The 1954 Big Ten Conference football season was the 59th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference (also known as the Western Conference) and was a part of the 1954 college football season.
The 1954 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, under head coach Woody Hayes, won the conference football championship, compiled a 10âÂÂ0, was ranked No. 1 in the final AP Poll, and defeated USC in the 1955 Rose Bowl. Halfback Howard Cassady was selected as the team's most valuable player and was a consensus first-team All-American.
The 1954 Wisconsin Badgers football team, under head coach Ivy Williamson, compiled a 7âÂÂ2 record and was ranked No. 9 in the final AP Poll. Fullback Alan Ameche won the 1954 Heisman Trophy as the best player in college football and the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the most valuable player in the Big Ten Conference. Ameche broke Ollie Matson's career rushing record, finishing his tenure at Wisconsin with 3,212 rushing yards.
Purdue quarterback Len Dawson led the conference with 1,464 passing yards.
Key<br> AP final = Team's rank in the final AP Poll of the 1954 season<br> AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1954 season<br> PPG = Average of points scored per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold<br> PAG = Average of points allowed per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold<br> 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; trophy winner in bold
Two Big Ten teams changed head coaches between the 1953 and 1954 seasons:
On September 25, 1954, the Big Ten football teams played two conference games and six non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in five wins and one loss.
On October 2, 1954, the Big Ten football teams played one conference game and eight non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in five wins and three losses, giving the Big Ten a 10âÂÂ4 record in non-conference games played to that date.
On October 9, 1954, the Big Ten football teams played four conference games and two non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in two wins, giving the Big Ten a 12âÂÂ4 record in non-conference games played to that date.
On October 16, 1954, the Big Ten football teams played four conference games and two non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in two losses, giving the Big Ten a 12âÂÂ6 record in non-conference games played to that date.
On October 23, 1954, the Big Ten football teams played four conference games and two non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in one win and one loss, giving the Big Ten a 13âÂÂ7 record in non-conference games played to that date.
On October 30, 1954, the Big Ten football teams played against each other in five conference games.
On November 6, 1954, the Big Ten football teams played three conference games and four non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in three wins and one loss, giving the Big Ten a 16âÂÂ8 record in non-conference games played to that date.
On November 13, 1954, the Big Ten football teams played against each other in five conference games.
On November 20, 1954, the Big Ten football teams played four conference games and two non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in one win and one loss, giving the Big Ten a 17âÂÂ9 record in non-conference games played to that date.
On January 1, 1955, Ohio State (ranked No. 1 in the AP Poll) defeated USC (ranked No. 17 in the AP Poll) by a 20âÂÂ7 score before a crowd of 89,191 in Pasadena, California. UCLA (ranked No. 2) was not permitted to play in the Rose Bowl due to the Pacific Coast Conference's no-repeat rule. Ohio State quarterback Dave Leggett was selected as the game's most valuable player.
On February 3, 1955, Bob Voigts resigned as Northwestern's head football coach. Voigts had come under fire from alumni after Northwestern won only one conference game in two seasons. Less than a week later, Lou Saban was announced as Voigts' replacement. Saban had been an assistant coach at Northwestern in 1954. He had played for Indiana in 1941 and 1942 and for the Cleveland Browns from 1946 to 1949.
The following players were picked by the Associated Press (AP) and/or the sports editors (Ed) as first-team players on the 1954 All-Big Ten Conference football team.
At the end of the 1954 season, Big Ten players secured three of 11 consensus first-team picks for the 1954 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:
Wisconsin running back Alan Ameche won the 1954 Heisman Trophy.
The following Big Ten players were among the first 100 picks in the 1955 NFL draft:<br>