1954 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team
The 1954 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 1954 Big Ten Conference football season. In their first year under head coach Murray Warmath, the Golden Gophers compiled a 7–2 record and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 195 to 127.[1] The team finished the season ranked #20 in the final Coaches poll.
| 1954 Minnesota Golden Gophers football | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 20 |
| 1954 record | 7–2 (4–2 Big Ten) |
| Head coach |
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| MVP | Bob McNamara |
| Captain | Bob McNamara |
| Home stadium | Memorial Stadium |
| 1954 Big Ten Conference football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 1 Ohio State $ | 7 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 9 Wisconsin | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 15 Michigan | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Halfback Bob McNamara received the team's Most Valuable Player award,[2] and was selected by the Football Writers Association of America (for Look magazine) as a first-team player on the 1954 College Football All-America Team.[3] He was also selected by the Associated Press as a first-team player on its 1954 All-Big Ten Conference football team.[4] Fullback John Baumgartner was named Academic All-Big Ten.[2]
Total attendance for the season was 347,555, which averaged to 57,925. The season high for attendance was against Iowa.[5]
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 25 | Nebraska* | W 19–7 | 53,027 | ||
| October 2 | at Pittsburgh* | W 46–7 | 33,369 | ||
| October 9 | Northwestern | No. 18 |
| W 26–7 | 53,663 |
| October 16 | Illinois | No. 11 |
| W 19–6 | 63,339 |
| October 23 | at Michigan | No. 8 | L 34–0 | 83,060 | |
| October 30 | Michigan State |
| W 19–13 | 63,360 | |
| November 6 | Oregon State | No. 14 |
| W 44–6 | 48,702 |
| November 13 | No. 9 Iowa | No. 13 |
| W 22–20 | 65,464 |
| November 20 | at No. 17 Wisconsin | No. 10 | L 0–27 | 51,131 | |
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Roster
- Geno Cappelletti #15
References
- "1954 Minnesota Golden Gophers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
- Keiser, Jeff (2007), 2007 Media Guide (PDF), pp. 179–182
- "FWAA All America" (PDF). Football Writers Association of America.
- "A.P. Lists 1954 All Big Ten Choices" (PDF). The Daily Iowan. November 23, 1954. p. 4.
- Keiser, Jeff (2007), 2007 Media Guide (PDF), p. 160