1943 Northwestern Wildcats football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Ranking
APNo. 9
Record6–2 (5–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive schemeSingle-wing
MVPOtto Graham
CaptainAlex Kapter[1]
Home stadiumDyche Stadium
1943 Big Ten Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 5 Purdue + 6 –0 –09 –0 –0
No. 3 Michigan + 6 –0 –08 –1 –0
No. 9 Northwestern 5 –1 –06 –2 –0
Indiana 2 –3 –14 –4 –2
Minnesota 2 –3 –05 –4 –0
Illinois 2 –4 –03 –7 –0
Ohio State 1 –4 –03 –6 –0
Wisconsin 1 –6 –01 –9 –0
Iowa 0 –4 –11 –6 –1
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

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

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 25Indiana
W 14–6
October 2Michigan
  • Dyche Stadium
  • Evanston, IL (rivalry)
L 7–2132,077
October 16No. 14 Great Lakes Navy*
  • Dyche Stadium
  • Evanston, IL
W 13–035,000[3]
October 23at Ohio StateNo. 17
W 13–037,243
October 30MinnesotaNo. 15
  • Dyche Stadium
  • Evanston, IL
W 42–632,000
November 6at WisconsinNo. 12
W 41–0
November 13No. 1 Notre Dame*No. 8
L 6–2549,124
November 20IllinoisNo. 9
  • Dyche Stadium
  • Evanston, IL (rivalry)
W 53–625,000
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking.
— = Not ranked.
Week
Poll12345678Final
AP19—1715128989

Awards and honors

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

Player Position Round Pick NFL club
Otto GrahamQuarterback/Tailback14Detroit Lions
Ed HirschBack16161Chicago Bears
Alex KapterGuard21211Detroit Lions
Bill IvyTackle21215Washington Redskins
Don BuffmireBack23231Chicago Cardinals
Harry FranckBack26271Chicago Bears
Vince DiFrancescaTackle29297Chicago Cardinals

[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Year-by-Year Results" (PDF). 2007. p. 147. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 16, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  2. ↑ 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 Open access icon.
  3. ↑ "N. U. Wins: Graham Leads 13 to 0 Victory Over Sailors". Chicago Sunday Tribune. October 17, 1943. p. II-1 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Pro-Football-Reference list of draft picks".


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