CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1951 Wisconsin

7–⁠1–⁠1 (5–⁠1–⁠1 Western Conference), coached by Ivy Williamson, finished No. 8 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Wisconsin in 1951, game by game: won vs. Marquette 22–6; lost at No. 8 Illinois 10–14; tied vs. No. 9 Ohio State 6–6; won at Purdue 31–7; won at No. 13 Northwestern 41–0; won vs. Indiana 6–0; won vs. Pennsylvania 16–7; won vs. Iowa 34–7; won at Minnesota 30–6+41−4Won 22–6 vs. Marquette+16MarquetteLost 10–14 at No. 8 Illinois-4No. 8 IllinoisTied 6–6 vs. No. 9 Ohio State0No. 9 Ohio StateWon 31–7 at Purdue+24PurdueWon 41–0 at No. 13 Northwestern+41No. 13 NorthwesternWon 6–0 vs. Indiana+6IndianaWon 16–7 vs. Pennsylvania+9PennsylvaniaWon 34–7 vs. Iowa+27IowaWon 30–6 at Minnesota+24Minnesota
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 29vsMarquetteW 22–⁠666%
Oct 6at8IllinoisL 10–⁠1437%
Oct 13vs9Ohio StateT 6–⁠650%
Oct 20atPurdueW 31–⁠757%
Oct 27at13NorthwesternW 41–⁠037%
Nov 3vsIndianaW 6–⁠077%
Nov 10vsPennsylvaniaW 16–⁠770%
Nov 17vsIowaW 34–⁠782%
Nov 24atMinnesotaW 30–⁠672%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Minnesota 30–⁠6; No. 8 in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Western Conference.

In program history: The 18th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 15
  2. Wk 5: 14
  3. Wk 6: 10
  4. Wk 7: 9
  5. Wk 8: 8
  6. Wk 9: 8
  7. Wk 10: 7
  8. Final: 8

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 1951.

Record
7–⁠1–⁠1
Conference
5–⁠1–⁠1 3rd in Western Conference
AP final
No. 8 peak No. 7
Points
196–⁠53
Coach
Ivy Williamson
Elo
1677 +132 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
20.7 No. 7 of 116 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Jim Hammond
Most valuable player
Hal Faverty

Drafted in 1952

The 1952 draft
Rd 5Pat O’Donahue ESan Francisco 49ers

All-Big Ten

5 first team, 1 second team

First team

  • John CoattaQBAP-1; UP-1
  • Pat O’DonahueDEAP-1
  • Jerry SmithDTAP-1; UP-2
  • Robert KennedyMGAP-1; UP-2
  • Deral TeteakMGAP-1

Second team

  • Hal FavertyEUP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1951 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1951 Western Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Illinois5–⁠0–⁠19–⁠0–⁠14
Purdue4–⁠15–⁠4
Wisconsin5–⁠1–⁠17–⁠1–⁠18
Michigan4–⁠24–⁠5
Ohio State2–⁠2–⁠24–⁠3–⁠2
Northwestern2–⁠45–⁠4
Minnesota1–⁠4–⁠12–⁠6–⁠1
Indiana1–⁠52–⁠7
Iowa0–⁠5–⁠12–⁠5–⁠2

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