1941 Big Ten Conference football season
| 1941 Big Ten Conference football season | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Football |
| Number of teams | 9 |
| Top draft pick | Bob Westfall |
| Champion | Minnesota |
| Season MVP | Jack Graf |
| 1941 Big Ten football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 1 Minnesota $ | 5 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 5 Michigan | 3 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 6 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 13 Ohio State | 3 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 6 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 11 Northwestern | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 3 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | 1 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 1 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | 0 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1941 Big Ten Conference football season was the 46th 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 1941 college football season.
The 1941 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team, led by head coach Bernie Bierman, compiled a perfect 8–0 record, led the conference in both scoring offense and scoring defense, was ranked No. 1 in the final AP Poll, and won the program's second consecutive national championship. Halfback Bruce Smith was a consensus All-American and won the 1941 Heisman Trophy. Tackle Dick Wildung was also a consensus first-team All-American.
Michigan, under head coach Fritz Crisler, compiled a 6–1–1 record, outscored opponents 147 to 41, and was ranked No. 5 in the final AP Poll. Fullback Bob Westfall was selected as a consensus first-team player on the 1941 College Football All-America Team.
Ohio State, under head coach Paul Brown, compiled a 6–1–1 record, outscored opponents 167 to 110, and was ranked No. 13 in the final AP Poll.
Season overview
Results and team statistics
| Conf. Rank | Team | Head coach | AP final | AP high | Overall record | Conf. record | PPG | PAG | MVP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minnesota | Bernie Bierman | #1 | #1 | 8–0 | 5–0 | 23.3 | 4.8 | Bob Sweiger |
| 2 (tie) | Michigan | Fritz Crisler | #5 | #3 | 6–1–1 | 3–1–1 | 18.4 | 5.1 | Reuben Kelto |
| 2 (tie) | Ohio State | Paul Brown | #13 | #10 | 6–1–1 | 3–1–1 | 20.0 | 13.8 | Jack Graf |
| 4 | Northwestern | Pappy Waldorf | #11 | #5 | 5–3 | 4–2 | 21.6 | 8.4 | Alf Bauman |
| 5 | Wisconsin | Harry Stuhldreher | NR | NR | 3–5 | 3–3 | 18.0 | 26.0 | Pat Harder |
| 6 | Iowa | Eddie Anderson | NR | NR | 3–5 | 2–4 | 11.4 | 12.4 | Bill Diehl |
| 7 (tie) | Purdue | Allen Elward | NR | NR | 2–5–1 | 1–3 | 3.4 | 7.8 | Bill Combs |
| 7 (tie) | Indiana | Bo McMillin | NR | NR | 2–6 | 1–3 | 12.6 | 15.8 | Billy Hillenbrand |
| 9 | Illinois | Robert Zuppke | NR | NR | 2–6 | 0–5 | 14.0 | 20.4 | Nathan Johnson |
Key
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
Bowl games
During the 1941 season, the Big Ten maintained its long-standing ban on postseason games. Accordingly, no Big Ten teams participated in any bowl games.
All-Big Ten players
The following players were picked by the Associated Press (AP) and/or the United Press (UP) as first-team players on the 1941 All-Big Ten Conference football team.[2][3]
- Dave Schreiner, end, Wisconsin (AP, UP)
- Bob Motl, end, Northwestern (AP)
- Bob Fitch, end, Minnesota (UP)
- Alf Bauman, tackle, Northwestern (AP, UP)
- Dick Wildung, tackle, Minnesota (AP, UP)
- Tom Melton, guard, Purdue (AP, UP)
- Len Levy, guard, Minnesota (AP, UP)
- Robert Ingalls, center, Michigan (AP, UP)
- Billy Hillenbrand, quarterback, Indiana (AP, UP)
- Bill Daley, halfback, Minnesota (AP, UP)
- Bruce Smith, halfback, Minnesota (AP) (1941 Heisman Trophy winner)
- Bob Westfall, fullback, Michigan (AP, UP)
- Pat Harder, fullback, Wisconsin (UP)
All-Americans
At the end of the 1941 season, Big Ten players secured three of the 12 consensus first-team picks for the 1941 College Football All-America Team.[4] The Big Ten's consensus All-Americans were:
- Dick Wildung, tackle, Minnesota (AAB, AP, INS, LIB, NEA, NW, SN, UP, CP, LIFE, PARA, WC)
- Bruce Smith, halfback, Minnesota (AAB, AP, CO, INS, NW, SN, UP, CP, NYS, LIFE, PARA, WC, LIFE)
- Bob Westfall, fullback, Michigan (AAB, CO, INS, LIB, NEA, NW, SN, UP, CP, NYS, PARA, WC)
Other Big Ten players who were named first-team All-Americans by at least one selector were:
- Dave Schreiner, end, Wisconsin (AP)
- Alf Bauman, tackle, Northwestern (AAB, SN, LIFE)
- Jim Daniell, tackle, Ohio State (CP)
1942 NFL Draft
The following Big Ten players were selected in the first six rounds of the 1942 NFL Draft:[5]
| Name | Position | Team | Round | Overall pick |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Westfall | Fullback | Michigan | 1 | 5 |
| Urban Odson | Tackle | Minnesota | 1 | 9 |
| Alf Bauman | Tackle | Northwestern | 2 | 15 |
| Bob Sweiger | Back | Minnesota | 3 | 23 |
| Len Levy | Guard | Minnesota | 4 | 27 |
| Gordon Paschka | Guard | Minnesota | 4 | 28 |
| Bill Green | Back | Iowa | 5 | 39 |
References
- 1 2 "1941 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
- ↑ "Four Minnesotans On Big Ten Team". The Independent, St. Petersburg, Fla. (AP story). November 27, 1941. p. 16.
- ↑ "Eleven Best in Big Ten Circles on Honor Rolls". Freeport Journal-Standard (Freeport, Illinois). November 21, 1941. p. 13.
- ↑ "2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. pp. 5–6. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
- ↑ "1942 NFL Draft: Full Draft". NFL.com. National Football League. Retrieved January 4, 2017.