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1953 Northwestern

3–⁠6 (0–⁠6 Big Ten), coached by Robert Voigts.

Schedule and results

Northwestern in 1953, game by game: won vs. Iowa State 35–0; won vs. Army 33–20; lost vs. Minnesota 13–30; lost at No. 5 Michigan 12–20; won vs. No. 18 Pittsburgh 27–21; lost at Ohio State 13–27; lost vs. Wisconsin 13–34; lost at Indiana 6–14; lost vs. No. 7 Illinois 14–39+35−25Won 35–0 vs. Iowa State+35Iowa StateWon 33–20 vs. Army+13ArmyLost 13–30 vs. Minnesota-17MinnesotaLost 12–20 at No. 5 Michigan-8No. 5 MichiganWon 27–21 vs. No. 18 Pittsburgh+6No. 18 PittsburghLost 13–27 at Ohio State-14Ohio StateLost 13–34 vs. Wisconsin-21WisconsinLost 6–14 at Indiana-8IndianaLost 14–39 vs. No. 7 Illinois-25No. 7 Illinois
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 26vsIowa StateW 35–⁠058%
Oct 3vsArmyW 33–⁠2051%
Oct 10vsMinnesotaL 13–⁠3063%
Oct 17at5MichiganL 12–⁠2025%
Oct 24vs18PittsburghW 27–⁠2152%
Oct 31atOhio StateL 13–⁠2726%
Nov 7vsWisconsinL 13–⁠3435%
Nov 14atIndianaL 6–⁠1453%
Nov 21vs7IllinoisL 14–⁠3928%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Illinois 39–⁠14; unranked in the final AP poll; 10th in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 93rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 133 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 3: 18
Record
3–⁠6
Conference
0–⁠6 10th in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 18
Points
166–⁠205
Coach
Robert Voigts
Elo
1401 −49 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
2.4 No. 51 of 110 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Joe Collier and Dick Thomas
Most valuable player
Bob Lauter

1953 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Michigan State5–⁠19–⁠13
Illinois5–⁠17–⁠1–⁠17
Wisconsin4–⁠1–⁠16–⁠2–⁠115
Ohio State4–⁠36–⁠3
Michigan3–⁠36–⁠320
Iowa3–⁠35–⁠3–⁠19
Minnesota3–⁠3–⁠14–⁠4–⁠1
Purdue2–⁠42–⁠7
Indiana1–⁠52–⁠7
Northwestern0–⁠63–⁠6

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