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1954 Michigan

6–⁠3 (5–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by Bennie Oosterbaan, finished No. 15 in the AP poll.

Michigan, 1954
Photo: Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Schedule and results

Michigan in 1954, game by game: won at Washington 14–0; lost vs. Army 7–26; won vs. No. 4 Iowa 14–13; won at Northwestern 7–0; won vs. No. 8 Minnesota 34–0; lost vs. Indiana 9–13; won vs. Illinois 14–7; won vs. Michigan State 33–7; lost at No. 1 Ohio State 7–21+34−19Won 14–0 at Washington+14WashingtonLost 7–26 vs. Army-19ArmyWon 14–13 vs. No. 4 Iowa+1No. 4 IowaWon 7–0 at Northwestern+7NorthwesternWon 34–0 vs. No. 8 Minnesota+34No. 8 MinnesotaLost 9–13 vs. Indiana-4IndianaWon 14–7 vs. Illinois+7IllinoisWon 33–7 vs. Michigan State+26Michigan StateLost 7–21 at No. 1 Ohio State-14No. 1 Ohio State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 25atWashingtonW 14–⁠051%
Oct 2vsArmyL 7–⁠2665%
Oct 9vs4IowaW 14–⁠1353%
Oct 16atNorthwesternW 7–⁠060%
Oct 23vs8MinnesotaW 34–⁠053%
Oct 30vsIndianaL 9–⁠1383%
Nov 6vsIllinoisW 14–⁠765%
Nov 13vsMichigan StateW 33–⁠755%
Nov 20at1Ohio StateL 7–⁠2129%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Ohio State 21–⁠7; No. 15 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 94th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 140 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 7: 11
  2. Wk 10: 12
  3. Wk 11: 14
  4. Final: 15

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.

Record
6–⁠3
Conference
5–⁠2 tied for 2nd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 15 peak No. 11
Points
139–⁠87
Coach
Bennie Oosterbaan
Elo
1601 +39 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
14.6 No. 17 of 111 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Ted Cachey
Most valuable player
Fred Baer

All-Big Ten

2 first team

First team

  • Ron KramerEAP-1; UP-1; INS-1; Ed-1
  • Art WalkerOTAP-1; UP-1; INS-1; Ed-1

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.