1943 Northwestern Wildcats football | |
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Conference | Big Ten Conference |
Ranking | |
AP | No. 9 |
Record | 6–2 (5–1 Big Ten) |
Head coach |
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Offensive scheme | Single-wing |
MVP | Otto Graham |
Captain | Alex Kapter[1] |
Home stadium | Dyche Stadium |
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 5 Purdue + | 6 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 3 Michigan + | 6 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 9 Northwestern | 5 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Indiana | 2 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 4 | – | 4 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Minnesota | 2 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Illinois | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Ohio State | 1 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wisconsin | 1 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 1 | – | 9 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Iowa | 0 | – | 4 | – | 1 | 1 | – | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1943 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University in the 1943 Big Ten Conference football season. The Wildcats finished 6–2, including 5–1 in conference play, were ranked ninth in the final AP Poll, and outscored their opponents by a combined score of 189 to 64 on the season.
In the final Litkenhous Ratings, Northwestern ranked third among the nation's college and service teams with a rating of 120.9.[2]
This was future Pro Football Hall of Famer Otto Graham's third and final season as a player at Northwestern.
Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
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September 25 | Indiana | W 14–6 | ||||
October 2 | Michigan |
| L 7–21 | 32,077 | ||
October 16 | No. 14 Great Lakes Navy* |
| W 13–0 | 35,000 | [3] | |
October 23 | at Ohio State | No. 17 | W 13–0 | 37,243 | ||
October 30 | Minnesota | No. 15 |
| W 42–6 | 32,000 | |
November 6 | at Wisconsin | No. 12 | W 41–0 | |||
November 13 | No. 1 Notre Dame* | No. 8 |
| L 6–25 | 49,124 | |
November 20 | Illinois | No. 9 |
| W 53–6 | 25,000 | |
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See also: 1943 NCAA football rankings |
Week | |||||||||
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Poll | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Final |
AP | 19 | — | 17 | 15 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 |
At the season's end, star quarterback Otto Graham was named the Big Ten's Most Valuable Player, finished third in Heisman Trophy balloting, and earned first-team All-American honors as selected by the Associated Press.
See also: 1944 NFL Draft |
Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club |
---|---|---|---|---|
Otto Graham | Quarterback/Tailback | 1 | 4 | Detroit Lions |
Ed Hirsch | Back | 16 | 161 | Chicago Bears |
Alex Kapter | Guard | 21 | 211 | Detroit Lions |
Bill Ivy | Tackle | 21 | 215 | Washington Redskins |
Don Buffmire | Back | 23 | 231 | Chicago Cardinals |
Harry Franck | Back | 26 | 271 | Chicago Bears |
Vince DiFrancesca | Tackle | 29 | 297 | Chicago Cardinals |