1942 Big Ten Conference football season


The 1942 Big Ten Conference football season was the 47th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference and was a part of the 1942 college football season.
The 1942 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, led by head coach Paul Brown, compiled a 9–1, led the Big Ten in scoring offense, won the conference championship, and was ranked No. 1 in the final AP Poll. The Buckeyes' only loss was by a 17–7 score against Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium. Tackle Charles Csuri received the team's most valuable player award. Halfback Les Horvath went on to win the 1943 Heisman Trophy.
Wisconsin, under head coach Harry Stuhldreher, compiled an 8–1–1 record, led the conference in scoring defense, and was ranked No. 3 in the final AP Poll. The Badgers played Notre Dame to a 7–7 and suffered its sole loss on the road against Iowa. End Dave Schreiner 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 7–3 record and was ranked No. 9 in the final AP Poll. Two Michigan linemen, tackle Al Wistert and guard Julius Franks, were selected as consensus first-team All-Americans.

Season overview

Results and team statistics

Key
PPG = Average of points scored per game
PAG = Average of points allowed per game
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

Regular season

Bowl games

During the 1942 season, the Big Ten maintained its long-standing ban on postseason games. Accordingly, no Big Ten teams participated in any bowl games.

All-Big Ten players

The following players were picked by the Associated Press and/or the United Press as first-team players on the 1942 All-Big Ten Conference football team.
At the end of the 1942 season, Big Ten players secured five of the 12 consensus first-team picks for the 1942 College Football All-America Team. The Big Ten's consensus All-Americans were:
Other Big Ten players who were named first-team All-Americans by at least one selector were:
The following Big Ten players were selected in the first 10 rounds of the 1943 NFL Draft:
NamePositionTeamRoundOverall pick
Bill DaleyFullbackMinnesota17
Dick WildungTackleMinnesota18
Dave SchreinerEndWisconsin211
Tom FarmerBackIowa215
George CeithamlBackMichigan319
Al WistertTackleMichigan532
Les HorvathQuarterbackOhio State645
Bill ParkerEndIowa865
Bob MotlEndNorthwestern980