Sports season
The
1947 Big Nine Conference football season
was the 52nd season of
college football
played by the member schools of the
Big Nine Conference
(also known as the Western Conference and the
Big Ten Conference
) and was a part of the
1947 college football season
.
The 1947 Big Ten champion was
Michigan
. The Wolverines compiled a perfect 10?0 record, outscored its opponents by a combined total of 394 to 53, and defeated the
USC Trojans
by a score of 49 to 0 in the
1948 Rose Bowl
game.
Michigan halfback
Bob Chappuis
led the conference with 1,395 yards of
total offense
, which was also the fourth best in the country.
[1]
Chappuis also finished second in the voting for the 1947
Heisman Trophy
, trailing
Johnny Lujack
by a tally of 742 votes to 555 votes, with both finishing ahead of
Doak Walker
and
Bobby Layne
.
[2]
Wisconsin
finished in second place in the conference, led by sophomore halfback
Jug Girard
. Girard, a
triple-threat man
who also returned two punts for touchdowns,
[3]
was the first conference player selected in the
1948 NFL draft
, being chosen by the
Green Bay Packers
with the seventh pick in the first round.
[4]
Season overview
[
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]
Results and team statistics
[
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]
Key
AP final = Team's rank in the final
AP Poll
of the 1947 season
[5]
AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1947 season
[5]
PPG = Average of points scored per game
[5]
PAG = Average of points allowed per game
[5]
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
[6]
Regular season
[
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]
September 20
[
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]
On September 20, 1947, Iowa opened its season with a non-conference victory.
- Iowa 59, North Dakota State 0
.
[7]
September 27
[
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]
On September 26 and 27, 1947, the Big Nine schools played one conference game and seven non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in five wins and two losses, bringing the conference's record in non-conference games to 6-3.
- Michigan 55, Michigan State 0
.
- Wisconsin 32, Purdue 14
.
- Minnesota 7, Washington 6
.
- Indiana 17, Nebraska 0
.
- UCLA 22, Iowa 7
(played Friday, September 26).
- Illinois 14, Pittsburgh 0
.
- Ohio State 13, Missouri 7
.
- Vanderbilt 3, Northwestern 0
.
October 4
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]
On October 4, 1948, the Big Nine schools played three conference games and three non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in three wins, bringing the conference's record in non-conference games to 9-3.
- Michigan 49, Stanford 13
.
- Wisconsin 7, Indiana 7
.
- Minnesota 28, Nebraska 13
.
- Illinois 35, Iowa 12
.
- Purdue 24, Ohio State 20
.
- Northwestern 27 , UCLA 26
.
October 11
[
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]
On October 11, 1947, the Big Nine football teams played two conference games and five non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in one win, three losses and one tie, bringing the conference's record in non-conference games to 10-6-1.
- Michigan 69, Pittsburgh 0
.
- California 48, Wisconsin 7
.
- Minnesota 37, Northwestern 21
(game played on Sunday, October 12).
- Illinois 0, Army 0
.
- Notre Dame 22, Purdue 7
.
- Iowa 27, Indiana 14
.
- USC 32, Ohio State 0
.
October 18
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]
On October 18, 1947, the Big Nine football teams played three conference games and three non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in three wins, bringing the conference's record in non-conference games to 13-6-1.
- Michigan 49, Northwestern 21
.
- Wisconsin 9, Yale 0
.
- Illinois 40, Minnesota 13
.
- Indiana 41, Pittsburgh 6
.
- Iowa 13, Ohio State 13
.
- Purdue 62, Boston University 7
.
October 25
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]
On October 25, 1947, the Big Nine football teams played three conference games and three non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in one win and two losses, bringing the conference's record in non-conference games to 14-8-1.
- Michigan 13, Minnesota 6
.
- Wisconsin 35, Marquette 12
.
- Northwestern 7, Indiana 6
.
- Purdue 14, Illinois 7
.
- Notre Dame 21, Iowa 0
.
- Pittsburgh 12, Ohio State 0
.
November 1
[
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]
On November 1, 1947, the Big Nine football teams played four conference games and one non-conference game. The non-conference game resulted in a win, bringing the conference's record in non-conference games to 15-8-1.
- Michigan 14, Illinois 7
.
- Wisconsin 29, Northwestern 0
.
- Minnesota 29, Pittsburgh 0
.
- Indiana 7, Ohio State 0
.
- Purdue 21, Iowa 0
.
November 8
[
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]
On November 8, 1947, the Big Nine football teams played four conference games and one non-conference game. The non-conference game resulted in a win, bringing the conference's record in non-conference games to 16-8-1.
- Michigan 35, Indiana 0
.
- Wisconsin 46, Iowa 14
.
- Minnesota 26, Purdue 21
.
- Illinois 60, Western Michigan 14
.
- Ohio State 7, Northwestern 6
.
November 15
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]
On November 15, 1947, the Big Nine football teams played three conference games and three non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in two wins and a loss, bringing the conference's record in non-conference games to 18-9-1.
- Michigan 40, Wisconsin 6
.
- Iowa 13, Minnesota 7
.
- Indiana 48, Marquette 6
.
- Illinois 28, Ohio State 7
.
- Notre Dame 26, Northwestern 19
.
- Purdue 28, Pittsburgh 0
.
