Season overview 1948 Big Nine Conference football season

1 season overview

1.1 results , team statistics
1.2 pre-season
1.3 regular season

1.3.1 september 25
1.3.2 october 2
1.3.3 october 9
1.3.4 october 16
1.3.5 october 23
1.3.6 october 30
1.3.7 november 6
1.3.8 november 13
1.3.9 november 20


1.4 post-season
1.5 1949 rose bowl

season overview
results , team statistics

key

ap final = team s rank in final ap poll of 1948 season

ap high = team s highest rank in ap poll throughout 1948 season

ppg = average of points scored per game

pag = average of points allowed per game source: sr/college football

mvp = valuable player voted players on each team part of voting process determine winner of chicago tribune silver football trophy; trophy winner in bold

pre-season

prior start of 1948 season, 2 of big 9 teams changed head coaches:

on february 19, 1948, indiana s head football coach bo mcmillin resigned become general manager , head coach of detroit lions. mcmillin had been indiana s head coach 14 years. clyde b. smith, had been head coach @ lacrosse state teachers college since 1938, announced team s new head coach on march 16, 1948.
on march 15, 1948, fritz crisler surprised football world when announced resignation michigan s head football coach after leading 1947 team undefeated season. crisler, remained athletic director, named backfield coach bennie oosterbaan wolverines new head football coach.

regular season
september 25

on september 25, 1948, 9 conference teams opened schedules. 7 of teams played non-conference opponents, compiling 6–1 record in games.

indiana 35, wisconsin 7. in conference game of day, indiana defeated wisconsin, 35–7, before crowd of 40,000 @ camp randall stadium in madison, wisconsin. game first clyde b. smith indiana s head coach. indiana halfback george taliaferro scored 3 touchdowns , played 51 minutes.

michigan 13, michigan state 7. michigan defeated michigan state, 13–7, in east lansing. game first played @ michigan state s new macklin stadium. in opening quarter, fullback don peterson threw 40-yard touchdown pass dick rifenburg. peterson kicked point, , michigan s 7–0 lead held through halftime. michigan state tied game in third quarter on disputed play in pass lynn chandnois caught both hank minarik , wally teninga. official ruled possession went offensive player touchdown. peterson scored winning touchdown michigan on five-yard run in fourth quarter, failed convert point attempt. late in fourth quarter, michigan state drove ball michigan s two-yard line. time running out, teninga intercepted michigan state pass. michigan s offense held 106 rushing yards , 117 passing yards in game. spartans, under second-year head coach biggie munn, finished season ranked no. 14 in final ap poll.

northwestern 19, ucla 0. northwestern defeated ucla, 19–0, before crowd of 55,156 in los angeles. northwestern scored 3 touchdown and, on defense, held ucla scoreless 2 first downs.

notre dame 28, purdue 27. purdue lost notre dame, 28–27, before crowd of 59,343 @ notre dame stadium in south bend, indiana. notre dame did not lose game 1946 1949, , purdue s one-game loss regarded strong performance.

minnesota 20, washington 0. minnesota defeated washington, 20–0, before crowd of 40,487 @ husky stadium in seattle. game scoreless in fourth quarter before golden gophers scored 20 points. halfback everette faunce ran 68 yards first touchdown.

illinois 40, kansas state 0. illinois defeated kansas state, 40–0, before crowd of 29,593 @ memorial stadium in champaign, illinois. illinois offense led quarterback tom stewart completed 9 of 13 passes 160 yards , helped secure touchdown lateral paul patterson.

ohio state 21, missouri 7. after finishing in last place in big 9 during 1947 season, ohio state opened 1948 season 21–7 victory on missouri before crowd of 57,042 @ ohio stadium in columbus, ohio.

iowa 14, marquette 12. iowa defeated marquette, 14–12, before crowd of 30,208 @ iowa stadium in iowa city. marquette missed 2 point kicks, difference in game.

