| 1954 Big Ten Conference football season | |
| Sport: | American football |
| No Of Teams: | 10 |
| Top Pick: | Alan Ameche |
| Season Champs: | Ohio State |
| Season Champ Name: | Champion |
| Second Place: | Wisconsin, Michigan |
| Mvp: | Alan Ameche |
| Seasonslistnames: | Football |
| Prevseason Year: | 1953 |
| Nextseason Year: | 1955 |
The 1954 Big Ten Conference football season was the 59th 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 1954 college football season.
The 1954 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, under head coach Woody Hayes, won the conference football championship, compiled a 10–0, was ranked No. 1 in the final AP Poll, and defeated USC in the 1955 Rose Bowl. Halfback Howard Cassady was selected as the team's most valuable player and was a consensus first-team All-American.
The 1954 Wisconsin Badgers football team, under head coach Ivy Williamson, compiled a 7–2 record and was ranked No. 9 in the final AP Poll. Fullback Alan Ameche won the 1954 Heisman Trophy as the best player in college football and the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the most valuable player in the Big Ten Conference. Ameche broke Ollie Matson's career rushing record, finishing his tenure at Wisconsin with 3,212 rushing yards.[1]
Purdue quarterback Len Dawson led the conference with 1,464 passing yards.
| Conf. Rank | Team | Head coach | AP final | AP high | Overall record | Conf. record | PPG | PAG | MVP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State | Woody Hayes |
|
| 10–0 | 7–0 | 24.9 | 7.5 | Howard Cassady |
| 2 (tie) | Wisconsin | Ivy Williamson |
|
| 7–2 | 5–2 | 22.2 | 10.9 | Alan Ameche |
| 2 (tie) | Michigan | Bennie Oosterbaan |
|
| 6–3 | 5–2 | 15.4 | 9.7 | Fred Baer |
| 4 | Minnesota | Murray Warmath | NR |
| 7–2 | 4–2 | 21.7 | 14.1 | Bob McNamara |
| 5 | Iowa | Forest Evashevski | NR |
| 5–4 | 4–3 | 21.3 | 15.7 | Warren Lawson |
| 6 | Purdue | Stu Holcomb | NR |
| 5–3–1 | 3–3 | 18.3 | 14.9 | Tom Bettis |
| 7 | Indiana | Bernie Crimmins | NR | NR | 3–6 | 2–4 | 12.2 | 15.9 | Florian Helinski |
| 8 (tie) | Michigan State | Duffy Daugherty | NR |
| 3–6 | 1–5 | 19.7 | 16.6 | John Matsock |
| 8 (tie) | Northwestern | Bob Voigts | NR | NR | 2-7 | 1-5 | 11.2 | 15.8 | Ziggie Niepokoj |
| 10 | Illinois | Ray Eliot | NR |
| 1–8 | 0–6 | 11.4 | 20.0 | Jack Chamblin |
Two Big Ten teams changed head coaches between the 1953 and 1954 seasons:
On September 25, 1954, the Big Ten football teams played two conference games and six non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in five wins and one loss.
On October 2, 1954, the Big Ten football teams played one conference game and eight non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in five wins and three losses, giving the Big Ten a 10–4 record in non-conference games played to that date.
On October 9, 1954, the Big Ten football teams played four conference games and two non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in two wins, giving the Big Ten a 12–4 record in non-conference games played to that date.
On October 16, 1954, the Big Ten football teams played four conference games and two non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in two losses, giving the Big Ten a 12–6 record in non-conference games played to that date.
On October 23, 1954, the Big Ten football teams played four conference games and two non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in one win and one loss, giving the Big Ten a 13–7 record in non-conference games played to that date.
On October 30, 1954, the Big Ten football teams played against each other in five conference games.
On November 6, 1954, the Big Ten football teams played three conference games and four non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in three wins and one loss, giving the Big Ten a 16–8 record in non-conference games played to that date.
On November 13, 1954, the Big Ten football teams played against each other in five conference games.
On November 20, 1954, the Big Ten football teams played four conference games and two non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in one win and one loss, giving the Big Ten a 17–9 record in non-conference games played to that date.
