1944 Big Ten Conference football season

The 1944 Big Ten Conference football season was the 49th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference (also known as the Western Conference) and was a part of the 1944 college football season.

1944 Big Ten Conference football season
SportFootball
Number of teams9
Top draft pickElroy Hirsch
ChampionOhio State
Season MVPLes Horvath
1944 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 2 Ohio State $ 6 0 0  9 0 0
No. 8 Michigan 5 2 0  8 2 0
Purdue 4 2 0  5 5 0
Minnesota 3 2 1  5 3 1
Indiana 4 3 0  7 3 0
No. 15 Illinois 3 3 0  5 4 1
Wisconsin 2 4 0  3 6 0
Northwestern 0 5 1  1 7 1
Iowa 0 6 0  1 7 0
  • + Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1944 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, under head coach Carroll Widdoes, compiled a perfect 9–0 record, won the Big Ten championship, led the conference in scoring offense (31.9 points per game), and was ranked No. 2 in the final AP Poll. The team was retroactively selected as a national champion by the National Championship Foundation. Quarterback Les Horvath was a consensus first-team pick for the 1944 College Football All-America Team and received the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy as the most valuable player in the Big Ten and . End Jack Dugger and center John Tavener were also consensus first-team All-Americans.

Michigan, under head coach Fritz Crisler, compiled an 8–2 record, finished in second place in the conference, and was ranked No. 8 in the final AP Poll. Fullback Don Lund received the team's most valuable player award.

Indiana, under head coach Bo McMillin, compiled a 7–3 record and led the conference in scoring defense (7.9 points per game). Center John Tavener was a consensus first-team All-American and received Indiana's most valuable player award.

Season overview

Results and team statistics

Conf. Rank Team Head coach AP final AP high Overall record Conf. record PPG PAG MVP
1Ohio StateCarroll Widdoes#2#29–06–031.98.8Les Horvath
2MichiganFritz Crisler#8#58–25–220.49.1Don Lund
3PurdueCecil IsbellNR#75–54–220.716.6Babe Dimancheff
4MinnesotaGeorge HauserNRNR5–3–13–2–125.018.0John Lundquist
5IndianaBo McMillinNR#157–34–329.27.9John Tavener
6IllinoisRay Eliot#15#95–4–13–327.314.9Buddy Young
7WisconsinHarry StuhldreherNR#193–62–412.420.0Clarence Esser
8NorthwesternPappy WaldorfNRNR1–7–10–5–111.317.8Max Morris
9IowaSlip MadiganNRNR1–70–66.630.0Bob Snyder

Key
AP final = Team's rank in the final AP Poll of the 1945 season[1]
AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1945 season[1]
PPG = Average of points scored per game[1]
PAG = Average of points allowed per game[1]
MVP = Most valuable player as voted by players on each team as part of the voting process to determine the winner of the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy[2]

Regular season

Bowl games

During the 1944 season, the Big Ten maintained its long-standing ban on postseason games. Accordingly, no Big Ten teams participated in any bowl games.

All-Big Ten players

The following players were picked by the Associated Press (AP) and/or the United Press (UP) as first-team players on the 1944 All-Big Nine Conference football team.[3][4]

All-Americans

At the end of the 1944 season, Big Ten players secured four of the consensus first-team picks for the 1944 College Football All-America Team.[5] The Big Ten's consensus All-Americans were:

  • Jack Dugger, end, Ohio State (FWAA, INS, SN, UP, WC)
  • Bill Hackett, guard, Ohio State (AAB, AP, COL, FN, FWAA, CP, WC)
  • John Tavener, center, Indiana (UP, FWAA, INS, LK, CP)
  • Les Horvath, quarterback, Ohio State (AAB, AP, COL, FN, FWAA, INS, LK, NEA, SN, UP, CP, WC)

Other Big Ten players who were named first-team All-Americans by at least one selector were:

1945 NFL Draft

The following Big Ten players were selected in the first 10 rounds of the 1945 NFL Draft:[6]

Name Position Team Round Overall pick
Elroy HirschWide receiverMichigan15
Don LundBackMichigan17
Jack DuggerEndOhio State212
Wayne WilliamsBackMinnesota213
Milan LazetichTackleMichigan216
Stan MohrbacherGuardIowa324
Gordon ApplebyCenterOhio State326
Bob WieseBackMichigan539
Forest MastersonCenterIowa540
Pete PihosWide receiverIndiana541
Dick BarwegenGuardPurdue644
Gene FeketeBackOhio State649
Chuck DellagoGuardMinnesota652
Fred NegusCenterWisconsin759
Jack MeadEndWisconsin764
Pat O'BrienTacklePurdue873
Nick VodickBackNorthwestern875
Les JoopTackleIllinois982
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References

  1. "1944 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  2. Wilfrid Smith (December 17, 1944). "Horvath Voted Big Nine's Most Valuable: Buckeye Star 21st To Receive Tribune Award". Chicago Tribune. p. 2-1.
  3. "All-Western Conference Team". The Logan Daily News. November 27, 1944. p. 5.
  4. "Four Ohio State Stars Named on the All-Conference Team". The Milwaukee Journal (UP story). November 22, 1944. p. 6.
  5. "2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. pp. 5–6. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  6. "1945 NFL Draft: Full Draft". NFL.com. National Football League. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
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