october 2

on october 2, 1948, big 9 football team participated in 3 conference games , 3 non-conference games. conference teams won 3 non-conference games, extending non-conference record 9–1.

northwestern 21, purdue 0. northwestern shut out purdue, 21–0, before crowd of 48,000 @ dyche stadium in evanston, illinois. victory second consecutive shutout northwestern open season. northwestern intercepted 5 purdue passes in game.

indiana 7, iowa 0. indiana shut out iowa, 7–0, before crowd of 26,000 @ memorial stadium in bloomington, indiana. indiana fullback chick jagade intercepted pass , scored game s touchdown on 30-yard touchdown run in third quarter.

wisconsin 20, illinois 16. wisconsin defeated illinois, 20–16, before crowd of 45,000 @ camp randall stadium in madison. wisconsin halfback clarence self scored 2 touchdowns, including game-winning touchdown less 3 minutes left play.

michigan 14, oregon 0. michigan defeated oregon, 14–0, before crowd of 65,800 @ michigan stadium in ann arbor, michigan. oregon came game highly touted passing game led quarterback norm van brocklin, later inducted both college , pro football halls of fame. michigan s defensive fullback, dick kempthorn, credited playing major role in stopping van brocklin s passing game. northwestern coach bob voigts said pick kempthorn if had choice of players in college football. in second quarter, michigan drove 93 yards, culminating in 60-yard touchdown pass (30 yards in air) halfback chuck ortmann dick rifenburg, , michigan led 7–0 @ halftime. oregon drive michigan territory stopped in third quarter when ortmann intercepted van brocklin pass. on next drive, charlie lentz threw 42-yard pass pete elliott downed inside oregon ten-yard line. lentz threw short pass tom peterson final touchdown. in fourth quarter, oregon drove ball michigan two-yard line, michigan s defense held , ball went michigan on downs. 1948 oregon ducks finished season record of 9–1, co-champion of pacific coast conference, , ranked no. 9 in final ap poll.

minnesota 39, nebraska 13. minnesota defeated nebraska, 39–13, before crowd of 57,209 @ memorial stadium in minneapolis. golden gophers scored on 4 touchdown passes , 68-yard interception return dale wagner. gophers fumbled 8 times.

ohio state 20, usc 0. ohio state defeated usc, 20–0, before crowd of 75,102 @ ohio stadium in columbus, ohio. joe whisler scored 2 touchdowns ohio state.

october 9

on october 9, 1948, big 9 football teams participated in 3 conference games , 3 non-conference games. 3 non-conference games resulted in losses, bringing conference s non-conference record 9–4.

michigan 40, purdue 0. michigan (ranked no. 7 in ap poll) defeated purdue (ranked no. 15), 40–0, in west lafayette, indiana. crowd of 45,996 largest in history of ross–ade stadium time. michigan s offense confused purdue fake t formation disguised single-wing formation. michigan took 19–0 in first half on touchdown runs leo koceski , peterson , 23-yard touchdown pass chuck ortmann dick rifenburg. wolverines extended lead in second half on 57-yard touchdown pass wally teninga rifenburg, 10-yard run teninga, , six-yard run charlie lentz. michigan s defense forced 5 turnovers (three interceptions , 2 fumble recoveries) , held purdue 36 rushing yards , 122 passing yards in game.

northwestern 19, minnesota 16. northwestern (ranked no.3 in ap poll) defeated minnesota (ranked no. 8 in ap poll), 19–16, before crowd of 47,000 @ dyche stadium in evanston. in first 10 minutes of game, northwestern fumbled 3 times, , minnesota took 16–0 lead. northwestern rallied on touchdowns aschenbrenner, hagmann, , worthington.

iowa 14, ohio state 7. iowa defeated ohio state, 14–7, before crowd of 63,394 @ ohio stadium in columbus. victory first iowa @ ohio stadium since 1928. jerry faske returned kickoff 65 yards in first quarter , scored on 12-yard run.

