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1953 Wisconsin

6–⁠2–⁠1 (4–⁠1–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Ivy Williamson, finished No. 15 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Wisconsin in 1953, game by game: won vs. Penn State 20–0; won vs. Marquette 13–11; lost at No. 6 UCLA 0–13; won at Purdue 28–19; lost vs. Ohio State 19–20; won vs. Iowa 10–6; won at Northwestern 34–13; won vs. No. 3 Illinois 34–7; tied at Minnesota 21–21+27−13Won 20–0 vs. Penn State+20Penn StateWon 13–11 vs. Marquette+2MarquetteLost 0–13 at No. 6 UCLA-13No. 6 UCLAWon 28–19 at Purdue+9PurdueLost 19–20 vs. Ohio State-1Ohio StateWon 10–6 vs. Iowa+4IowaWon 34–13 at Northwestern+21NorthwesternWon 34–7 vs. No. 3 Illinois+27No. 3 IllinoisTied 21–21 at Minnesota0Minnesota
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 26vsPenn StateW 20–⁠061%
Oct 3vsMarquetteW 13–⁠1169%
Oct 9at6UCLAL 0–⁠1333%
Oct 17atPurdueW 28–⁠1958%
Oct 24vsOhio StateL 19–⁠2062%
Oct 31vsIowaW 10–⁠671%
Nov 7atNorthwesternW 34–⁠1365%
Nov 14vs3IllinoisW 34–⁠755%
Nov 21atMinnesotaT 21–⁠2162%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Tied Minnesota 21–⁠21; No. 15 in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Big Ten.

In program history: The 21st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 2: 16
  2. Wk 9: 8
  3. Wk 10: 12
  4. Final: 15

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 1953.

Record
6–⁠2–⁠1
Conference
4–⁠1–⁠1 3rd in Big Ten
AP final
No. 15 peak No. 8
Points
179–⁠110
Coach
Ivy Williamson
Elo
1669 +79 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
18.7 No. 7 of 110 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Roger Dornburg and Jerry Wuhrman
Most valuable player
Alan Ameche

All-Big Ten

1 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1953 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

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.