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.
| 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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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
| 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
| Week | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Final |
| AP | 3 (21) | 3 (25) | 10 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 |
Roster
- 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
1949 NFL draft
| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club |
| George Sundheim | Back | 12 | 115 | New York Giants |
References
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