california 40, wisconsin 14. wisconsin lost california, 40–14, before crowd of 66,000 @ california memorial stadium in berkeley, california.

texas christian 7, indiana 6. indiana lost texas christian, 7–6, before crowd of 28,000 @ memorial stadium in bloomington. indiana took 6–0 lead in third quarter on touchdown pass george taliaferro joe bartkiewicz, hoosiers missed point kick. less 3 minutes left, lindy berry led tcu on touchdown drive, , homer ludiker kicked point.

army 26, illinois 21. illinois lost army (ranked no. 5 in ap poll), 26–21, before crowd of 71,119 @ memorial stadium in champaign. army took 26–0 lead in third quarter. illinois responded 21 unanswered points, including 2 touchdowns in fourth quarter, comeback fell short.

october 16

on october 16, 1948, big 9 football teams played 4 conference games , 1 non-conference game. non-conference game loss, leaving conference non-conference record of 9–5.

michigan 28, northwestern 0. michigan (ranked no. 4 in ap poll) defeated northwestern, 28–0, before crowd of 87,782 @ michigan stadium in ann arbor. wolverines outgained wildcats 166 47 in rushing yards, halfback leo koceski scored 3 touchdowns. game remained close michigan leading 7–0 until late in third quarter. then, michigan scored 3 touchdowns on 7 plays. scoring flurry began 45-yard punt return koceski northwestern 22-yard line. 2 seconds remaining in third period, teninga threw jump pass koceski in end zone give michigan 14–0 lead. george sundheim of purdue fumbled kickoff, , harry allis recovered ball. on michigan s second play scrimmage, chuck ortmann threw touchdown pass koceski. on northwestern s first play scrimmage after next kickoff, northwestern s don burson threw pass intercepted irv wisniewski @ 35-yard line. wisniewski returned ball northwestern s 13-yard line. on michigan s second play after interception, koceski fumbled ball end zone, ball recovered center bob erben give michigan 28–0 lead. michigan s defense forced 4 turnovers in game, 3 on interceptions , 1 on fumble recovery. through first 4 games, michigan had given 7 points, , points came on disputed touchdown call against michigan state. allison danzig in new york times called michigan defensive standout among nation s college elevens , singled out 2 players: 2 players, in particular, credited success of wolverine defense. dan dworsky, center , fullback dick kempthorn seem best pair of backers-up in inter-collegiate ranks.

minnesota 6, illinois 0. minnesota (ranked no. 11 in ap poll) defeated illinois, 6–0, before crowd of 62,066 @ memorial stadium in minneapolis. game remained scoreless until late in fourth quarter when minnesota drove 75 yards touchdown. james s. malosky, later coached minnesota–duluth bulldogs 1958 1997, scored winning touchdown gophers.

purdue 20, iowa 13. purdue defeated iowa, 20–13, before homecoming crowd of 47,000 @ iowa stadium in iowa city.

ohio state 17, indiana 0. ohio state defeated indiana, 17–0, before homecoming crowd of 33,000 @ memorial stadium in bloomington.

yale 17, wisconsin 7. wisconsin lost yale, 17–7, before crowd of 45,000 @ camp randall stadium in madison.

october 23

on october 23, 1948, big 9 teams played 3 conference games , 3 non-conference games. big 9 teams won 1 , lost two, giving conference 10–7 record in non-conference games.

michigan 27, minnesota 14. michigan (ranked no. 1 in ap poll) defeated minnesota (ranked no. 13), 27–14, before crowd of 65,130 @ memorial stadium in minneapolis. despite being held 22 rushing yards, michigan gained 261 yards on forward passes. @ start of second quarter, gene derricotte fumbled punt on michigan s 15-yard line, recovered ball, ran backward two-yard line, , fumbled again. all-american leo nomellini recovered ball , carried end zone give minnesota 7–0 lead. michigan drove minnesota one-yard line on next drive, tom peterson fumbled , minnesota recovered ball @ 16-yard line. 2 drives later, michigan converted on seven-yard touchdown pass wally teninga tom peterson. less 90 seconds after peterson s tying touchdown, michigan took lead when ed mcneill blocked minnesota punt, , quentin sickels recovered ball @ one-yard line. peterson ran in second touchdown. minnesota drove michigan s one-yard line @ end of second quarter, clock expired , michigan led 13–7 @ halftime. minnesota took 14–13 lead in third quarter on 69-yard drive capped touchdown run everett faunce. on next possession, michigan drove 77 yards , took 20–14 lead on 37-yard touchdown pass dick rifenburg. rifenburg fumbled ball @ five-yard line, recovered own fumble , continued end zone. in fourth quarter, wally teninga intercepted bill elliott pass on michigan s 11-yard line , returned ball 26 yards. chuck ortman connected leo koceski on jump pass covered 62 yards (the last 50 koceski after reception) give michigan fourth touchdown.

northwestern 48, syracuse 0. northwestern (ranked no. 10 in ap poll) defeated syracuse, 48-0, before crowd of 35,000 @ dyche stadium in evanston, illinois. syracuse s star, bernie custis, injured in first quarter , unable play remainder of game. art murakowski scored 2 touchdowns.

ohio state 34, wisconsin 32. ohio state defeated wisconsin, 34-32, before crowd of 77,205 @ ohio stadium in columbus. ohio state rallied behind twice, including deficits of 19-7 , 33-20, in game cincinnati enquirer called 1 of scintillating, hair-raising games ever staged in buckeye stadium . each team scored 5 touchdowns, wisconsin able convert 2 kicks point. wisconsin s line prevented ohio state advancing ball on ground, , buckeyes opened passing attack, led pandel savic, accounted 211 yards , 5 ohio state touchdowns.

illinois 10, purdue 6. illinois defeated purdue, 10-6, before crowd of 56,451 @ memorial stadium in champaign, illinois. don maechtle kicked game-winning point , field goal.

notre dame 27, iowa 12. iowa lost notre dame, 27-12, before crowd of 53,000 in iowa city.

pittsburgh 21, indiana 14. pittsburgh defeated indiana, 21-14, before crowd of 17,118 in pittsburgh. halfback louis bimbo cecconi threw 63-yard touchdown pass jimmy joe robinson less 2 minutes left in game deliver win pittsburgh.

october 30

on october 30, 1948, big 9 football teams played 4 conference games , 1 non-conference games. non-conference game ended in victory, giving conference 11–7 record in non-conference games.

michigan 28, illinois 20. michigan (ranked no. 1 in ap poll) defeated illinois, 28–20, before homecoming crowd of 85,938 @ michigan stadium in ann arbor. michigan held on goal-line stand in first quarter (first-and-goal five-yard line), , illinois failed convert field goal on fourth down. after scoreless first quarter, michigan went 98 yards on drive included statue of liberty play leo koceski , ended 15-yard bullet pass pete elliott ed mcneill. game tied 7–7 @ halftime. michigan reclaimed lead in third quarter 14-yard touchdown pass peterson rifenburg. michigan extended lead 21–7 on two-yard run wally teninga later in third quarter. illinois scored own third-quarter touchdown after leo koceski fumbled , illinois recovered ball @ michigan 29-yard line. in fourth quarter, bernie krueger scored on quarterback sneak cut michigan s lead 21–20. michigan s final touchdown came on 38-yard pass chuck ortmann harry allis. michigan outgained illinois on ground 102 40, illinois dominated in air 256 passing yards 132 michigan. new york times called game, witnessed homecoming crowd of 85,938, 1 of wildest fights in big 9 history , added, battle was! not second 1 sure of outcome.

northwestern 21, ohio state 7. northwestern (ranked no. 9 in ap poll) defeated ohio state, 21-7, before homecoming crowd of 47,000 @ dyche stadium in evanston, illinois. game tied, 7-7 @ halftime, northwestern pulled away 2 touchdowns in third quarter. johnny miller, backup halfback, scored winning touchdown on 22-yard carry.

minnesota 30, indiana 7. minnesota (ranked no. 15 in ap poll) defeated indiana, 30-7, in minneapolis. game attracted crowd of 64,926, second largest in history of memorial stadium point. minnesota outgained indiana, 308 yards 73 yards.

iowa 19, wisconsin 13. after falling behind @ halftime 13-0 score, iowa staged comeback , won, 19-13, in iowa city.

purdue 14, marquette 9. purdue defeated marquette, 14-9, before crowd of 32,000 @ ross–ade stadium in lafayette, indiana. purdue trailed 9-7 scored winning touchdown in fourth quarter. harry szulborski gained 171 yards on 29 carries purdue.

november 6

on november 6, 1948, big 9 football teams played 3 conference games , 3 non-conference games. big ten teams won 2 of non-conference games, giving conference 13–8 record in non-conference games.

michigan 35, navy 0. michigan (ranked no. 2 in ap poll) defeated navy, 35–0, in front of sellout crowd of 85,938 @ michigan stadium. michigan scored in first quarter on one-yard run chuck ortmann. tom peterson extended michigan s lead touchdown run in second quarter. michigan added 2 touchdowns in third quarter on run wally teninga , 18-yard touchdown pass bob van summern dick rifenburg. final touchdown came in fourth quarter on 60-yard touchdown pass ortmann rifenburg. michigan outgained navy on ground 231 yards 73 yards. michigan s defense allowed 119 yards of total offense (73 rushing yards , 46 passing yards), recovered 3 navy fumbles , intercepted 2 passes, 1 dick kempthorn , other dan dworsky. game in hand, oosterbaan played reserves, reportedly placing 44 players game.

northwestern 16, wisconsin 7. northwestern (ranked no. 10 in ap poll) defeated wisconsin, 16-7, before homecoming crowd of 45,000 @ camp randall stadium in madison, wisconsin. northwestern led 2-0 @ halftime, points of half came on safety. northwestern added 2 touchdowns in third quarter.

minnesota 34, purdue 7. minnesota (ranked no. 19 in ap poll) defeated purdue, 34-7, in 45 degree weather in minneapolis. game drew crowd of 66,953, largest ever @ memorial stadium time.

illinois 14, iowa 0. illinois shut out iowa, 14-0, before crowd of 41,502 @ memorial stadium in champaign, illinois. mumey lazier returned punt 56 yards touchdown in second quarter.

ohio state 41, pittsburgh 0. ohio state shut out pittsburgh, 41-0, before crowd of 68,966 @ ohio stadium in columbus.

notre dame 42, indiana 6. indiana lost notre dame, 42-6, @ memorial stadium in bloomington, indiana.

november 13

on november 13, 1948, big 9 schools played 3 conference games , 3 non-conference games. big ten teams lost 2 of non-conference games, giving conference 14–10 record in non-conference games.

michigan 54, indiana 0. michigan (ranked no. 1 in ap poll) defeated indiana, 54–0, @ michigan stadium in ann arbor. michigan gained 435 yards of total offense, , held indiana 159 yards. in account of game, 1949 michiganensian quipped, every man on michigan bench got ball game, , spectators claimed hank hatch, equipment manager, tallied last wolverine touchdown.

notre dame 12, northwestern 7. northwestern (ranked no. 8 in ap poll) lost notre dame (ranked no. 2 in ap poll), 12-7, before crowd of 59,305 @ notre dame stadium in south bend. northeastern led, 7-6, 6 minutes fourth quarter, notre dame rallied extend winning streak 20 games.

minnesota 28, iowa 21. in annual battle floyd of rosedale trophy, minnesota (ranked no. 14 in ap poll) defeated iowa, 28-21, before crowd of 44,000 @ iowa stadium in iowa city.

ohio state 34, illinois 7. ohio state defeated illinois, 34-7, before homecoming crowd of 65,732 @ memorial stadium in champaign, illinois. ohio state gained 449 yards 120 yards illinois.

wisconsin 26, marquette 0. wisconsin shut out marquette, 26-0, before crowd of 43,000 @ camp randall stadium in madison, wisconsin. wally dreyer star wisconsin.

pittsburgh 20, purdue 13. purdue lost pittsburgh, 20-13, before crowd of 30,000 @ ross–ade stadium in west lafayette. pittsburgh halfback jimmy joe robinson returned kickoff 100 yards.

november 20

in final week of season, big 9 football teams played 4 conference games , 1 non-conference game. conference game resulted in victory, leaving big 9 15–10 record in non-conference games.

michigan 13, ohio state 3. in annual michigan–ohio state football rivalry game, michigan (ranked no. 1 in ap poll) defeated ohio state, 13–3, @ ohio stadium in columbus. game played in front of crowd of 82,754 spectators – second largest crowd in ohio stadium history time. although michigan favored 14 points, ohio state dominated line of scrimmage in first half, allowing 3 first downs michigan, 1 of came on penalty. ohio state took 3–0 lead in first quarter on 26-yard field goal jim hague. kick followed fumble recovery jack lininger after errant lateral chuck ortmann. michigan took lead in second quarter on 92-yard drive culminating 44-yard touchdown pass ortmann harry allis. in fourth quarter, michigan drove 62 yards second touchdown led passing of wally teninga , pete elliott. touchdown scored fullback tom peterson. allis converted first point, missed on second. ohio state outgained michigan on ground 130 yards 54, michigan outgained ohio state in air 116 yards 73.

northwestern 20, illinois 7. in annual illinois–northwestern football rivalry game, northwestern (ranked no. 7 in ap poll) defeated illinois, 20–7, before crowd of 48,000 @ dyche stadium in evanston. victory, northwestern clinched berth in 1949 rose bowl. after game, northwestern s players lifted coach bob voigts shoulders , carried him field.

minnesota 16, wisconsin 0. in annual minnesota–wisconsin football rivalry game, minnesota (ranked no. 15 in ap poll) defeated wisconsin, 16–0, before crowd of 45,000 @ camp randall stadium in madison. minnesota exceeded wisconsin in total yards tally of 425 88. golden gophers concluded season 2 losses, against no. 1 michigan , no. 7 northwestern.

purdue 39, indiana 0. in annual old oaken bucket rivalry game, purdue defeated indiana, 39–0, in west lafayette. 39-point margin of victory largest in history of rivalry.

iowa 34, boston university 14. iowa defeated boston university terriers, 34–14, on muddy field @ fenway park in boston. boston university led 14-7 @ halftime, hawkeyes scored 27 unanswered points in second half led passing combination of al dimarco jack dittmer.

post-season

on december 11, 1948, 4 days before student referendum on whether should keep job, , in face of goodbye harry signs, harry stuhldreher resigned wisconsin s head football coach, though retained job athletic director.

1949 rose bowl

under big 9 conference rules, conference champion played in rose bowl, except there further rule providing same team not participate in rose bowl 2 years in row. accordingly, northwestern, finished in second place, received big 9 s bid play in rose bowl.

in 1949 rose bowl, northwestern faced undefeated 1948 california golden bears football team ranked no. 4 in final ap poll. northwestern upset california, 20 14. wildcats opened scoring in first quarter 73-yard touchdown run frank aschenbrenner, longest gain scrimmage in rose bowl history time. california tied score on 67-yard run jackie jensen. art murakowski scored northwestern s second touchdown (extra point missed) give northwestern 13 7 lead @ halftime. california took 14 13 lead in third quarter. in fourth quarter, northwestern halfback ed tunnicliff took direct snap center , ran 42 yards winning touchdown.