See main article: 1955 Rose Bowl. On January 1, 1955, Ohio State (ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll) defeated USC (ranked No. 17 in the AP Poll) by a 20–7 score before a crowd of 89,191 in Pasadena, California. UCLA (ranked No. 2) was not permitted to play in the Rose Bowl due to the Pacific Coast Conference's no-repeat rule. Ohio State quarterback Dave Leggett was selected as the game's most valuable player.
On February 3, 1955, Bob Voigts resigned as Northwestern's head football coach. Voigts had come under fire from alumni after Northwestern won only one conference game in two seasons.[7] Less than a week later, Lou Saban was announced as Voigts' replacement. Saban had been an assistant coach at Northwestern in 1954. He had played for Indiana in 1941 and 1942 and for the Cleveland Browns from 1946 to 1949.[8]
The following players were picked by the Associated Press (AP) and/or the sports editors (Ed) as first-team players on the 1954 All-Big Ten Conference football team.
| Position | Name | Team | Selectors | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| End | Dean Dugger | Ohio State | AP, Ed | |
| End | Ron Kramer | Michigan | AP, Ed | |
| Tackle | Art Walker | Michigan | AP, Ed | |
| Tackle | Dick Hilinski | Ohio State | AP | |
| Tackle | Randy Schrecengost | Michigan State | Ed | |
| Guard | Cal Jones | Iowa | AP, Ed | |
| Guard | Tom Bettis | Purdue | AP, Ed | |
| Center | Gary Messner | Wisconsin | AP, Ed | |
| Quarterback | Len Dawson | Purdue | AP, Ed | |
| Halfback | Howard Cassady | Ohio State | AP, Ed | |
| Halfback | Bob McNamara | Minnesota | AP | |
| Halfback | Bobby Watkins | Ohio State | Ed | |
| Fullback | Alan Ameche | Wisconsin | AP, Ed |
At the end of the 1954 season, Big Ten players secured three of 11 consensus first-team picks for the 1954 College Football All-America Team.[9] The Big Ten's consensus All-Americans were:
| Position | Name | Team | Selectors | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fullback | Alan Ameche | Wisconsin | AAB, AFCA, AP, FWAA, INS, NEA, TSN, UP, CP, WCFF | |
| Halfback | Howard Cassady | Ohio State | AAB, AFCA, AP, FWAA, INS, NEA, TSN, UP, CP, WCFF | |
| Guard | Cal Jones | Iowa | AAB, FWAA, NEA, TSN, UP, CP, WCFF |
Other Big Ten players who were named first-team All-Americans by at least one selector were:
| Position | Name | Team | Selectors | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| End | Dean Dugger | Ohio State | FWAA | |
| End | Ron Kramer | Michigan | CP | |
| Tackle | Art Walker | Michigan | AAB, FWAA | |
| Guard | Tom Bettis | Purdue | FWAA, INS, CP | |
| Halfback | Bob McNamara | Minnesota | FWAA |
Wisconsin running back Alan Ameche won the 1954 Heisman Trophy.[10]
The following Big Ten players were among the first 100 picks in the 1955 NFL draft:[11]
| Name | Position | Team | Round | Overall pick | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fullback | Alan Ameche | Wisconsin | 1 | 3 | |
| Guard | Tom Bettis | Purdue | 1 | 5 | |
| End | Jim Temp | Wisconsin | 2 | 17 | |
| Back | Bobby Watkins | Ohio State | 2 | 23 | |
| Tackle | John Hall | Iowa | 3 | 35 | |
| End | Dean Dugger | Ohio State | 4 | 46 | |
| Guard | Hank Bullough | Michigan State | 5 | 53 | |
| Guard | Norm Amundsen | Wisconsin | 6 | 65 | |
| End | Ron Locklin | Wisconsin | 6 | 68 | |
| Back | Leroy Bolden | Michigan State | 6 | 73 | |
| Back | Dave Leggett | Ohio State | 7 | 74 | |
| Back | Bert Zagers | Michigan State | 7 | 84 | |
| Center | Johnny Allen | Purdue | 8 | 87 |