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1943 Northwestern

6–⁠2 (5–⁠1 Western Conference), coached by Pappy Waldorf, finished No. 9 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Northwestern in 1943, game by game: won vs. Indiana 14–6; lost vs. Michigan 7–21; won vs. No. 14 Great Lakes Navy 13–0; won at Ohio State 13–0; won vs. Minnesota 42–6; won at Wisconsin 41–0; lost vs. No. 1 Notre Dame 6–25; won vs. Illinois 53–6+47−19Won 14–6 vs. Indiana+8IndianaLost 7–21 vs. Michigan-14MichiganWon 13–0 vs. No. 14 Great Lakes Navy+13No. 14 Great Lakes NavyWon 13–0 at Ohio State+13Ohio StateWon 42–6 vs. Minnesota+36MinnesotaWon 41–0 at Wisconsin+41WisconsinLost 6–25 vs. No. 1 Notre Dame-19No. 1 Notre DameWon 53–6 vs. Illinois+47Illinois
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 25vsIndianaW 14–⁠646%
Oct 2vsMichiganL 7–⁠2137%
Oct 16vs14Great Lakes NavyW 13–⁠039%
Oct 23atOhio StateW 13–⁠033%
Oct 30vsMinnesotaW 42–⁠650%
Nov 6atWisconsinW 41–⁠065%
Nov 13vs1Notre DameL 6–⁠2532%
Nov 20vsIllinoisW 53–⁠675%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Illinois 53–⁠6; No. 9 in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Western Conference.

In program history: The 17th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 133 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 19
  2. Wk 3: 17
  3. Wk 4: 15
  4. Wk 5: 12
  5. Wk 6: 8
  6. Wk 7: 9
  7. Wk 8: 8
  8. Final: 9

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 1943.

Heisman voteOtto Graham, third

Led the nationOtto Graham: punt return average (18.4)

Record
6–⁠2
Conference
5–⁠1 3rd in Western Conference
AP final
No. 9 peak No. 8
Points
189–⁠64
Coach
Pappy Waldorf
Elo
1590 +137 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
22.8 No. 7 of 76 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Alex Kapter
Most valuable player
Otto Graham
Offense
Single-wing

Drafted in 1944

The 1944 draft
Rd 1Otto Graham BDetroit Lions

All-Big Ten

2 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

  • Alex KapterOGAP-2; UP-2
  • Don BuffmireFBAP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1943 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1943 Western Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Purdue6–⁠09–⁠05
Michigan6–⁠08–⁠13
Northwestern5–⁠16–⁠29
Indiana2–⁠3–⁠14–⁠4–⁠2
Minnesota2–⁠35–⁠4
Illinois2–⁠43–⁠7
Ohio State1–⁠43–⁠6
Wisconsin1–⁠61–⁠9
Iowa0–⁠4–⁠11–⁠6–⁠1

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