CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1952 Purdue

4–⁠3–⁠2 (4–⁠1–⁠1 Western Conference), coached by Stuart Holcomb, finished No. 18 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Purdue in 1952, game by game: tied at Penn State 20–20; won at No. 15 Ohio State 21–14; won vs. Iowa 41–14; lost vs. Notre Dame 14–26; won at Illinois 40–12; lost vs. No. 1 Michigan State 7–14; tied at Minnesota 14–14; lost at No. 20 Michigan 10–21; won vs. Indiana 21–16+28−12Tied 20–20 at Penn State0Penn StateWon 21–14 at No. 15 Ohio State+7No. 15 Ohio StateWon 41–14 vs. Iowa+27IowaLost 14–26 vs. Notre Dame-12Notre DameWon 40–12 at Illinois+28IllinoisLost 7–14 vs. No. 1 Michigan State-7No. 1 Michigan StateTied 14–14 at Minnesota0MinnesotaLost 10–21 at No. 20 Michigan-11No. 20 MichiganWon 21–16 vs. Indiana+5Indiana
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 27atPenn StateT 20–⁠2042%
Oct 4at15Ohio StateW 21–⁠1437%
Oct 11vsIowaW 41–⁠1475%
Oct 18vsNotre DameL 14–⁠2652%
Oct 25atIllinoisW 40–⁠1231%
Nov 1vs1Michigan StateL 7–⁠1435%
Nov 8atMinnesotaT 14–⁠1459%
Nov 15at20MichiganL 10–⁠2141%
Nov 22vsIndianaW 21–⁠1678%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Indiana 21–⁠16; No. 18 in the final AP poll; Western Conference champions.

In program history: The 43rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 3: 16
  2. Wk 4: 9
  3. Wk 6: 8
  4. Wk 7: 9
  5. Wk 8: 10
  6. Wk 10: 14
  7. Final: 18

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 1952.

Western Conference champions4–⁠1–⁠1 in the conference, shared with Wisconsin

Consensus All-AmericanBernie Flowers, E

Record
4–⁠3–⁠2
Conference
4–⁠1–⁠1 shared first in Western Conference
AP final
No. 18 peak No. 8
Points
188–⁠151
Coach
Stuart Holcomb
Elo
1563 +39 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
14.8 No. 17 of 113 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Bernie Flowers and Dale Samuels
Most valuable player
Earl Heninger

All-Big Ten

3 first team

First team

  • Bernard FlowersEAP-1; UP-1
  • Walt CudzikCAP-1
  • Fred PreziosioDTAP-1

From Wikipedia’s 1952 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1952 Western Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Wisconsin4–⁠1–⁠16–⁠3–⁠111
Purdue4–⁠1–⁠14–⁠3–⁠218
Ohio State5–⁠26–⁠317
Michigan4–⁠25–⁠4
Minnesota3–⁠1–⁠24–⁠3–⁠2
Illinois2–⁠54–⁠5
Northwestern2–⁠52–⁠6–⁠1
Iowa2–⁠52–⁠7
Indiana1–⁠52–⁠7

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