Northwestern Wildcats football, 1950–1959

Contents

1950

1950 Northwestern Wildcats football
Conference Big Ten
1950 record 6-3 (3-3 )
Head coach Bob Voigts
Seasons
« 1949 1951 »
1950 Big Ten football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#9/6 Michigan † 4 – 1 – 1     6 – 3 – 1
#14/10 Ohio State 5 – 2 – 0     6 – 3 – 0
#NR/20 Wisconsin 5 – 2 – 0     6 – 3 – 0
#13/11 Illinois 4 – 2 – 0     7 – 2 – 0
Northwestern 3 – 3 – 0     6 – 3 – 0
Iowa 2 – 4 – 0     3 – 5 – 1
Minnesota 1 – 4 – 1     1 – 7 – 1
Indiana 1 – 4 – 0     3 – 5 – 1
Purdue 1 – 4 – 0     2 – 7 – 0
† – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll / Coaches' Poll

In the battle for the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk, the Wildcats defeated the Fighting Illini.

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result
September 30 Iowa State* W 23-13  
October 7 at Navy* W 22-0  
October 14 Minnesota W 13-6  
October 21 Pittsburgh* W 28-23  
October 28 at Wisconsin L 13-14  
November 4 Ohio State L 0-32  
November 11 at Purdue W 19-14  
November 18 at Michigan L 23-34  
November 25 Illinois W 14-7  
*Non-conference game.

[1]

1951

1951 Northwestern Wildcats football
Conference Big Ten
1951 record 5-4 (2-4 )
Head coach Bob Voigts
Seasons
« 1950 1952 »
1951 Big Ten football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#4/3 Illinois † 5 – 0 – 1     9 – 0 – 1
#NR/14 Purdue 4 – 1 – 0     5 – 4 – 0
#8/8 Wisconsin 5 – 1 – 1     7 – 1 – 1
Michigan 4 – 2 – 0     4 – 5 – 0
Ohio State 2 – 2 – 2     4 – 3 – 2
Northwestern 2 – 4 – 0     5 – 4 – 0
Minnesota 1 – 4 – 1     2 – 6 – 1
Indiana 1 – 5 – 0     2 – 7 – 0
Iowa 0 – 5 – 1     2 – 5 – 2
† – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll / Coaches' Poll

In the battle for the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk, the Fighting Illini defeated the Wildcats.

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result
September 29 Colorado* W 35-14  
October 6 Army* W 20-14  
October 13 at Minnesota W 21-7  
October 20 Navy* W 16-7  
October 27 Wisconsin L 0-41  
November 3 at Ohio State L 0-3  
November 10 Purdue L 14-35  
November 17 at Michigan W 6-0  
November 24 at Illinois L 0-3  
*Non-conference game.

[2]

1952

1952 Northwestern Wildcats football
Conference Big Ten
1952 record 2-6-1 (2-5 )
Head coach Bob Voigts
Seasons
« 1951 1953 »
1952 Big Ten football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#11/10 Wisconsin § 4 – 1 – 1     6 – 3 – 1
#18/12 Purdue § 4 – 1 – 1     4 – 3 – 2
#17/15 Ohio State 5 – 2 – 0     6 – 3 – 0
Michigan 4 – 2 – 0     5 – 4 – 0
Minnesota 3 – 1 – 2     4 – 3 – 2
Illinois 2 – 5 – 0     4 – 5 – 0
Northwestern 2 – 5 – 0     2 – 6 – 1
Iowa 2 – 5 – 0     2 – 7 – 0
Indiana 1 – 5 – 0     2 – 7 – 0
§ – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll / Coaches' Poll

In the battle for the Sweet Sioux Tomahawk, the Wildcats defeated the Fighting Illini.

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result
September 26 at USC* L 0-31  
October 4 Vanderbilt* T 20-20  
October 11 at Minnesota L 26-27  
October 18 Michigan L 14-48  
October 25 Indiana W 23-13  
November 1 Ohio State L 21-24  
November 8 at Wisconsin L 20-24  
November 15 Iowa L 14-39  
November 22 at Illinois W 28-26  
*Non-conference game.

