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 (also known as the Western 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 (33.7 points per game), 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 (6.8 points per game allowed), 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. The Helms Athletic Foundation selected Wisconsin as 1942 national champions following the season's bowl games.

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 (Michigan's first African-American All-American), were selected as consensus first-team All-Americans.

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

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 (AP) and/or the United Press (UP) as first-team players on the 1942 All-Big Ten Conference football team.


 * Dave Schreiner, end, Wisconsin (AP, UP)
 * Bob Shaw, end, Ohio State (AP, UP)
 * Dick Wildung, tackle, Minnesota (AP, UP)
 * Al Wistert, tackle, Michigan (AP, UP)
 * Julius Franks, guard, Michigan (AP, UP)
 * Lin Houston, guard, Ohio State (AP, UP)
 * Fred Negus, center, Wisconsin (AP, UP)
 * George Ceithaml, quarterback, Michigan (AP, UP)
 * Billy Hillenbrand, halfback, Indiana (AP, UP)
 * Elroy Hirsch, halfback, Wisconsin (AP)
 * Paul Sarringhaus, halfback, Ohio State (UP)
 * Pat Harder, fullback, Wisconsin (AP, UP)

All-Americans
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:


 * Dave Schreiner, end, Wisconsin (AAB, AP, CO, INS, LK, NEA, NW, SN, UP, CP, NYS, WC, MS)
 * Dick Wildung, tackle, Minnesota (AAB, AP, CO, LK, NEA, NW, SN, UP, CP, NYS, WC, MS)
 * Al Wistert, tackle, Michigan (AAB, LK, NW, UP, NYS, WC, MS)
 * Julius Franks, guard, Michigan (CO, INS, NW, CP)
 * Billy Hillenbrand, halfback, Indiana (AAB, UP, SN, CP, NEA, CO, NYS, WC)

Other Big Ten players who were named first-team All-Americans by at least one selector were:
 * Bob Shaw, end, Ohio State (AP, CP)
 * Chuck Csuri, tackle, Ohio State (INS)
 * Merv Pregulman, guard, Michigan (NEA, MS)
 * Lindell Houston, guard, Ohio State (AAB, CO, NYS, WC)
 * Alex Agase, guard, Illinois (LK, UP, SN, MS)
 * Bill Daley, halfback, Minnesota (MS)
 * Pat Harder, fullback, Wisconsin (AAB, WC, MS)

1943 NFL draft
The following Big Ten players were selected in the first 10 rounds of the 1943 NFL draft: