1957 Big Ten Conference football season

Last updated
1957 Big Ten Conference football season
Sport American football
Number of teams10
Top draft pick Dan Currie
Champion Ohio State
  Runners-up Michigan State
Season MVP Jim Pace
Football seasons
  1956
1958  
1957 Big Ten Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 2 Ohio State $ 7 0 09 1 0
No. 3 Michigan State 5 1 08 1 0
No. 6 Iowa 4 1 17 1 1
No. 19 Wisconsin 4 3 06 3 0
Purdue 4 3 05 4 0
Michigan 3 3 15 3 1
Illinois 3 4 04 5 0
Minnesota 3 5 04 5 0
Indiana 0 6 01 8 0
Northwestern 0 7 00 9 0
  • $ Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1957 Big Ten Conference football season was the 62nd 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 1957 NCAA University Division football season.

Contents

The 1957 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, under head coach Woody Hayes, won the conference championship with a 7-0 conference record (9–1 record overall), was ranked No. 1 in the final Coaches' Poll, and defeated Oregon in the 1958 Rose Bowl. The Buckeyes were ranked No.2 in the final AP Poll, but were also declared national champion by the FWAA poll. Ohio State back Don Clark led the conference with 737 rushing yards. Guard Aurealius Thomas was a first-team All-American.

The 1957 Michigan State Spartans football team, under head coach Duffy Daugherty, compiled an 8–1 record and was ranked No. 3 in the final AP and UPI polls. Michigan State back Walt Kowalczyk and center Dan Currie were selected as consensus first-team All-Americans. Kowalczyk led the conference with 54 points scored, and Currie was selected as the team's most valuable player.

The 1957 Iowa Hawkeyes football team, under head coach Forest Evashevski, finished third in the Big Ten with a 7–1–1 record and was ranked No. 8 in the final AP Poll. Iowa tackle Alex Karras was a consensus first-team All-American and won the Outland Trophy as the best interior lineman in college football. Quarterback Randy Duncan led the Big Ten with 1,124 passing yards and 1,183 total yards.

Michigan halfback Jim Pace won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy as the conference's most valuable player.

Season overview

Results and team statistics

Conf. RankTeamHead coachAP finalAP highOverall recordConf. recordPPGPAGMVP
1 Ohio State Woody Hayes #2#29–17–026.79.2 Bill Jobko
2 Michigan State Duffy Daugherty #3#18–15–129.38.3 Dan Currie
3 Iowa Forest Evashevski #6#37–1–14–1–129.212.4 Bob Commings
4 (tie) Wisconsin Milt Bruhn #19#136–34–326.013.6 Dan Lewis
4 (tie) Purdue Jack Mollenkopf NRNR5–44–319.812.7 Neil Habig
6 Michigan Bennie Oosterbaan NR#65–3–13–3–120.816.3 Jim Pace
7 Illinois Ray Eliot NR#154–53–418.614.8Ron Hansen
8 Minnesota Murray Warmath NR#34–53–522.320.9Dick Larson
9 Indiana Bob Hicks NRNR1–80–65.234.1Tony Aloisio
10 Northwestern Ara Parseghian NRNR0–90–76.330.1 Willmer Fowler

Key
AP final = Team's rank in the final AP Poll of the 1957 season [1]
AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1957 season [1]
PPG = Average of points scored per game [1]
PAG = Average of points allowed per game [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

Regular season

Bowl games

Statistical leaders

The Big Ten's individual statistical leaders include the following: [1]

Passing yards

1. Randy Duncan, Iowa (1,124)
2. Jim Ninowski, Michigan State (718)
3. Tom Haller, Illinois (675)
4. Jim Van Pelt, Michigan (629)
5. Tom McDonald, Indiana (544)

Rushing yards

1. Don Clark, Ohio State (737)
2. Jim Pace, Michigan (664)
3. Bob White, Ohio State (645)
4. Danny Lewis, Wisconsin (611)
5. Walt Kowalczyk, Michigan State (545)

Receiving yards

1. Jim Gibbons, Iowa (587)
2. Dave Whitsell, Indiana (290)
3. Dave Kaiser, Michigan State (267)
4. Sam Williams, Michigan State (236)
5. Gary Prahst, Michigan (233)

Total yards

1. Randy Duncan, Iowa (1,183)
2. Don Clark, Ohio State (788)
3. Tom Haller, Illinois (724)
4. Sidney Williams, Wisconsin (661)
5. Jim Pace, Michigan (656)

Point scored

1. Walt Kowalczyk, Michigan State (54)
1. Jim Pace, Michigan (54)
1. Don Clark, Ohio State (54)
4. Frank Kremblas, Ohio State (48)
4. Dick LeBeau, Ohio State (48)

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 1957 All-Big Ten Conference football team.