[3]

1953

1953 Northwestern Wildcats football
Conference Big Ten
1953 record 3-6 (0-6 )
Head coach
Seasons
« 1952 1954 »
1953 Big Ten football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#3/3 Michigan State § 5 – 1 – 0     9 – 1 – 0
#7/7 Illinois § 5 – 1 – 0     7 – 1 – 1
#15/14 Wisconsin 4 – 1 – 1     6 – 2 – 1
#NR/20 Ohio State 4 – 3 – 0     6 – 3 – 0
Minnesota 3 – 3 – 1     4 – 4 – 1
#20/19 Michigan 3 – 3 – 0     6 – 3 – 0
#9/10 Iowa 3 – 3 – 0     5 – 3 – 1
Purdue 2 – 4 – 0     2 – 7 – 0
Indiana 1 – 5 – 0     2 – 7 – 0
Northwestern 0 – 6 – 0     3 – 6 – 0
§ – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll / Coaches' Poll
Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result
September 26 Iowa State* W 35-0  
October 3 Army* W 33-20  
October 10 Minnesota L 13-30  
October 17 at Michigan L 12-20  
October 25 Pittsburgh* W 27-21  
October 31 at Ohio State L 13-27  
November 7 Wisconsin L 13-34  
November 14 at Indiana L 6-14  
November 21 Illinois L 14-39  
*Non-conference game.

[4]

1954

1954 Northwestern Wildcats football
Conference Big Ten
1954 record 2-7 (1-5 )
Head coach
Seasons
« 1953 1955 »
1954 Big Ten football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#1/2 Ohio State † 7 – 0 – 0     10 – 0 – 0
#9/10 Wisconsin 5 – 2 – 0     7 – 2 – 0
#15/15 Michigan 5 – 2 – 0     6 – 3 – 0
#NR/20 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 / Coaches' Poll
Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result
September 25 Iowa State* W 27-14  
October 2 USC* L 7-12  
October 9 at Minnesota L 7-26  
October 16 Michigan L 0-7  
October 23 at Pittsburgh L 7-14  
October 30 Ohio State L 7-14  
November 6 at Wisconsin L 13-34  
November 13 Indiana L 13-14  
November 20 at Illinois W 20-7  
*Non-conference game.

[5]

1955

1955 Northwestern Wildcats football
Conference Big Ten
1955 record 0-8-1 (0-6-1 )
Head coach Lou Saban
Seasons
« 1954 1956 »
1955 Big Ten football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#5/5 Ohio State 6 – 0 – 0     7 – 2 – 0
#2/2 Michigan State 5 – 1 – 0     9 – 1 – 0
#12/13 Michigan 5 – 2 – 0     7 – 2 – 0
Purdue 4 – 2 – 1     5 – 3 – 1
Illinois 3 – 3 – 1     5 – 3 – 1
Wisconsin 3 – 4 – 0     4 – 5 – 0
Iowa 2 – 3 – 1     3 – 5 – 1
Minnesota 2 – 5 – 0     3 – 6 – 0
Indiana 1 – 5 – 0     3 – 6 – 0
Northwestern 0 – 6 – 1     0 – 8 – 1
† – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll / Coaches' Poll

Future New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner was an assistant coach to Lou Saban. [6] For the season, the Wildcats were winless, and Saban and his coaching staff were dismissed.

Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result
September 24 Miami (OH)* L 14-25  
October 1 at Tulane* L 0-21  
October 8 Minnesota L 7-18  
October 15 at Michigan L 2-14  
October 22 Indiana L 14-20  
October 29 at Ohio State L 0-49  
November 5 Wisconsin L 14-41  
November 12 at Purdue L 8-46  
November 19 Illinois T 7-7  
*Non-conference game.

[7]

1956

1956 Northwestern Wildcats football
Conference Big Ten
1956 record 4-4-1 (3-3-1 )
Head coach
Seasons
« 1955 1957 »
1956 Big Ten football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#3/3 Iowa † 5 – 1 – 0     9 – 1 – 0
#7/7 Michigan 5 – 2 – 0     7 – 2 – 0
#12/9 Minnesota 4 – 1 – 2     6 – 1 – 2
#9/10 Michigan State 4 – 2 – 0     7 – 2 – 0
#15/NR Ohio State 4 – 2 – 0     6 – 3 – 0
Northwestern 3 – 3 – 1     4 – 4 – 1
Purdue 1 – 4 – 2     3 – 4 – 2
Illinois 1 – 4 – 2     2 – 5 – 2
Wisconsin 0 – 4 – 3     1 – 5 – 3
Indiana 1 – 5 – 0     3 – 6 – 0
† – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll / Coaches' Poll
Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result
September 29 Iowa State* W 14-13  
October 6 Tulane* L 13-20  
October 13 at Minnesota T 0-0  
October 20 at Michigan L 20-34  
October 27 at Indiana L 13-19  
November 3 Ohio State L 2-6  
November 10 at Wisconsin W 17-7  
November 17 Purdue W 14-0  
November 24 Illinois W 14-13  
*Non-conference game.

