| 1957 Big Ten Conference football season | |
| Sport: | American football |
| No Of Teams: | 10 |
| Top Pick: | Dan Currie |
| Season Champs: | Ohio State |
| Season Champ Name: | Champion |
| Second Place: | Michigan State |
| Mvp: | Jim Pace |
| Seasonslistnames: | Football |
| Prevseason Year: | 1956 |
| Nextseason Year: | 1958 |
The 1957 Big Ten Conference football season was the 62nd 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 1957 college football season.
The 1957 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, under head coach Woody Hayes, won the conference championship with a 7-0 conference record (9–1 record overall), was ranked No. 1 in the final Coaches' Poll, and defeated Oregon in the 1958 Rose Bowl. The Buckeyes were ranked No.2 in the final AP Poll, but were also declared national champion by the FWAA poll. Ohio State back Don Clark led the conference with 737 rushing yards. Guard Aurealius Thomas was a first-team All-American.
The 1957 Michigan State Spartans football team, under head coach Duffy Daugherty, compiled an 8–1 record and was ranked No. 3 in the final AP and UPI polls. Michigan State back Walt Kowalczyk and center Dan Currie were selected as consensus first-team All-Americans. Kowalczyk led the conference with 54 points scored, and Currie was selected as the team's most valuable player.
The 1957 Iowa Hawkeyes football team, under head coach Forest Evashevski, finished third in the Big Ten with a 7–1–1 record and was ranked No. 8 in the final AP Poll. Iowa tackle Alex Karras was a consensus first-team All-American and won the Outland Trophy as the best interior lineman in college football. Quarterback Randy Duncan led the Big Ten with 1,124 passing yards and 1,183 total yards.
Michigan halfback Jim Pace won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy as the conference's most valuable player.
| Conf. Rank | Team | Head coach | AP final | AP high | Overall record | Conf. record | PPG | PAG | MVP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ohio State | Woody Hayes |
|
| 9–1 | 7–0 | 26.7 | 9.2 | Bill Jobko |
| 2 | Michigan State | Duffy Daugherty |
|
| 8–1 | 5–1 | 29.3 | 8.3 | Dan Currie |
| 3 | Iowa | Forest Evashevski |
|
| 7–1–1 | 4–1–1 | 29.2 | 12.4 | Bob Commings |
| 4 (tie) | Wisconsin | Milt Bruhn |
|
| 6–3 | 4–3 | 26.0 | 13.6 | Dan Lewis |
| 4 (tie) | Purdue | Jack Mollenkopf | NR | NR | 5–4 | 4–3 | 19.8 | 12.7 | Neil Habig |
| 6 | Michigan | Bennie Oosterbaan | NR |
| 5–3–1 | 3–3–1 | 20.8 | 16.3 | Jim Pace |
| 7 | Illinois | Ray Eliot | NR |
| 4–5 | 3–4 | 18.6 | 14.8 | Ron Hansen |
| 8 | Minnesota | Murray Warmath | NR |
| 4–5 | 3–5 | 22.3 | 20.9 | Dick Larson |
| 9 | Indiana | Bob Hicks | NR | NR | 1–8 | 0–6 | 5.2 | 34.1 | Tony Aloisio |
| 10 | Northwestern | Ara Parseghian | NR | NR | 0–9 | 0–7 | 6.3 | 30.1 | Willmer Fowler |
See main article: 1958 Rose Bowl.
The Big Ten's individual statistical leaders include the following:[1]
1. Randy Duncan, Iowa (1,124)
2. Jim Ninowski, Michigan State (718)
3. Tom Haller, Illinois (675)
4. Jim Van Pelt, Michigan (629)
5. Tom McDonald, Indiana (544)
1. Don Clark, Ohio State (737)
2. Jim Pace, Michigan (664)
3. Bob White, Ohio State (645)
4. Danny Lewis, Wisconsin (611)
5. Walt Kowalczyk, Michigan State (545)
1. Jim Gibbons, Iowa (587)
2. Dave Whitsell, Indiana (290)
3. Dave Kaiser, Michigan State (267)
4. Sam Williams, Michigan State (236)
5. Gary Prahst, Michigan (233)
1. Randy Duncan, Iowa (1,183)
2. Don Clark, Ohio State (788)
3. Tom Haller, Illinois (724)
4. Sidney Williams, Wisconsin (661)
5. Jim Pace, Michigan (656)
1. Walt Kowalczyk, Michigan State (54)
1. Jim Pace, Michigan (54)
1. Don Clark, Ohio State (54)
4. Frank Kremblas, Ohio State (48)
4. Dick LeBeau, Ohio State (48)
The following players were picked by the Associated Press (AP) and/or the United Press (UP) as first-team players on the 1957 All-Big Ten Conference football team.
