1953 Northwestern Wildcats football team

1953 Northwestern Wildcats football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	3-6 (0-6 Big 10)
Head coach	Bob Voigts (7th season)
MVP	Bob Lauter
Captains	Joe Collier Dick Thomas
Home stadium	Dyche Stadium (Capacity: 55,000)

1953 Big Ten Conference football standings

	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 Michigan State +	5	–	1	–	0			9	–	1	–	0
No. 7 Illinois +	5	–	1	–	0			7	–	1	–	1
No. 15 Wisconsin	4	–	1	–	1			6	–	2	–	1
Ohio State	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Minnesota	3	–	3	–	1			4	–	4	–	1
No. 20 Michigan	3	–	3	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
No. 9 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

The 1953 Northwestern Wildcats team represented Northwestern University during the 1953 Big Ten Conference football season. In their seventh year under head coach Bob Voigts, the Wildcats compiled a 3–6 record (0-6 against Big Ten Conference opponents), finished in last place in the Big Ten, and were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 205 to 166.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 26	Iowa State*		Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 35–0	37,960
October 3	Army*		Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 33–20	30,000
October 10	Minnesota	No. 18	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 13–30	40,000
October 17	at No. 5 Michigan		Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	L 12–20	64,420
October 24	Pittsburgh*		Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 27–21	28,000
October 31	at Ohio State		Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	L 13–27	80,562
November 7	Wisconsin		Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	L 13–34	40,000
November 14	at Indiana		Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	L 6–14	20,000
November 21	Illinois		Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL (rivalry)	L 14–39	51,039
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game