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1938 Northwestern

4–⁠2–⁠2 (2–⁠1–⁠2 Western Conference), coached by Pappy Waldorf, finished No. 17 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Northwestern in 1938, game by game: won vs. Kansas State 21–0; won vs. Drake 33–0; tied vs. Ohio State 0–0; won at Illinois 13–0; won vs. No. 2 Minnesota 6–3; lost vs. Wisconsin 13–20; tied at No. 18 Michigan 0–0; lost vs. No. 1 Notre Dame 7–9+33−7Won 21–0 vs. Kansas State+21Kansas StateWon 33–0 vs. Drake+33DrakeTied 0–0 vs. Ohio State0Ohio StateWon 13–0 at Illinois+13IllinoisWon 6–3 vs. No. 2 Minnesota+3No. 2 MinnesotaLost 13–20 vs. Wisconsin-7WisconsinTied 0–0 at No. 18 Michigan0No. 18 MichiganLost 7–9 vs. No. 1 Notre Dame-2No. 1 Notre Dame
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Oct 1vsKansas StateW 21–⁠064%
Oct 8vsDrakeW 33–⁠066%
Oct 15vsOhio StateT 0–⁠056%
Oct 22atIllinoisW 13–⁠055%
Oct 29vs2MinnesotaW 6–⁠346%
Nov 5vsWisconsinL 13–⁠2070%
Nov 12at18MichiganT 0–⁠046%
Nov 19vs1Notre DameL 7–⁠938%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Notre Dame 9–⁠7; No. 17 in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Western Conference.

In program history: The 22nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 133 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 18
  2. Wk 2: 12
  3. Wk 3: 7
  4. Wk 4: 17
  5. Wk 5: 16
  6. Wk 6: 15
  7. Wk 7: 19
  8. Final: 17

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 1938.

Record
4–⁠2–⁠2
Conference
2–⁠1–⁠2 tied for 4th in Western Conference
AP final
No. 17 peak No. 7
Points
93–⁠32
Coach
Pappy Waldorf
Elo
1572 +43 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
13.9 No. 15 of 122 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Cleo Diehl
Most valuable player
Bob Voigts
Offense
Single-wing

All-Big Ten

2 first team, 2 second team

First team

  • Cleo DiehlEAP-1; UP-1
  • Bob VoigtsOTAP-2; UP-1

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1938 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1938 Western Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Minnesota4–⁠16–⁠210
Michigan3–⁠1–⁠16–⁠1–⁠116
Purdue3–⁠1–⁠15–⁠1–⁠2
Wisconsin3–⁠25–⁠3
Northwestern2–⁠1–⁠24–⁠2–⁠217
Ohio State3–⁠2–⁠14–⁠3–⁠1
Illinois2–⁠33–⁠5
Iowa1–⁠3–⁠11–⁠6–⁠1
Indiana1–⁠41–⁠6–⁠1
Chicago0–⁠41–⁠6–⁠1

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