1943 Northwestern Wildcats football team
| 1943 Northwestern Wildcats football | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| Ranking | |
| AP | No. 9 |
| Record | 6–2 (5–1 Big Ten) |
| Head coach |
|
| Offensive scheme | Single-wing |
| MVP | Otto Graham |
| Captain | Alex Kapter[1] |
| Home stadium | Dyche Stadium |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.
Schedule[edit]
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
| ||||||
Rankings[edit]
| Week | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Final |
| AP | 19 | — | 17 | 15 | 12 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 |
Awards and honors[edit]
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.
Players selected in the 1944 NFL draft[edit]
| 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 |
References[edit]
- ^ "Year-by-Year Results" (PDF). 2007. p. 147. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 16, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
- ^ Litkenhous, E. E. (December 17, 1943). "Litkenhouse Selects U. S. Grid Leaders". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City, Utah. p. 18. Retrieved April 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com
.
- ^ "N. U. Wins: Graham Leads 13 to 0 Victory Over Sailors". Chicago Sunday Tribune. October 17, 1943. p. II-1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Pro-Football-Reference list of draft picks". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
 | This article about a sports team in Illinois is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
 | This college football 1940s season article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |