterbaan, compiled a 7–2 record and was ranked No. 12 in the final AP Poll. In the second week of the season, the Wolverines defeated Michigan State, the Spartans' only loss of the season. The Wolverines rose to No. 1 in the AP Poll after defeating Army (ranked No. 6), but after starting the season 6-0, Michigan lost to Illinois on November 5, 1955. End Ron Kramer was a consensus first-team All-American.

Iowa guard Cal Jones won the Outland Trophy as the best interior lineman in college football. He was the first Big Ten player to receive the award.

Season overview

Results and team statistics

Conf. RankTeamHead coachAP finalAP highOverall recordConf. recordPPGPAGMVP
1 Ohio State Woody Hayes #5#47–26–022.310.8 Howard Cassady
2 Michigan State Duffy Daugherty #2#29–15–125.38.3Carl Nystrom
3 Michigan Bennie Oosterbaan #12#17–25–219.910.4 Terry Barr
4 Purdue Stu Holcomb NR#175–3–14–2–112.611.4 Joe Krupa
5 Illinois Ray Eliot NR#165–3–13–3–116.612.7 Em Lindbeck
6 Wisconsin Ivy Williamson NR#64–53–419.118.4Wells Gray
7 Iowa Forest Evashevski NR#123–5–12–3–118.419.2 Jerry Reichow
8 Minnesota Murray Warmath NRNR3–62–512.219.1Don Swanson
9 Indiana Bernie Crimmins NRNR3–61–510.116.7 Bob Skoronski
10 Northwestern Lou Saban NRNR0-8-10-6-17.326.8Kurt Krueger

Key
AP final = Team's rank in the final AP Poll of the 1955 season [1]
AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1955 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 the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy; trophy winner in bold [2]

Preseason

On February 3, 1955, Bob Voigts resigned as Northwestern's head football coach. Voights had come under fire from alumni after Northwestern won only one conference game in two seasons. [3] Less than a week later, Lou Saban 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 from 1946 to 1949. [4]

Regular season

September 24

On September 24, 1955, the Big Ten football teams opened their seasons with one conference game and eight non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in six wins and two losses.

  • Michigan 42, Missouri 7. Michigan (ranked No. 4 in the AP Poll) defeated Missouri, 42–7, before a crowd of 51,801 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
  • Ohio State 28, Nebraska 20. Ohio State (ranked No. 6 in the AP Poll) defeated Nebraska, 28–20, before a crowd of 80,171 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
  • Michigan State 20, Indiana 13. Michigan State defeated Indiana, 20–13, before a crowd of 23,000 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana.
  • Purdue 14, Pacific 7.
  • Illinois 20, California 13.
  • Wisconsin 28, Marquette 14.
  • Iowa 28, Kansas State 7.
  • Washington 30, Minnesota 0.
  • Miami (OH) 25, Northwestern 14.

October 1

On October 1, 1955, the Big Ten football teams participate in three conference games and four non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in one win and three losses, bringing the Big Ten's record against non-conference opponents to 7–5.

  • Michigan 14, Michigan State 7. Michigan (ranked No. 2 in the AP Poll) defeated Michigan State, 14–7, before a crowd of 97,239 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
  • Stanford 6, Ohio State 0. Ohio State (ranked No. 8 in the AP Poll) lost to Stanford, 6–0, before a crowd of 28,000 at Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California.
  • Wisconsin 37, Iowa 14. Wisconsin (ranked No. 17 in the AP Poll) defeated Iowa (ranked No. 14), 37–14, before a crowd of 53,509 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.
  • Notre Dame 19, Indiana 0.
  • Illinois 40, Iowa State 0.
  • Purdue 7, Minnesota 6.
  • Tulane 21, Northwestern 0

October 8

On October 8, 1955, the Big Ten football teams participated in four conference games and two non-conference games. The two non-conference games resulted in wins, bringing the Big Ten's record against non-conference opponents to 9-5 up to that point in the season.

  • Michigan State 38, Stanford 14.
  • Ohio State 27, Illinois 12.
  • Michigan 26, Army 2.
  • Wisconsin 9, Purdue 0.
  • Iowa 20, Indiana 6.
  • Minnesota 18, Northwestern 7.

October 15

On October 14 and 15, 1955, the Big Ten football teams played three conference games and four non-conference games. The four non-conference games resulted in two wins and two losses, bringing the Big Ten's record against non-conference opponents to 11-7 up to that point in the season.

  • Michigan State 21, Notre Dame 7.
  • Duke 20, Ohio State 14.
  • Michigan 14, Northwestern 2.
  • Iowa 20, Purdue 20.
  • USC 33, Wisconsin 21. (Game played October 14)
  • Illinois 21, Northwestern 13.
  • Indiana 14, Villanova 7.

October 22

On October 21 and 22, 1955, the Big Ten football teams participated in four conference games and two non-conference games. Iowa's non-conference game was played on Friday, October 21, while the remaining games were played on Saturday, October 22. The two non-conference games resulted in two losses, bringing the Big Ten's record against non-conference opponents to 11-9 up to that point in the season.

  • UCLA 33, Iowa 13.
  • Michigan State 21, Illinois 7.
  • Ohio State 26, Wisconsin 16.
  • Michigan 14, Minnesota 13.
  • Notre Dame 22, Purdue 7.
  • Indiana 20, Northwestern 14.

October 29

On October 29, 1955, the Big Ten football teams played four conference games and two non-conference games. The two non-conference games resulted in two wins, bringing the Big Ten's record against non-conference opponents to 13-9 up to that point in the season.

  • Michigan 33, Iowa 21. Michigan (ranked No. 3 in the AP Poll and No. 1 in the UP Poll) defeated Iowa, 33–21, before a crowd of 73,275 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
  • Michigan State 27, Wisconsin 0. Michigan State (ranked No. 5 in the AP Poll) defeated Wisconsin, 27–0, before a crowd of 53,529 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.
  • Ohio State 49, Northwestern 0. Ohio State (ranked No. 15 in the AP Poll) defeated Northwestern, 49–0, 82,214 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
  • Purdue 13, Illinois 0. Purdue defeated Illinois, 13–0, at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.
  • Minnesota 25, USC 19. Minnesota defeated USC (ranked No. 10 in the AP Poll), 25-19, before a crowd of 64,047 at Memorial Stadium in Minneapolis.
  • Indiana 21, Ohio 14. Indiana defeated Ohio, 21–14, at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana.

November 5

On November 5, 1955, the Big Ten football teams played each other in five conference games.

  • Illinois 25, Michigan 6. Illinois defeated Michigan (ranked No. 3 in the AP Poll and No. 1 in the UP Poll), 25–6, before a crowd of 56,056 at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois.
  • Michigan State 27, Purdue 0. Michigan State (ranked No. 4 in the AP Poll) defeated Purdue, 27–0, before a crowd of 41,000 at Ross–Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.
  • Ohio State 20, Indiana 13. Ohio State (ranked No. 11 in the AP Poll) defeated Indiana, 20–13, before a crowd of 80,730 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
  • Wisconsin 41, Northwestern 14. Wisconsin defeated Northwestern, 41–14, before a crowd of 40,000 at Dyche Stadium in Evanston, Illinois.
  • Iowa 26, Minnesota 0. In the annual battle for the Floyd of Rosedale trophy, Iowa defeated Minnesota, 26–0, at Iowa Stadium in Iowa City.

November 12

On November 12, 1955, the Big Ten football teams played each other in five conference games.

  • Michigan State 42, Minnesota 14. Michigan State (ranked No. 3 in the AP Poll) defeated Minnesota, 42–14, before a crowd of 51,605 at Macklin Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan.
  • Ohio State 20, Iowa 10. Ohio State (ranked No. 10 in the AP Poll) defeated Iowa (ranked No. 20), 20–10, before a crowd of 82,701 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
  • Michigan 30, Indiana 0. Michigan (ranked No. 7 in the AP Poll) defeated Indiana, 30–0, before a crowd of 61,019 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
  • Purdue 46, Northwestern 8. Purdue defeated Northwestern, 46-8, before a crowd of 27,000 at Ross-Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.
  • Illinois 17, Wisconsin 14. Illinois defeated Wisconsin, 17–14, before a crowd of 53,529 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.

November 19

On November 19, 1955, the Big Ten Conference football teams played four conference games and two non-conference games. The two non-conference games resulted in a win and a loss, bringing the Big Ten's record against non-conference opponents to 14-10 up to that point in the season.

