1946 Big Nine Conference football season

The 1946 Big Nine Conference football season was the 51st season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Nine Conference (also known as the Big Ten Conference and the Western Conference) and was a part of the 1946 college football season.

1946 Big Nine Conference football season
SportFootball
Number of teams9
Top draft pickVic Schwall
ChampionIllinois
Season MVPAlex Agase
1946 Big Nine Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 5 Illinois $ 6 –1 –0  8 –2 –0
No. 6 Michigan 5 –1 –1  6 –2 –1
No. 20 Indiana 4 –2 –0  6 –3 –0
Iowa 3 –3 –0  5 –4 –0
Minnesota 3 –4 –0  5 –4 –0
Ohio State 2 –3 –1  4 –3 –2
Northwestern 2 –3 –1  4 –4 –1
Wisconsin 2 –5 –0  4 –5 –0
Purdue 0 –5 –1  2 –6 –1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1946 Illinois Fighting Illini football team, under head coach Ray Eliot, won the Big Nine championship, compiled an 8–2 record, was ranked No. 5 in the final AP Poll, and defeated UCLA, 45–14, in the 1947 Rose Bowl. Illinois guard Alex Agase was a consensus first-team All-American and received the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy as the most valuable player in the conference.

Michigan, under head coach Fritz Crisler, compiled a 6-2-1 record, led the conference in both scoring offense (25.9 points per game) and scoring defense (8.1 points allowed per game), and was ranked No. 6 in the final AP Poll. The team's two losses came against No. 2 Army and No. 5 Illinois. Halfback Bob Chappuis received the team's most valuable player award.

Indiana, under head coach Bo McMillin, compiled a 6–3 record, finished third in the conference, and was ranked No. 20 in the final AP Poll. End Pete Pihos received the team's most valuable player award. Quarterback Ben Raimondi won first team All-Big Nine honors.

Season overview

Results and team statistics
Conf. Rank Team Head coach AP final AP high Overall record Conf. record PPG PAG MVP
1IllinoisRay Eliot#5#58–26–121.710.5Alex Agase
2MichiganFritz Crisler#6#46–2–15–1–125.98.1Bob Chappuis
3IndianaBo McMillin#20#186–34–214.310.6Pete Pihos
4IowaEddie AndersonNR#165–43–314.310.2Bill Kay
5MinnesotaBernie BiermanNRNR5–43–414.412.7Bill Bye
6 (tie)Ohio StatePaul BixlerNR#124–3–22–3–118.418.9Cecil Souders
6 (tie)NorthwesternPappy WaldorfNR#64–4–12–3–117.315.1Ed Hirsch
8WisconsinHarry StuhldreherNR#154–52–515.616.0Fred Negus
9PurdueCecil IsbellNRNR2–6–10–5–110.823.1Norman Maloney

Key
AP final = Team's rank in the final AP Poll of the 1946 season[1]
AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1946 season[1]
PPG = Average of points scored per game[1]
PAG = Average of points allowed per game[1]
MVP = Most valuable player as voted by players on each team as part of the voting process to determine the winner of the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy

Bowl games
Main article: 1947 Rose Bowl

In 1946, the Big Nine dropped its long-standing ban on participation in bowl games. Conference champion Illinois accepted an invitation to play UCLA in the 1947 Rose Bowl. The Illini defeated the Bruins by a 45–14 score. Buddy Young scored two touchdowns for Illinois, and Russ Steger returned an interception 68 yards for a touchdown.

All-Big Nine players
For the complete All-Big Nine selections, see 1946 All-Big Nine Conference football team.

The following players were picked by the Associated Press (AP) and/or the United Press (UP) as first-team players on the 1946 All-Big Nine Conference football team.[2][3]

Position Name Team Selectors
EndElmer MadarMichiganAP, UP
EndCecil SoudersOhio StateAP
EndIke OwensIllinoisUP
TackleRuss DealIndianaAP, UP
TackleWarren AmlingOhio StateAP
TackleJack CarpenterMichiganUP
GuardAlex AgaseIllinoisAP, UP
GuardDick BarwegenPurdueAP
GuardEarl BanksIowaUP
CenterJohn CannadyIndianaAP
CenterFred NegusWisconsinUP
QuarterbackBen RaimondiIndianaAP, UP
HalfbackBob ChappuisMichiganAP, UP
HalfbackVic SchwallNorthwesternAP, UP
FullbackDick HoernerIowaAP
FullbackJoe WhislerOhio StateUP

All-Americans
For the complete All-America selections, see 1946 College Football All-America Team.

At the end of the 1946 season, Big Nine players secured two of the consensus first-team picks for the 1946 College Football All-America Team.[4] The Big Nine's consensus All-Americans were:

Position Name Team Selectors
GuardAlex AgaseIllinoisAAB, AFCA, AP, INS, NEA, TSN, UP, CP, WCFF)
TackleWarren AmlingOhio StateFWAA, INS, NEA, TSN, UP, CP

Other Big Nine players who were named first-team All-Americans by at least one selector were:

Position Name Team Selectors
EndElmer MadarMichiganAP
GuardEd HirschNorthwesternCP

1947 NFL Draft

The following Big Nine players were among the first 100 picks of the 1947 NFL Draft:[5]

Name Position Team Round Overall pick
Vic SchwallHalfbackNorthwestern110
Don KindtBackWisconsin111
Russ ThomasTackleOhio State212
John CannadyCenterIndiana322
Bob ChappuisBackMichigan526
Frank AschenbrennerBackNorthwestern638
Ben RaimondiBackIndiana641
Dick ConnorsBackNorthwestern752
George MaddockTackleNorthwestern860
Art DufelmeierBackIllinois970
Dwight EddlemanBackIllinois975
Bump ElliottBackMichigan1076
Alex SarkisianCenterNorthwestern1191
Russ StegerBackIllinois1193
Robert HoernschemeyerBackIndiana1193

References
  1. "1946 Big Ten Conference Year Summary". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  2. "Indiana Places Three on Big Ten All-Stars". The Milwaukee Journal (AP story). November 26, 1946. p. 6.
  3. "Michigan Gets Three Places On UP Team". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (UP story). November 30, 1946. p. 13.
  4. "2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. pp. 5–6. Retrieved August 16, 2014.
  5. "1947 NFL Draft: Full Draft". NFL.com. National Football League. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
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