1951 Stanford Indians football team

The 1951 Stanford Indians football team represented Stanford University in the 1951 college football season. Stanford was led by first-year head coach Chuck Taylor. The team was a member of the Pacific Coast Conference and played their home games at Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California.

1951 Stanford Indians football
PCC champion
Rose Bowl, L 7–40 vs. Illinois
ConferencePacific Coast Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 7
APNo. 7
1951 record9–2 (6–1 PCC)
Head coachChuck Taylor (1st season)
Home stadiumStanford Stadium
1951 Pacific Coast Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 7 Stanford $ 6 –1 –0  9 –2 –0
No. 17 UCLA 4 –1 –1  5 –3 –1
No. 12 California 5 –2 –0  8 –2 –0
USC 4 –2 –0  7 –3 –0
No. 18 Washington State 4 –3 –0  7 –3 –0
Oregon State 3 –5 –0  4 –6 –0
Washington 1 –5 –1  3 –6 –1
Oregon 1 –6 –0  2 –8 –0
Idaho 0 –3 –0  2 –7 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Coaching change

The 1950 season had ended in disappointing fashion after high expectations and a fast start. Head coach Marchmont Schwartz had resigned following the season,[1] and to replace him, Stanford hired Chuck Taylor, a former Stanford All-American guard and member of Stanford's undefeated 1940 team which defeated Nebraska in the 1941 Rose Bowl.[2]

Season summary

Led by the passing attack of senior quarterback Gary Kerkorian and senior end Bill McColl, Stanford ran out to a 9–0 start and took a #3 ranking into the Big Game, where they were 13-point favorites over rival California.[3] Cal upset the Indians 20–7, but as PCC champions, Stanford was invited to the 1952 Rose Bowl against Big Ten champion and 4th-ranked Illinois.[4] The Indians led at halftime 7–6 and trailed only 13–7 to start the fourth quarter, but a 27-point scoring outburst gave the Fighting Illini a convincing 40–7 victory.[4]

Schedule
DateOpponentRankSiteResult
September 23vs. Oregon
W 27–20
September 29San Jose State*
W 26–13
October 6at Michigan*
W 23–13
October 13UCLANo. 19
  • Stanford Stadium
  • Stanford, CA
W 21–7
October 20Santa Clara*No. 13
  • Stanford Stadium
  • Stanford, CA
W 21–14
October 27at WashingtonNo. 11
W 14–7
November 3No. 16 Washington StateNo. 11
  • Stanford Stadium
  • Stanford, CA
W 21–13
November 10at No. 6 USCNo. 7
W 27–20
November 17Oregon StateNo. 4
  • Stanford Stadium
  • Stanford, CA
W 35–14
November 24No. 19 CaliforniaNo. 3
  • Stanford Stadium
  • Stanford, CA (54th Big Game)
L 7–20
January 1, 1952vs. No. 4 IllinoisNo. 8
L 7–40
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Aftermath

Taylor, at 31 the youngest major college football coach, was named AFCA Coach of the Year, the only time a Stanford coach has received the award.[5] In addition to numerous awards, McColl was a Consensus All-American, finished fourth in the voting for the Heisman Trophy, and would go on to a seven-year professional career with the Chicago Bears.[6] Kerkorian was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers and backed up Johnny Unitas with the Baltimore Colts.

Players drafted by the NFL
PlayerPositionRoundPickNFL club
Bill McCollEnd332Chicago Bears
Bob MeyersHalfback16190San Francisco 49ers
Dick HornQuarterback17194Dallas Texans
Gary KerkorianQuarterback19222Pittsburgh Steelers
Harry HugasianHalfback21242Dallas Texans

[7]

References
  1. "Schwartz out at Stanford". Miami News. December 30, 1950. Retrieved September 9, 2011.
  2. "Chuck Taylor is new grid coach at Stanford U". Modesto Bee. February 3, 1951. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  3. "Stanford Game-by-Game Results; 1951–1955". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on 2012-03-02. Retrieved September 9, 2011.
  4. Migdol, Gary (1997). Stanford: Home of Champions. Champaign, Illinois: Sports Publishing LLC. p. 116. ISBN 1-57167-116-1.
  5. "Matson, Taylor, McColl honored". The Register-Guard. November 19, 1951. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  6. "1951 Heisman Trophy Voting". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 10, 2011.
  7. "1952 NFL Draft". Retrieved August 4, 2014.
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