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1962 Wisconsin

8–⁠2 (6–⁠1 Big Ten), coached by Milt Bruhn, finished No. 2 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Wisconsin in 1962, game by game: won vs. New Mexico State 69–13; won vs. Indiana 30–6; won vs. Notre Dame 17–8; won vs. Iowa 42–14; lost at Ohio State 7–14; won at Michigan 34–12; won vs. No. 1 Northwestern 37–6; won at Illinois 35–6; won vs. No. 5 Minnesota 14–9; lost vs. No. 1 USC 37–42+56−7Won 69–13 vs. New Mexico State+56New Mexico StateWon 30–6 vs. Indiana+24IndianaWon 17–8 vs. Notre Dame+9Notre DameWon 42–14 vs. Iowa+28IowaLost 7–14 at Ohio State-7Ohio StateWon 34–12 at Michigan+22MichiganWon 37–6 vs. No. 1 Northwestern+31No. 1 NorthwesternWon 35–6 at Illinois+29IllinoisWon 14–9 vs. No. 5 Minnesota+5No. 5 MinnesotaLost 37–42 vs. No. 1 USC-5No. 1 USC
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 29vsNew Mexico StateW 69–⁠1362%
Oct 6vsIndianaW 30–⁠669%
Oct 13vsNotre DameW 17–⁠870%
Oct 20vsIowaW 42–⁠1461%
Oct 27atOhio StateL 7–⁠1439%
Nov 3atMichiganW 34–⁠1262%
Nov 10vs1NorthwesternW 37–⁠658%
Nov 17atIllinoisW 35–⁠680%
Nov 24vs5MinnesotaW 14–⁠955%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs1USCRose BowlL 37–⁠4251%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to USC 42–⁠37 in the Rose Bowl; No. 2 in the final AP poll; Big Ten champions.

In program history: The 19th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 5: 10
  2. Wk 6: 5
  3. Wk 8: 8
  4. Wk 9: 4
  5. Wk 10: 3
  6. Wk 11: 2
  7. Final: 2

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.

Big Ten champions6–⁠1 in the conference

Consensus All-AmericanPat Richter, E

Record
8–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠1 first in Big Ten
AP final
No. 2 peak No. 2
Points
322–⁠130
Coach
Milt Bruhn
Elo
1674 +132 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
29.6 No. 1 of 120 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Pat Richter and Steve Underwood
Most valuable player
Ron Vander Kelen

Drafted in 1963

The 1963 draft
Rd 1Pat Richter EWashington Redskins
Rd 7Gary Kroner BGreen Bay Packers

All-Big Ten

2 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

  • Roger PillathOTAP-2; UPI-3
  • Steve UnderwoodOGAP-2; UPI-3
  • Jim SchenkOGAP-2; UPI-3

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.