| 1919 Big Ten Conference football season | |
| Sport: | American football |
| No Of Teams: | 10 |
| Season Champ Name: | Champion |
| Seasonslistnames: | Football |
| Prevseason Year: | 1918 |
| Nextseason Year: | 1920 |
The 1919 Big Ten Conference football season was the 24th 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 1919 college football season.
The 1919 Illinois Fighting Illini football team, under head coach Robert Zuppke, compiled a 6–1 record, won the Big Ten championship, and was selected retroactively as the national champion by the Billingsley Report and Boand System, and as a co-national champion by the College Football Researchers Association, Parke H. Davis, and Jeff Sagarin (using his alternate ELO-Chess methodology).[1] Fullback Jack Crangle and guard Jack Depler received first-team All-Big Ten honors.
The 1919 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, under head coach John Wilce, also compiled a 6–1 record and led the conference in scoring defense (1.7 points allowed per game). Ohio State defeated Michigan for the first time in the history of the Michigan–Ohio State football rivalry. However, the Buckeyes lost to Illinois by two points in the final game of the season and finished in second place in the conference standings. Halfback Chic Harley was selected, for the third time, as a consensus first-team All-American.
Wisconsin center Charles Carpenter was a consensus first-team All-American. Chicago led the Big Ten in scoring offense with 29.3 points per game.
| Conf. Rank | Team | Head coach | Overall record | Conf. record | PPG | PAG | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Illinois | Robert Zuppke | 6–1 | 6–1 | 13.0 | 6.9 | |
| 2 | Ohio State | John Wilce | 6–1 | 3–1 | 25.1 | 1.7 | |
| 3 | Chicago | Amos Alonzo Stagg | 5–2 | 4–2 | 29.3 | 3.7 | |
| 4 (tie) | Wisconsin | John R. Richards | 5–2 | 3–2 | 13.0 | 5.9 | |
| 4 (tie) | Minnesota | Henry L. Williams | 4–2–1 | 3–2 | 18.6 | 6.4 | |
| 6 | Iowa | Howard Jones | 5–2 | 2–2 | 12.9 | 6.3 | |
| 7 (tie) | Michigan | Fielding H. Yost | 3–4 | 1–4 | 13.3 | 14.6 | |
| 7 (tie) | Northwestern | Charlie Bachman | 2–5 | 1–4 | 7.0 | 15.9 | |
| 9 | Indiana | Ewald O. Stiehm | 3–4 | 0–2 | 10.0 | 9.1 | |
| 10 | Purdue | A. G. Scanlon | 2–4–1 | 0–3 | 10.1 | 14.9 |
On September 27, 1919, the Big Ten season opened with one non-conference game.
On October 4, 1919, the Big Ten football teams played seven non-conference games, resulting in five wins, one loss, and a tie. Chicago, Illinois, and Northwestern had bye weeks.
On October 11, 1919, the Big Ten teams played one conference game and six non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in six victories, giving the Big ten a 12–1–1 record up to that point in the season. Michigan and Iowa had a bye week.
On October 18, 1919, the Big Ten teams participated in four conference games and two non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in two victories, giving the Big ten a 14–1–1 record up to that point in the season.
On October 25, 1919, the Big Ten teams played four conference games. Illinois and Indiana had bye weeks.
On November 1, 1919, the Big Ten teams played three conference games and three non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in two victories and one defeat, giving the Big ten a 16–2–1 record up to that point in the season. Ohio State had a bye week.
On November 8, 1919, the Big Ten teams played four conference games. Indiana and Wisconsin had bye weeks.
On November 8, 1919, the Big Ten teams played four conference games and one non-conference game. The non-conference game resulted in a victory, giving the Big ten a 17–2–1 record up to that point in the season. Minnesota had a bye week.
On November 22, 1919, the Big Ten teams played three conference games and three non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in two wins and a loss, giving the Big Ten a 19–3–1 record up to that point in the season. Northwestern had a bye week.
On Thanksgiving Day, one Big Ten team played a game and lost, giving the Big Ten a 19–4–1 record.
No Big Ten teams participated in any bowl games during the 1919 season.
The following players were selected as first-team players on the 1919 All-Big Ten Conference football team by at least two of the following five selectors: E. C. Patterson in Collier's Weekly (ECP), Frank G. Menke (FM), the International News Service (INS),[3] or Walter Eckersall (WE).[4] It also includes players listed as members of the 1919 "All-Conference Team" as published in the "ESPN Big Ten Football Encyclopedia" (BTFE).[5]
| Position | Name | Team | Selectors | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterback | Gaylord Stinchcomb | Ohio State | BTFE, ECP, FM, WE | |
| Halfback | Chic Harley | Ohio State | BTFE, ECP, FM, INS, WE | |
| Halfback | Arnold Oss | Minnesota | BTFE, ECP, FM, INS, WE | |
| Fullback | Jack Crangle | Illinois | FM, INS | |
| Fullback | Fred Lohman | Iowa | BTFE, WE | |
| End | Lester Belding | Iowa | BTFE, ECP, FM, INS, WE | |
| End | Paul Meyers | Wisconsin | BTFE, FM, INS, WE | |
| Tackle | Duke Slater | Iowa | BTFE, ECP, FM, INS, WE | |
| Tackle | Charles Higgins | Chicago | BTFE, FM, INS, WE | |
| Guard | Lloyd Pixley | Ohio State | ECP, FM, INS | |
| Guard | Jack Depler | Illinois | BTFE [center], ECP, INS, WE [center] | |
| Guard | Clarence Applegran | Illinois | BTFE, WE | |
| Guard | William McCaw | Indiana | BTFE, WE | |
| Center | Charles Carpenter | Wisconsin | ECP, FM, INS | |
| Center | Ernie Vick | Michigan | BTFE |
Three Big Ten players were selected as consensus first-team players on the 1919 College Football All-America Team. They were:
| Position | Name | Team | Selectors | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Halfback | Chic Harley | Ohio State | MS, WC, DJ, RE | |
| End | Lester Belding | Iowa | MS | |
| Center | Charles Carpenter | Wisconsin | MS |