1954 Wisconsin Badgers football team

1954 Wisconsin Badgers football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 10
APNo. 9
Record7–2 (5–2 Big Ten)
Head coach
MVPAlan Ameche
CaptainGary Messner
Home stadiumCamp Randall Stadium
Seasons
← 1953
1955 →
1954 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Ohio State $ 7 0 0 10 0 0
No. 9 Wisconsin 5 2 0 7 2 0
No. 15 Michigan 5 2 0 6 3 0
Minnesota 4 2 0 7 2 0
Iowa 4 3 0 5 4 0
Purdue 3 3 0 5 3 1
Indiana 2 4 0 3 6 0
Michigan State 1 5 0 3 6 0
Northwestern 1 5 0 2 7 0
Illinois 0 6 0 1 8 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1954 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin in the 1954 Big Ten Conference football season. Led by sixth-year head coach Ivy Williamson, the Badgers compiled an overall record of 7–2 with a mark of 5–2 in conference play, trying for second place in the Big Ten.

Senior Alan Ameche won the Heisman Trophy, becoming the first Badger to win the award. He was a consensus selection to the 1954 College Football All-America Team and received the Chicago Tribune Silver Football, awarded to the Big Ten's best player. Ameche played linebacker on defense along with fullback on offense. In four years as a Badger, he gained 3,212 yards, then the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) record, scored 25 touchdowns, and averaged 4.8 yards per carry.

Schedule

[edit]
DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendance
September 25Marquette*No. 10W 52–1452,819
October 2at No. 13 Michigan StateNo. 5W 6–051,194
October 9No. 11 Rice*No. 3
  • Camp Randall Stadium
  • Madison, WI
W 13–752,819
October 16No. 5 PurdueNo. 2
  • Camp Randall Stadium
  • Madison, WI
W 20–653,131
October 23at No. 4 Ohio StateNo. 2L 14–3182,636
October 30at IowaNo. 8L 7–1352,185
November 6NorthwesterndaggerNo. 16
  • Camp Randall Stadium
  • Madison, WI
W 34–1353,131
November 13at IllinoisNo. 14W 27–1471,119
November 20No. 10 MinnesotaNo. 17
  • Camp Randall Stadium
  • Madison, WI (rivalry)
W 27–053,131
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Awards and honors

[edit]

Team players in the 1955 NFL draft

[edit]
Player Position Round Pick NFL club
Alan Ameche Back 1 3 Baltimore Colts
Jim Temp End 2 17 Green Bay Packers
Norm Amundsen Guard 6 65 Green Bay Packers
Ron Locklin End 6 68 New York Giants
Clarence Bratt Back 12 143 Chicago Bears
Jerry Cvengros Tackle 21 247 Los Angeles Rams
Bob Gringrass Back 27 321 Philadelphia Eagles

[1]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Reference at www.pro-football-reference.com". Archived from the original on November 22, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2018.