| 1953 Big Ten Conference football season | |
| Sport: | American football |
| No Of Teams: | 10 |
| Top Pick: | Stan Wallace |
| Season Champs: | Michigan State |
| Season Champ Name: | Champion |
| Second Place: | Illinois |
| Mvp: | Paul Giel |
| Seasonslistnames: | Football |
| Prevseason Year: | 1952 |
| Nextseason Year: | 1954 |
The 1953 Big Ten Conference football season was the 58th 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 1953 college football season.
The 1953 Michigan State Spartans football team, under head coach Clarence Munn, won the Big Ten championship in the program's first year of participating in the Big Ten. The Spartans compiled a 9–1 record and was ranked No. 3 in the final AP and UPI polls. End Don Dohoney was a consensus first-team All-American. Halfback Leroy Bolden was selected as the team's most valuable player.
The 1953 Illinois Fighting Illini football team, under head coach Ray Eliot, finished in second place in the Big Ten with a 7–1–1, led the conference with 25.3 points allowed per game, and was ranked No. 7 in the final AP Poll. Halfback J. C. Caroline was a consensus first-team All-American.
Minnesota quarterback Paul Giel was a consensus first-team All-American and received the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy as the Big Ten's most valuable player for the second consecutive year.
| Conf. Rank | Team | Head coach | AP final | AP high | Overall record | Conf. record | PPG | PAG | MVP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michigan State | Clarence Munn |
|
| 9–1 | 5–1 | 24.0 | 11.0 | LeRoy Beldon |
| 2 | Illinois | Ray Eliot |
|
| 7–1–1 | 5–1 | 25.3 | 14.8 | Don Ernst |
| 3 | Wisconsin | Ivy Williamson |
|
| 6–2–1 | 4–1–1 | 19.9 | 12.2 | Alan Ameche |
| 4 | Ohio State | Woody Hayes | NR |
| 6–3 | 4–3 | 20.2 | 18.2 | George Jacoby |
| 5 (tie) | Michigan | Bennie Oosterbaan |
|
| 6–3 | 3–3 | 18.1 | 11.2 | Tony Branoff |
| 5 (tie) | Iowa | Forest Evashevski |
|
| 5–3–1 | 3–3 | 20.8 | 10.1 | Bill Fenton |
| 7 | Minnesota | Wes Fesler | NR |
| 4–4–1 | 3–3–1 | 16.7 | 17.8 | Paul Giel |
| 8 | Purdue | Stu Holcomb | NR | NR | 2–7 | 2–4 | 9.9 | 18.6 | Tom Bettis |
| 9 | Indiana | Bernie Crimmins | NR | NR | 2–7 | 1–5 | 13.2 | 25.2 | Harry Jagielski |
| 10 | Northwestern | Bob Voigts | NR |
| 3-6 | 0-6 | 18.4 | 22.8 | Bob Lauter |
See main article: 1954 Rose Bowl. On January 1, 1954, Michigan State defeated the UCLA, 28 - 20, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Michigan State halfback Billy Wells was named the Rose Bowl player of the game. The 1954 Rose Bowl had the first color television "colorcast", viewable on 200 sets across the United States.[2]
Two Big Ten teams changed head coaches between the 1953 and 1954 seasons:
The following players were picked by the Associated Press (AP)as first-team players on the 1953 All-Big Ten Conference football team.
| Position | Name | Team | Selectors | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| End | Don Dohoney | Michigan State | AP | |
| End | Bob Topp | Michigan | AP | |
| Tackle | George Jacoby | Ohio State | AP | |
| Tackle | Cal Jones | Iowa | AP | |
| Guard | Jan Smid | Illinois | AP | |
| Guard | Tom Bettis | Purdue | AP | |
| Center | Jerry Hilgenberg | Iowa | AP | |
| Back | Paul Giel | Minnesota | AP | |
| Back | J. C. Caroline | Illinois | AP | |
| Back | LeRoy Bolden | Michigan State | AP | |
| Back | Alan Ameche | Wisconsin | AP |
At the end of the 1953 season, Big Ten players secured three of 11 consensus first-team picks for the 1953 College Football All-America Team.[6] The Big Ten's consensus All-Americans were:
| Position | Name | Team | Selectors | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterback | Paul Giel | Minnesota | AAB, AFCA, AP, FWAA, INS, TSN, UP, WCFF | |
| End | Don Dohoney | Michigan State | AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, TSN, UP, WCFF | |
| Halfback | J. C. Caroline | Illinois | AFCA, FWAA, UP, WCFF |
Other Big Ten players who were named first-team All-Americans by at least one selector were:
| Position | Name | Team | Selectors | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| End | Joe Collier | Northwestern | INS | |
| Center | Jerry Hilgenberg | Iowa | FWAA | |
| Fullback | Alan Ameche | Wisconsin | FWAA |
Three Big Ten players finished among the top 10 in the voting for the 1953 Heisman Trophy: Minnesota running back Paul Giel (second); Wisconsin running back Alan Ameche (sixth); and Illinois running back J. C. Caroline (seventh).[7]
The following Big Ten players were among the first 100 picks in the 1954 NFL draft:[8]
| Name | Position | Team | Round | Overall pick | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stan Wallace | Back | Illinois | 1 | 6 | |
| John Bauer | Guard | Illinois | 1 | 12 | |
| Rocky Ryan | End | Illinois | 2 | 21 | |
| Jim Neal | Center | Michigan State | 2 | 25 | |
| Jerry Hilgenberg | Center | Iowa | 4 | 48 | |
| Don Dohoney | End | Michigan State | 5 | 50 | |
| Billy Wells | Back | Michigan State | 5 | 56 | |
| George Jacoby | Tackle | Ohio State | 6 | 65 | |
| Ken Panfil | Tackle | Purdue | 6 | 70 | |
| Harry Jagielski | Tackle | Indiana | 7 | 80 |