| Position | Name | Team | Selectors | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterback | Jim Ninowski | Michigan State | AP, UP | |
| Halfback | Jim Pace | Michigan | AP, UP | |
| Halfback | Don Clark | Ohio State | AP, UP | |
| Fullback | Walt Kowalczyk | Michigan State | AP, UP | |
| End | Jim Gibbons | Iowa | AP, UP | |
| End | Leo Brown | Ohio State | AP | |
| End | Sam Williams | Michigan State | UP | |
| Tackle | Alex Karras | Iowa | AP, UP | |
| Tackle | Pat Burke | Michigan State | AP, UP | |
| Guard | Aurealius Thomas | Ohio State | AP, UP | |
| Guard | Frank Bloomquist | Iowa | AP | |
| Guard | Ellison Kelly | Michigan State | UP | |
| Center | Dan Currie | Michigan State | AP, UP |
At the end of the 1957 season, Big Ten players secured three of the consensus first-team picks for the 1957 College Football All-America Team.[3] The Big Ten's consensus All-American was:
| Position | Name | Team | Selectors | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tackle | Alex Karras | Iowa | AAB, AP, FWAA, INS, NEA, SN, UP, Time, WCFF | |
| Back | Walt Kowalczyk | Michigan State | AFCA, FWAA, NEA, SN, UP, Time, WCFF | |
| Center | Dan Currie | Michigan State | AAB, AFCA, AP, FWAA, INS, Time, WCFF |
Other Big Ten players who were named first-team All-Americans by at least one selector were:
| Position | Name | Team | Selectors | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| End | Jim Gibbons | Iowa | FWAA, TSN, UP | |
| Guard | Aurealius Thomas | Ohio State | AAB, AFCA, AP, FWAA | |
| Back | Jim Pace | Michigan | AAB, AP |
Iowa tackle Alex Karras won the Outland Trophy as the best interior lineman in college football.
The Heisman Trophy was awarded to John David Crow of Texas A&M. Three Big Ten players finished among the top 10 in the voting for the trophy. They were: defensive lineman Alex Karras of Iowa (second); running back Walt Kowalczyk of Michigan State; and offensive lineman Dan Currie of Michigan State.[4]
The following Big Ten players were among the first 100 picks in the 1958 NFL draft:[5]
| Name | Position | Team | Round | Overall pick | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Center | Dan Currie | Michigan State | 1 | 3 | |
| Fullback | Walt Kowalczyk | Michigan State | 1 | 6 | |
| Halfback | Jim Pace | Michigan | 1 | 8 | |
| Defensive tackle | Alex Karras | Iowa | 1 | 10 | |
| Tackle | Frank Youso | Minnesota | 2 | 23 | |
| Linebacker | Ray Nitschke | Illinois | 3 | 36 | |
| Defensive back | Erich Barnes | Purdue | 4 | 42 | |
| Tackle | Frank Rigney | Iowa | 4 | 43 | |
| Quarterback | Jim Ninowski | Michigan State | 4 | 49 | |
| End | Bob Jewett | Michigan State | 5 | 53 | |
| Quarterback | Jim Van Pelt | Michigan | 5 | 54 | |
| End | Jim Gibbons | Iowa | 5 | 61 | |
| Back | Jim Wulff | Michigan State | 6 | 72 | |
| Back | Danny Lewis | Wisconsin | 6 | 73 | |
| End | Jon Jelacic | Minnesota | 7 | 74 | |
| Guard | Bill Jobko | Ohio State | 7 | 80 | |
| Halfback | Bobby Mitchell | Illinois | 7 | 84 | |
| Back | Don Sutherin | Ohio State | 8 | 94 |