CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1954 Iowa

5–⁠4 (4–⁠3 Big Ten), coached by Forest Evashevski.

Schedule and results

Iowa in 1954, game by game: won vs. No. 7 Michigan State 14–10; won vs. Montana 48–6; lost at Michigan 13–14; lost at No. 4 Ohio State 14–20; won at Indiana 27–14; won vs. No. 8 Wisconsin 13–7; won vs. No. 8 Purdue 25–14; lost at No. 13 Minnesota 20–22; lost vs. No. 4 Notre Dame 18–34+42−16Won 14–10 vs. No. 7 Michigan State+4No. 7 Michigan StateWon 48–6 vs. Montana+42MontanaLost 13–14 at Michigan-1MichiganLost 14–20 at No. 4 Ohio State-6No. 4 Ohio StateWon 27–14 at Indiana+13IndianaWon 13–7 vs. No. 8 Wisconsin+6No. 8 WisconsinWon 25–14 vs. No. 8 Purdue+11No. 8 PurdueLost 20–22 at No. 13 Minnesota-2No. 13 MinnesotaLost 18–34 vs. No. 4 Notre Dame-16No. 4 Notre Dame
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 25vs7Michigan StateW 14–⁠1039%
Oct 2vsMontanaW 48–⁠679%
Oct 9atMichiganL 13–⁠1447%
Oct 16at4Ohio StateL 14–⁠2036%
Oct 23atIndianaW 27–⁠1465%
Oct 30vs8WisconsinW 13–⁠746%
Nov 6vs8PurdueW 25–⁠1457%
Nov 13at13MinnesotaL 20–⁠2246%
Nov 20vs4Notre DameL 18–⁠3441%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Notre Dame 34–⁠18; unranked in the final AP poll; 5th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 42nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 133 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 11
  2. Wk 2: 12
  3. Wk 3: 3
  4. Wk 4: 4
  5. Wk 5: 13
  6. Wk 8: 12
  7. Wk 9: 9
  8. Wk 10: 19

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1954.

Consensus All-AmericanCal Jones, OG

Record
5–⁠4
Conference
4–⁠3 5th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 3
Points
192–⁠141
Coach
Forest Evashevski
Elo
1592 +41 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
17.1 No. 10 of 111 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
George Broeder
Most valuable player
Warren Lawson

Drafted in 1955

The 1955 draft
Rd 3John Hall OTCleveland Browns

All-Big Ten

1 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

  • Frank GilliamEAP-2
  • John HallOTUP-2; Ed-2
  • Rodger SwedbergOTEd-2
  • Edward Vincent Jr.RBAP-2; UP-3; INS-2
  • Earl SmithRBUP-2; Ed-2

From Wikipedia’s 1954 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1954 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State7–⁠010–⁠01
Wisconsin5–⁠27–⁠29
Michigan5–⁠26–⁠315
Minnesota4–⁠27–⁠2
Iowa4–⁠35–⁠4
Purdue3–⁠35–⁠3–⁠1
Indiana2–⁠43–⁠6
Michigan State1–⁠53–⁠6
Northwestern1–⁠52–⁠7
Illinois0–⁠61–⁠8

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.