  • Michigan State 33, Marquette 0. Michigan State (ranked No. 3 in the AP Poll) defeated Marquette, 33–0, before a crowd of 41,814 at Macklin Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan.
  • Ohio State 17, Michigan 0. In the annual Michigan–Ohio State rivalry game, Ohio State (ranked No. 9 in the AP Poll) defeated Michigan (ranked No. 6), 17–0, before a crowd of 97,369 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
  • Purdue 6, Indiana 4. In the annual battle for the Old Oaken Bucket, Purdue defeated Indiana, 6–4, in Bloomington, Indiana.
  • Minnesota 21, Wisconsin 6. In the annual battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe, Minnesota defeated Wisconsin, 21–6, before a crowd of 62,714 at Memorial Stadium in Minneapolis.
  • Illinois 7, Northwestern 7. In the annual battle for the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk, Illinois and Northwestern played to a 7–7 tie before a crowd of 35,000 at Dyche Stadium in Evanston, Illinois.
  • Notre Dame 17, Iowa 14. Iowa lost to Notre Dame (ranked No. 4 in the AP Poll), 17–14, before a crowd of 59,955 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.

Bowl games

On January 2, 1956, Michigan State defeated UCLA, 17-14, in the 1956 Rose Bowl.

Post-season developments

On November 29, 1955, the Associated Press released its final college football rankings. Oklahoma was ranked at No. 1 by the AP with three Big Ten teams ranked in the top 20: Michigan State (No. 2); Ohio State (No. 5); and Michigan (No. 12). [5]

After the 1955 season, three Big Ten teams changed head football coaches as follows:

Awards and honors

All-Big Ten honors

The following players were picked by the Associated Press (AP) and/or the United Press (UP) as first-team players on the 1955 All-Big Ten Conference football team. [11] [12]

PositionNameTeamSelectors
End Ron Kramer MichiganAP, UP
End Tom Maentz MichiganAP, UP
Tackle Cal Jones IowaAP, UP [guard]
Tackle Norm Masters Michigan StateAP
TackleFrancis MachinskyOhio StateUP
TackleJoe KruperPurdueUP
Guard Jim Parker Ohio StateAP, UP
GuardCarl NystromMichigan StateAP
CenterKen VargoOhio StateAP, UP
Halfback Howard Cassady Ohio StateAP, UP
Quarterback Earl Morrall Michigan StateAP, UP
BackBill MurakowskiPurdueAP
BackBob MitchellIllinoisAP
Halfback Tony Branoff MichiganUP
Fullback Jerry Planutis Michigan StateUP

All-American honors

At the end of the 1955 season, Big Ten players secured five of 12 consensus first-team picks for the 1955 College Football All-America Team. [13] The Big Ten's consensus All-Americans were:

PositionNameTeamSelectors
Halfback Howard Cassady Ohio StateAAB, AFCA, AP, FWAA, INS, NEA, TSN, UP, CP, Jet, WCFF
End Ron Kramer MichiganAAB, AFCA, FWAA, INS, NEA, TSN, UP, Jet, WCFF
Quarterback Earl Morrall Michigan StateAP, AFCA, FWAA, INS, TSN, Jet, WCFF
Guard Cal Jones IowaAAB, FWAA, TSN, UP, Jet, WCFF
Tackle Norm Masters Michigan StateUP, FWAA, NEA, CP, WCFF

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

PositionNameTeamSelectors
Guard Jim Parker Ohio StateFWAA, CP, Jet
Fullback Jerry Planutis Michigan StateJet

Other awards

Ohio State halfback Howard Cassady won the 1955 Heisman Trophy. Three other Big Ten players finished among the top 10 in voting for the Heisman Trophy: Michigan State quarterback Earl Morrall (fourth), Michigan end Ron Kramer (eighth), and Iowa offensive lineman Cal Jones (10th). [14]

Cassady also received the Maxwell Award and the UPI and Sporting News College Football Player of the Year awards.

Iowa guard Cal Jones won the Outland Trophy as the best interior lineman in college football. He was the first Big Ten player to receive the award.

