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1952 Wisconsin

6–⁠3–⁠1 (4–⁠1–⁠1 Western Conference), coached by Ivy Williamson, finished No. 11 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Wisconsin in 1952, game by game: won vs. Marquette 42–19; won vs. No. 2 Illinois 20–6; lost at Ohio State 14–23; won at Iowa 42–13; lost vs. No. 8 UCLA 7–20; won at Rice 21–7; won vs. Northwestern 24–20; won at Indiana 37–14; tied vs. Minnesota 21–21; lost vs. No. 2 USC 0–7+29−13Won 42–19 vs. Marquette+23MarquetteWon 20–6 vs. No. 2 Illinois+14No. 2 IllinoisLost 14–23 at Ohio State-9Ohio StateWon 42–13 at Iowa+29IowaLost 7–20 vs. No. 8 UCLA-13No. 8 UCLAWon 21–7 at Rice+14RiceWon 24–20 vs. Northwestern+4NorthwesternWon 37–14 at Indiana+23IndianaTied 21–21 vs. Minnesota0MinnesotaLost 0–7 vs. No. 2 USC-7No. 2 USC
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 27vsMarquetteW 42–⁠1976%
Oct 4vs2IllinoisW 20–⁠652%
Oct 11atOhio StateL 14–⁠2359%
Oct 18atIowaW 42–⁠1373%
Oct 25vs8UCLAL 7–⁠2054%
Nov 1atRiceW 21–⁠763%
Nov 8vsNorthwesternW 24–⁠2079%
Nov 15atIndianaW 37–⁠1474%
Nov 22vsMinnesotaT 21–⁠2179%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs2USCRose BowlL 0–⁠742%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to USC 7–⁠0 in the Rose Bowl; No. 11 in the final AP poll; Western Conference champions.

In program history: The 32nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 7
  2. Wk 2: 8
  3. Wk 3: 1
  4. Wk 4: 12
  5. Wk 5: 10
  6. Wk 6: 18
  7. Wk 7: 18
  8. Wk 8: 15
  9. Wk 9: 13
  10. Wk 10: 12
  11. Final: 11

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 Purdue

Record
6–⁠3–⁠1
Conference
4–⁠1–⁠1 shared first in Western Conference
AP final
No. 11 peak No. 1
Points
228–⁠150
Coach
Ivy Williamson
Elo
1635 +18 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
17.5 No. 14 of 113 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
George O’Brien
Most valuable player
Dave Suminski

All-Big Ten

4 first team

First team

  • Dave SuminskiOTAP-1
  • George O’BrienOGUP-1
  • Alan AmecheBAP-1; UP-1
  • Bob KennedyMGAP-1; UP-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.