November 22
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]
On November 22, 1947, the Big Nine football teams played four conference games. Iowa, which opened the season early on September 20, had a bye week.
- Michigan 21, Ohio State 0
.
- Minnesota 21, Wisconsin 0
.
- Indiana 16, Purdue 14
.
- Northwestern 28, Illinois 13
.
Bowl games
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]
On January 1, 1948, Michigan defeated
USC
, 49-0, in the
1948 Rose Bowl
. The 49-point margin was the worst defeat in the history of the USC football program, and Michigan's 491 yards of total offense set a Rose Bowl record. The Wolverines threw four touchdown passes, and Jack Weisenburger ran for three touchdowns. Michigan completed 17 of 27 passes for 272 passing yards in the game.
[8]
All-conference players
[
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]
The following players were picked by the
Associated Press
(AP), the
United Press
(UP) and/or the
International News Service
(INS) as first-team players on the
1947 All-Big Ten Conference football team
:
[9]
[10]
[11]
Position
|
Name
|
Team
|
Selectors
|
End
|
Bob Mann
|
Michigan
|
AP, INS, UP
|
End
|
Ike Owens
|
Illinois
|
AP, INS, UP
|
Tackle
|
Phil O'Reilly
|
Purdue
|
AP, INS, UP
|
Tackle
|
Lou Agase
|
Illinois
|
AP, INS
|
Tackle
|
Bill Pritula
|
Michigan
|
UP
|
Guard
|
Howard Brown
|
Indiana
|
AP, INS, UP
|
Guard
|
Leo Nomellini
|
Minnesota
|
AP, INS, UP
|
Center
|
Red Wilson
|
Wisconsin
|
AP, INS, UP
|
Quarterback
|
Howard Yerges
|
Michigan
|
AP, UP
|
Halfback
|
Bob Chappuis
|
Michigan
|
AP, INS, UP
|
Halfback
|
Bump Elliott
|
Michigan
|
AP, INS, UP
|
Halfback
|
Harry Szulborski
|
Purdue
|
INS
|
Fullback
|
Russ Steger
|
Illinois
|
AP, INS, UP
|
All-Americans
[
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]
Only two Big Ten players, both of them halfbacks for the Michigan squad, were selected as first-team players on the
1947 College Football All-America Team
. They are:
1948 NFL draft
[
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]
The following Big Nine players were among the first 100 picks in the
1948 NFL draft
:
[4]
Name
|
Position
|
Team
|
Round
|
Overall pick
|
Jug Girard
|
Back
|
Wisconsin
|
1
|
7
|
Les Bingaman
|
Tackle
|
Illinois
|
3
|
15
|
Jack Weisenburger
|
Fullback
|
Michigan
|
6
|
38
|
Larry Olsonoski
|
Guard
|
Minnesota
|
6
|
41
|
Howard Duncan
|
Center
|
Ohio State
|
6
|
42
|
Bob Brugge
|
Back
|
Ohio State
|
6
|
44
|
Phil O'Reilly
|
Tackle
|
Purdue
|
6
|
45
|
Bob Pfohl
|
Back
|
Purdue
|
7
|
46
|
Bob Cunz
|
Tackle
|
Illinois
|
8
|
61
|
Ken Wiltgen
|
End
|
Northwestern
|
9
|
71
|
Dick Deranek
|
Back
|
Indiana
|
10
|
82
|
Dick Flanagan
|
End
|
Ohio State
|
10
|
83
|
Jim Brieske
|
Center
|
Michigan
|
11
|
97
|
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Arizona Back Edges Conerly In Total Yards"
.
Decatur Herald
. December 12, 1947. p. 21.
- ^
"Lujack Nips Chappuis for Heisman Trophy"
.
Detroit Free Press
. December 2, 1947. p. 17.
- ^
"Girard Quits At Wisconsin"
.
The Des Moines Register
. December 9, 1947. p. 14.
- ^
a
b
"1948 NFL Draft: Full Draft"
.
NFL.com
. National Football League
. Retrieved
December 22,
2016
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"1947 Big Ten Conference Year Summary"
.
SR/College Football
. Sports Reference LLC
. Retrieved
December 22,
2016
.
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
"Elliott Named Most Valuable in Big 9"
.
Chicago Tribune
. December 14, 1947. p. 2-1.
- ^
Bert McGrane (September 21, 1947).
"Iowa Unveils New Threat, 59-0: Runs Soften Bison, Then Passers Hit"
.
The Des Moines Register
. pp. V-1, V-4 – via
Newspapers.com
.
- ^
"Records Smashed in 49-to-0 Victory: Michigan, in Bid for National Honors, Gains 491 Yards and Sets Modern Scoring Record; Brieske Kicks 7 Points; Southern California Defense Futile Against Chappuis and Weisenburger".
The New York Times
. January 2, 1948.
- ^
"Michigan Lands Four Players on All-Big Nine"
.
The Daily News, Ludington, Mich. (AP story)
. November 24, 1947. p. 6.
- ^
"
'M' Awarded Five Positions on UP Team"
.
The Michigan Daily
. November 26, 1947. p. 3.
- ^
Charles Einstein.
"Wilson of Wisconsin On INS All-Big Nine Team"
.
The Milwaukee Sentinel (INS story)
.
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East Division
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Future teams
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Championships & awards
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Seasons
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