CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1962 Northwestern

7–⁠2 (4–⁠2 Big Ten), coached by Ara Parseghian.

Schedule and results

Northwestern in 1962, game by game: won vs. South Carolina 37–20; won vs. Illinois 45–0; won at Minnesota 34–22; won at No. 6 Ohio State 18–14; won vs. Notre Dame 35–6; won at Indiana 26–21; lost at No. 8 Wisconsin 6–37; lost vs. Michigan State 7–31; won at Miami 29–7+45−31Won 37–20 vs. South Carolina+17South CarolinaWon 45–0 vs. Illinois+45IllinoisWon 34–22 at Minnesota+12MinnesotaWon 18–14 at No. 6 Ohio State+4No. 6 Ohio StateWon 35–6 vs. Notre Dame+29Notre DameWon 26–21 at Indiana+5IndianaLost 6–37 at No. 8 Wisconsin-31No. 8 WisconsinLost 7–31 vs. Michigan State-24Michigan StateWon 29–7 at Miami+22Miami
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 22vsSouth CarolinaW 37–⁠2064%
Oct 6vsIllinoisW 45–⁠075%
Oct 13atMinnesotaW 34–⁠2229%
Oct 20at6Ohio StateW 18–⁠1430%
Oct 27vsNotre DameW 35–⁠676%
Nov 3atIndianaW 26–⁠2169%
Nov 10at8WisconsinL 6–⁠3742%
Nov 17vsMichigan StateL 7–⁠3158%
Nov 23atMiamiW 29–⁠736%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Miami 29–⁠7; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 11th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 133 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 5: 8
  2. Wk 6: 3
  3. Wk 7: 1
  4. Wk 8: 1
  5. Wk 9: 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 1962.

Consensus All-AmericanJack Cvercko, OG

Record
7–⁠2
Conference
4–⁠2 tied for 3rd in Big Ten
AP final
Unranked peak No. 1
Points
237–⁠158
Coach
Ara Parseghian
Elo
1610 +102 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
24.1 No. 4 of 120 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Jay Robertson
Most valuable player
George Thomas

Drafted in 1963

The 1963 draft
Rd 4Paul Flatley EMinnesota Vikings
Rd 5Jack Cvercko OGGreen Bay Packers
Rd 7Burt Petkus OGNew York Giants
Rd 7Paul Flatley WRDenver Broncos (AFL)

All-Big Ten

1 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1962 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1962 Big Ten standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Wisconsin6–⁠18–⁠22
Minnesota5–⁠26–⁠2–⁠110
Northwestern4–⁠27–⁠2
Ohio State4–⁠26–⁠3
Michigan State3–⁠35–⁠4
Purdue3–⁠34–⁠4–⁠1
Iowa3–⁠34–⁠5
Illinois2–⁠52–⁠7
Indiana1–⁠53–⁠6
Michigan1–⁠62–⁠7

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