1948 Northwestern Wildcats football team
| 1948 Northwestern Wildcats football | |
|---|---|
Rose Bowl champion | |
Rose Bowl, W 20–14 vs. California | |
| Conference | Big Nine Conference |
| Ranking | |
| AP | No. 7 |
| Record | 8–2 (5–1 Big Nine) |
| Head coach |
|
| MVP | Art Murakowski |
| Captain | Alex Sarkisian[1] |
| Home stadium | Dyche Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 1 Michigan $ | 6 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 7 Northwestern | 5 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 16 Minnesota | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio State | 3 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 1 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1948 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University in the 1948 Big Nine Conference football season. The Wildcats won their first Rose Bowl in school history.
Northwestern finished the season with an 8–2 record, losing only to perennial powerhouses Michigan, 28–0, and Notre Dame, 17–12.[2] Northwestern blanked UCLA, 19–0, Purdue, 21–0, and Syracuse, 48–0. The Wildcats rallied from three turnovers and a 16-point deficit to defeat Minnesota, 19–16, and beat Ohio State, 21–7, Wisconsin, 16–7, and Illinois, 20–7.[2] Big Nine Conference rules prevented conference champion Michigan from making a successive trip to the Rose Bowl, so second-place Northwestern won the bid instead.
Schedule[edit]
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 25 | at UCLA* | W 19–0 | 55,156 | |||
| October 2 | Purdue | W 21–0 | 37,000 | |||
| October 9 | No. 8 Minnesota | No. 3 |
| W 19–16 | 47,000 | |
| October 16 | at No. 4 Michigan | No. 3 | L 0–28 | 87,782 | ||
| October 23 | Syracuse* | No. 10 |
| W 48–0 | 35,000 | |
| October 30 | Ohio State | No. 9 |
| W 21–7 | 47,000 | [3] |
| November 6 | at Wisconsin | No. 10 | W 16–7 | 45,000 | [4] | |
| November 13 | at No. 2 Notre Dame* | No. 8 | L 7–12 | 59,305 | ||
| November 20 | Illinois | No. 7 |
| W 20–7 | 47,000 | |
| January 1 | vs. No. 5 California* | No. 7 | W 20–14 | 93,000 | ||
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Rankings[edit]
| Week | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Final |
| AP | 3 (21) | 3 (25) | 10 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
Roster[edit]
- 10 Bob Nelson
- 11 Loran "PeeWee" Day (halfback and safety)
- 14 Gene Miller
- 15 Ed Tunnicliff(halfback)
- 16 Tom Worthington (halfback)
- 19 Bob Meeder
- 20 Lloyd Hawkinson
- 21 Don Burson (quarterback)
- 22 Frank Aschenbrenner (halfback)
- 23 Pat Keefe (quarterback)
- 25 John Yungwirth
- 26 Jim Farrar (extra points)
- 29 Dick Flowers (quarterback)
- 30 Art Murakowski (fullback)
- 32 Armandy Cureau
- 33 Ralph Rossi
- 34 Gasper Perricone (fullback)
- 36 George Hlebasko
- 37 George Sundheim
- 42 Johnny Miller
- 54 Alex Sarkisian (center). (team captain)
- 55 Chuck Petter
- 56 Ray Wietecha
- 57 Dick Price
- 60 Lawrence "Fatso" Day (linemen)
- 61 Francis De Pauw
- 62 Richard Anderson
- 63 Bob Nowicki(guard)
- 67 Ed Nemeth (left guard)
- 68 Jim Parseigan
- 69 LeRoy Pantera
- 70 Joe Sewell
- 73 Bill Ford
- 71 Bill Forman (tackle)
- 74 Steve Sawle (tackle)
- 75 Rudy Cernoch (tackle)
- 77 George Maddock (kick offs)
- 78 Paul Barkal
- 79 Dick Eggers
- 80 Charles Hagmann (end)
- 82 Burton Keddie (end)
- 83 Don Stonesifer (end),
- 85 Joe Zuravleff (end)
- 87 Al Thomas
- 88 Littrell Clark
- 97 Paul Balog
Awards and honors[edit]
1949 NFL draft[edit]
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club |
| George Sundheim | Back | 12 | 115 | New York Giants |
References[edit]
- ^ "Year-by-Year Results" (PDF). 2007. p. 147. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 16, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
- ^ a b "A History of Football at Northwestern: Bob Voights: 1947-1954". Northwestern University Archives. Archived from the original on August 28, 2008. Retrieved July 17, 2008.
- ^ Liska, Jerry (October 31, 1948). "Northwestern Trims Bucks, Fans Rose Bowl Hopes". Springfield News-Sun. p. 1. Retrieved October 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Northwestern Whips Wisconsin, 16 to 7: Fumbles By Wildcats and Badgers; N.U. Leads Only 2-0 at Half Time". Chicago Tribune. November 7, 1948. p. 2-1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Reference at www.pro-football-reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on October 30, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
