1931 Northwestern
7–1–1 (5–1 Western Conference), coached by Dick Hanley. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest winBeat Illinois 32–6Oct 31
By 26 points, its widest win.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 3 | vs Nebraska | W 19–7 | 63% |
| Oct 10 | at Notre Dame | T 0–0 | 28% |
| Oct 17 | vs UCLA | W 19–0 | 85% |
| Oct 24 | at Ohio State | W 10–0 | 52% |
| Oct 31 | vs Illinois | W 32–6 | 80% |
| Nov 7 | vs Minnesota | W 32–14 | 71% |
| Nov 14 | vs Indiana | W 7–6 | 87% |
| Nov 21 | at Iowa | W 19–0 | 78% |
| Nov 28 | vs Purdue | L 0–7 | 61% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Lost to Purdue 7–0; Western Conference champions.
In program history: The best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 133 on file).
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 1931.
Western Conference champions5–1 in the conference, shared with Michigan and Purdue
3 consensus All-AmericansDallas Marvil, OT; Jack Riley, OT; Ernie Rentner, RB
- Record
- 7–1–1
- Conference
- 5–1 shared first in Western Conference
- AP poll
- Began in 1936
- Points
- 138–40
- Coach
- Dick Hanley
- Elo
- 1674 +69 this season
- SP+ rating
- —
- SRS
- 17.9 No. 10 of 110 major-college teams
- Recruiting class
- —
- Captain
- Dal Marvil
All-Big Ten
3 first team, 3 second teamFirst team
Jack RileyOTAP-1; CPT; UP-1- Dallas MarvilOTAP-1; CPT; UP-1
- Pug RentnerRBAP-1; CPT; UP-1
Second team
- Dick FenclEUP-2
- James R. EvansOGAP-2
- Ollie OlsonFBAP-2; UP-2
From Wikipedia’s 1931 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).
1931 Western Conference standings
| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Purdue | 5–1 | 9–1 | |
 Michigan | 5–1 | 8–1–1 | |
| Northwestern | 5–1 | 7–1–1 | |
| Ohio State | 4–2 | 6–3 | |
| Minnesota | 3–2 | 7–3 | |
 Wisconsin | 3–3 | 5–4–1 | |
| Indiana | 1–4–1 | 2–5–1 | |
| Chicago | 1–4 | 2–6–1 | |
| Iowa | 0–3–1 | 1–6–1 | |
| Illinois | 0–6 | 2–6 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.