1956 NFL Draft

The following Big Ten players were among the first 100 picks in the 1956 NFL draft: [15]

NamePositionTeamRoundOverall pick
Quarterback Earl Morrall Michigan State12
Halfback Howard Cassady Ohio State13
Tackle Joe Krupa Purdue217
Tackle Norm Masters Michigan State218
End Bill Quinlan Michigan State337
Quarterback Jerry Reichow Iowa438
Guard Dick Murley Purdue439
TackleFran MachinskyOhio State441
EndJim FreemanIowa551
BackBill MurakowskiPurdue552
Tackle Bob Skoronski Indiana556
Back Gary Lowe Michigan State559
Tackle John Dittrich Wisconsin670
BackEddie VincentIowa672
Tackle Bob Konovsky Wisconsin777
Back J. C. Caroline Illinois782
Guard Cal Jones Iowa898

Related Research Articles

The 1964 Big Ten Conference football season was the 69th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1964 NCAA University Division football season.

The 1980 Big Ten Conference football season was the 85th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season.

The 1948 Big Nine Conference football season was the 53rd season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Nine Conference and was a part of the 1948 college football season.

The 1938 Big Ten Conference football season was the 43rd season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1938 college football season.

The 1939 Big Ten Conference football season was the 44th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1939 college football season.

The 1949 Big Nine Conference football season was the 54th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Nine Conference and was a part of the 1949 college football season.

The 1950 Big Ten Conference football season was the 55th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1950 college football season.

The 1956 Big Ten Conference football season was the 61st season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1956 NCAA University Division football season.

The 1968 Big Ten Conference football season was the 73rd season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1968 NCAA University Division football season.

The 1954 Big Ten Conference football season was the 59th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1954 college football season.

The 1971 Big Ten Conference football season was the 76th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1971 NCAA University Division football season.

The 1972 Big Ten Conference football season was the 77th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1972 NCAA University Division football season.

The 1973 Big Ten Conference football season was the 78th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1973 NCAA Division I football season.

The 1974 Big Ten Conference football season was the 79th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1974 NCAA Division I football season.

The 1975 Big Ten Conference football season was the 80th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1975 NCAA Division I football season.

The 1976 Big Ten Conference football season was the 81st season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1976 NCAA Division I football season.

The 1977 Big Ten Conference football season was the 82nd season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1977 NCAA Division I football season.

The 1978 Big Ten Conference football season was the 83rd season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season.

The 1979 Big Ten Conference football season was the 84th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season.

The 1984 Big Ten Conference football season was the 89th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1984 NCAA Division I-A football season.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "1955 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  2. Wilfrid Smith (December 18, 1955). "Vote Cassady Big Ten's Most Valuable". Chicago Tribune. pp. 2–1, 2–2.
  3. David Condon (February 4, 1955). "A Wildcat's Career, from Star Athlete to Coach, Comes to an End: Coaching Out, Says Graham As Voigts Quit Under Fire". Chicago Tribune. p. 2-1.
  4. Wilfrid Smith (February 9, 1955). "Lou Saban Named N.U. Football Coach: Aid Succeeds Bob Voigs On One-Year Pact". Chicago Tribune. p. 3-1.
  5. "Final College Grid Ratings: Oklahoma No. 1 Team; Pitt Ranked Eleventh". Indiana (PA) Evening Gazette. November 29, 1955. p. 15.
  6. Edward Prell (December 10, 1955). "Holcomb Accepts N.U. Challenge: New Director of Athletics Quits Purdue". Chicago Tribune. p. 3-1 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  7. Bob Collins (December 13, 1956). "Mollenkopf Asks Stu's Staff to Stay". The Indianapolis Star. p. 27 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  8. "Holcomb Drops Saban, N. U. Staff". Chicago Tribune. December 13, 1956. p. 4-1 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  9. "Parseghian Named N.U. Football Coach". Chicago Tribune. December 17, 1956. p. 3-1 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  10. "Bruhn Takes Over Badger Reins On First Day Of '56". The Sheboygan (Wis.) Press. December 29, 1955. p. 14 via Newspapers.com. Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg
  11. "Cassady, Kramer, Jones Repeat on Big 10 Team". The Milwaukee Sentinel. November 22, 1955.
  12. "Ohio State Places Four On All-Conference Team". The Daily Chronicle (DeKalb, Illinois). November 22, 1955. p. 16.
  13. "2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. pp. 5–6. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2014. Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  14. "1955 Heisman Trophy Voting". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
  15. "1956 NFL Draft: Full Draft". NFL.com. National Football League. Retrieved January 4, 2017.