PositionNameTeamSelectors
Quarterback Jim Ninowski Michigan StateAP, UP
Halfback Jim Pace MichiganAP, UP
Halfback Don Clark Ohio StateAP, UP
Fullback Walt Kowalczyk Michigan StateAP, UP
End Jim Gibbons IowaAP, UP
EndLeo BrownOhio StateAP
EndSam WilliamsMichigan StateUP
Tackle Alex Karras IowaAP, UP
TacklePat BurkeMichigan StateAP, UP
Guard Aurealius Thomas Ohio StateAP, UP
GuardFrank BloomquistIowaAP
GuardEllison KellyMichigan StateUP
Center Dan Currie Michigan StateAP, UP

All-American honors

At the end of the 1957 season, Big Ten players secured three of the consensus first-team picks for the 1957 College Football All-America Team. [3] The Big Ten's consensus All-American was:

PositionNameTeamSelectors
Tackle Alex Karras IowaAAB, AP, FWAA, INS, NEA, SN, UP, Time, WCFF
Back Walt Kowalczyk Michigan StateAFCA, FWAA, NEA, SN, UP, Time, WCFF
Center Dan Currie Michigan StateAAB, AFCA, AP, FWAA, INS, Time, WCFF

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

PositionNameTeamSelectors
End Jim Gibbons IowaFWAA, TSN, UP
Guard Aurealius Thomas Ohio StateAAB, AFCA, AP, FWAA
Back Jim Pace MichiganAAB, AP

Other awards

Iowa tackle Alex Karras won the Outland Trophy as the best interior lineman in college football.

The Heisman Trophy was awarded to John David Crow of Texas A&M. Three Big Ten players finished among the top 10 in the voting for the trophy. They were: defensive lineman Alex Karras of Iowa (second); running back Walt Kowalczyk of Michigan State; and offensive lineman Dan Currie of Michigan State. [4]

1958 NFL Draft

The following Big Ten players were among the first 100 picks in the 1958 NFL Draft: [5]

NamePositionTeamRoundOverall pick
Center Dan Currie Michigan State13
Fullback Walt Kowalczyk Michigan State16
Halfback Jim Pace Michigan18
Defensive tackle Alex Karras Iowa110
Tackle Frank Youso Minnesota223
Linebacker Ray Nitschke Illinois336
Defensive back Erich Barnes Purdue442
Tackle Frank Rigney Iowa443
Quarterback Jim Ninowski Michigan State449
EndBob JewettMichigan State553
Quarterback Jim Van Pelt Michigan554
End Jim Gibbons Iowa561
Back Jim Wulff Michigan State672
Back Danny Lewis Wisconsin673
End Jon Jelacic Minnesota774
Guard Bill Jobko Ohio State780
Halfback Bobby Mitchell Illinois784
Back Don Sutherin Ohio State894

Related Research Articles

The 1956 Iowa Hawkeyes football team was an American football team that represented the University of Iowa in the 1956 Big Ten Conference football season. The Hawkeyes were champions of the Big Ten Conference and beat the Oregon State Beavers in the 1957 Rose Bowl, a rematch of a regular season game.

The 1957 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 1957. The seven selectors recognized by the NCAA as "official" for the 1957 season are (1) the Associated Press, (2) the United Press, (3) the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), (4) the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), (5) the International News Service (INS), (6) the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA), and (7) the Sporting News. The ESPN College Football Encyclopedia lists the All-America Board (AAB) as an eighth official selector.

The 1969 Big Ten Conference football season was the 74th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1969 NCAA University Division football season.

The 1950 All-Big Ten Conference football team consists of American football players chosen by various organizations for All-Big Ten Conference teams for the 1950 Big Nine Conference football season. The selectors for the 1950 season were the Associated Press (AP), based on a vote of the conference coaches, and the United Press (UP). Players selected as first-team players by both the AP and UP are designated in bold.

The 1957 All-Big Ten Conference football team consists of American football players chosen by the Associated Press (AP) and the United Press (UP) as the best players at their positions during the 1957 Big Ten Conference football season. The UP team was selected by the Big Ten head coaches.

The 1970 Big Ten Conference football season was the 75th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1970 NCAA University Division football season.

The 1985 Big Ten Conference football season was the 90th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1985 NCAA Division I-A 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 1955 Big Ten Conference football season was the 60th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1955 college 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 1960 Big Ten Conference football season was the 65th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1960 NCAA University Division football season.

The 1958 Big Ten Conference football season was the 63rd season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1958 NCAA University Division football season.

The 1953 Big Ten Conference football season was the 58th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1953 college football season.

The 1952 Big Ten Conference football season was the 57th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1952 college football season.

The 1951 Big Ten Conference football season was the 56th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1951 college 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.

The 1990 Big Ten Conference football season was the 95th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "1957 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
  2. "Vote Pace Most Valuable In Big Ten: Michigan's Halfback Beats Currie By 1 Point". Chicago Tribune. December 15, 1957. p. 2-1.
  3. "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 August 16, 2014.
  4. "1957 Heisman Trophy Voting". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 12, 2017.
  5. "1958 NFL Draft: Full Draft". NFL.com. National Football League. Retrieved January 4, 2017.