[8]

1957

1957 Northwestern Wildcats football
Conference Big Ten
1957 record 0-9 (0-7 )
Head coach
Seasons
« 1956 1958 »
1957 Big Ten football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#2/1 Ohio State † 7 – 0 – 0     9 – 1 – 0
#3/3 Michigan State 5 – 1 – 0     8 – 1 – 0
#6/5 Iowa 4 – 1 – 1     7 – 1 – 1
#19/15 Wisconsin 4 – 3 – 0     6 – 3 – 0
Purdue 4 – 3 – 0     5 – 4 – 0
Michigan 3 – 3 – 1     5 – 3 – 1
Illinois 3 – 4 – 0     4 – 5 – 0
Minnesota 3 – 5 – 0     4 – 5 – 0
Indiana 0 – 6 – 0     1 – 8 – 0
Northwestern 0 – 7 – 0     0 – 9 – 0
† – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll / Coaches' Poll
Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result
September 28 at Stanford* L 6-26  
October 5 Oregon State* L 13-22  
October 12 Minnesota L 6-41  
October 19 at Michigan L 14-34  
October 26 Iowa L 0-6  
November 2 at Ohio State L 6-47  
November 9 Wisconsin L 12-41  
November 16 at Purdue L 0-27  
November 23 at Illinois L 0-27  
*Non-conference game.

[9]

1958

1958 Northwestern Wildcats football
Conference Big Ten
1958 record 5-4 (3-4 )
Head coach
Seasons
« 1957 1959 »
1958 Big Ten football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#2/2 Iowa † 5 – 1 – 0     8 – 1 – 1
#7/6 Wisconsin 5 – 1 – 1     7 – 1 – 1
#8/7 Ohio State 4 – 1 – 2     6 – 1 – 2
#13/11 Purdue 3 – 1 – 2     6 – 1 – 2
Indiana 3 – 2 – 1     5 – 3 – 1
Illinois 4 – 3 – 0     4 – 5 – 0
Northwestern 3 – 4 – 0     5 – 4 – 0
Michigan 1 – 5 – 1     2 – 6 – 1
Minnesota 1 – 6 – 0     1 – 8 – 0
Michigan State 0 – 5 – 1     3 – 5 – 1
† – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll / Coaches' Poll
Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result
September 27 Washington State* W 29-28  
October 4 Stanford* W 28-0  
October 11 at Minnesota W 7-3  
October 18 Michigan W 55-24  
October 25 at Iowa L 20-26  
November 1 Ohio State W 21-0  
November 8 at Wisconsin L 13-17  
November 15 Purdue L 6-23  
November 22 at Illinois L 20-27  
*Non-conference game.

[10]

1959

1959 Northwestern Wildcats football
Conference Big Ten
1959 record 6-3 (4-3 )
Head coach
Seasons
« 1958 1960 »
1959 Big Ten football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#6/6 Wisconsin † 5 – 2 – 0     7 – 3 – 0
#NR/16 Michigan State 4 – 2 – 0     5 – 4 – 0
Purdue 4 – 2 – 1     5 – 2 – 2
#13/12 Illinois 4 – 2 – 1     5 – 3 – 1
Northwestern 4 – 3 – 0     6 – 3 – 0
Iowa 3 – 3 – 0     5 – 4 – 0
Michigan 3 – 4 – 0     4 – 5 – 0
Indiana 2 – 4 – 1     4 – 4 – 1
Ohio State 2 – 4 – 1     3 – 5 – 1
Minnesota 1 – 6 – 0     2 – 7 – 0
† – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll / Coaches' Poll
Date Time Opponent# Rank# Site TV Result
September 26 Oklahoma* W 45-13  
October 3 at Iowa W 14-10  
October 10 Minnesota W 6-0  
October 17 at Michigan W 20-7  
October 25 at Notre Dame* W 30-24  
October 31 Indiana W 30-13  
November 7 at Wisconsin L 19-24  
November 14 at Michigan State L 10-15  
November 21 at Illinois L 0-28  
*Non-conference game.

[11]

References

  1. ^ http://cfreference.net/cfr/school.s?id=100&season=1950
  2. ^ http://cfreference.net/cfr/school.s?id=100&season=1951
  3. ^ http://cfreference.net/cfr/school.s?id=100&season=1952
  4. ^ http://cfreference.net/cfr/school.s?id=100&season=1953
  5. ^ http://cfreference.net/cfr/school.s?id=100&season=1954
  6. ^ Steinbrenner: The Last Lion of Baseball, p.34, Bill Madden, Harper Collins Publishing, New York, 2010, ISBN 978-0-06-169031-0
  7. ^ http://cfreference.net/cfr/school.s?id=100&season=1955
  8. ^ http://cfreference.net/cfr/school.s?id=100&season=1956
  9. ^ http://cfreference.net/cfr/school.s?id=100&season=1957
  10. ^ http://cfreference.net/cfr/school.s?id=100&season=1958
  11. ^ http://cfreference.net/cfr/school.s?id=100&season=1959
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