The 1956 Big Ten Conference football season was the 61st 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 1956 college football season.
The 1956 Iowa Hawkeyes football team, under head coach Forest Evashevski, won the Big Ten championship, compiled a 9–1 record, led the Big Ten in scoring defense (8.4 points allowed per game), was ranked No. 3 in the final AP Poll and in the Coaches Poll, and defeated Oregon State, 35–19, in the 1957 Rose Bowl. Quarterback Ken Ploen received the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy as the most valuable player in the Big Ten and was also named the most valuable player in the Rose Bowl.
The 1956 Michigan Wolverines football team, under head coach Bennie Oosterbaan, compiled a 7–2 record, handed Iowa its only defeat, and was ranked No. 7 in the final AP Poll and the Coaches Poll. End Ron Kramer was a consensus first-team All-American and was the first Big Ten player selected, with the fourth overall pick, in the 1957 NFL draft. Guard Dick Hill was selected as the team's most valuable player.
The 1956 Michigan State Spartans football team, under head coach Duffy Daugherty, compiled a 7–2 record, was ranked No. 9 in the final AP Poll, and led the Big Ten in scoring offense with an average of 26.6 points scored per game. James Hinsley was selected as the team's most valuable player.
In the final AP Poll, five Big Ten teams finished in the top 15: Iowa (#1); Michigan (#7); Michigan State (#9); Minnesota (#12); and Ohio State (#15). The conference's individual statistical leaders included Purdue quarterback Len Dawson with 856 passing yards, Purdue halfback Melvin Dillard with 873 rushing yards, and Indiana end Brad Bomba with 407 receiving yards. Ohio State guard Jim Parker won the Outland Trophy as the best interior lineman in college football.
Season overview
Results and team statistics
Conf. RankTeamHead coachAP finalAP highOverall recordConf. recordPPGPAGMVP1IowaForest Evashevski#3#39–15–121.98.4Ken Ploen2MichiganBennie Oosterbaan#7#57–25–225.913.7Dick Hill3MinnesotaMurray Warmath#12#66–1–24–1–214.19.7Bobby Cox4 (tie)Michigan StateDuffy Daugherty#9#17–24–226.69.7James Hinsley4 (tie)Ohio StateWoody Hayes#15#46–34–217.89.0Jim Parker6NorthwesternAra ParseghianNRNR4–4–13–3–111.912.4Al Viola7 (tie)PurdueJack MollenkopfNR#173–4–21–4–2 15.413.6Lamar Lundy7 (tie)IllinoisRay EliotNR#132–5–21–4–213.817.1Dave Walker9WisconsinMilt BruhnNRNR1–5–30–4–310.314.3Dave Howard10IndianaBernie CrimminsNRNR3–61–514.329.2Bob Fee Key AP final = Team's rank in the final AP Poll of the 1956 season AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1956 season 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; trophy winner in bold
Preseason Between the 1955 and 1956 seasons, three Big Ten teams changed head coaches as follows:
On December 9, 1955, Purdue head coach Stu Holcomb resigned his position and signed a five-year contract as the athletic director at Northwestern. Four days later, Purdue president Frederick L. Hovde announced that Holcomb's top assistant, Jack Mollenkopf, had been signed to a three-year contract as Purdue's head football coach. On December 12, 1955, Stu Holcomb, in his new position as Northwestern's athletic director, fired head coach Lou Saban and his entire staff of assistant coaches. Four days later, Holcomb announced that he had signed Miami (OH) head coach Ara Parseghian to a three-year contract as the Wildcats' new head coach. Parseghian had led the 1955 Miami Redskins football team to a perfect 9–0 record. Also in December 1955, Wisconsin head coach Ivy Williamson was promoted to athletic director. He appointed Milt Bruhn as the school's new head football coach. Bruhn had been a lineman on Minnesota's undefeated 1934 and 1935 national championship teams and had been Wisconsin's line coach since 1949.
In the final AP Poll of the 1955 season, Michigan State had been ranked No. 2 and Ohio State No. 5. In the pre-season AP Poll, four Big Ten teams were ranked in the top 20: Michigan State (#2); Ohio State (#5); Michigan (#8); and Illinois (#20).
In the spring of 1956, the Big Ten conducted an investigation into allegations that Ohio State coach Woody Hayes had provided financial assistance to players in violation of conference rule. Hayes admitted that he had loaned money to players but refused to provide an accounting of the loans. The investigation also discovered a "serious irregularity" in Ohio State's off-campus work program. In April 1956, the conference placed Ohio State on probation for one year and declared the football team ineligible to play in the 1957 Rose Bowl.
In May 1956, the Big Ten sold television rights for five Big Ten football games during the 1956 season to NBC for an estimated sum of $450,000.
In August 1956, Look magazine published an investigative piece alleging that Big Ten schools, including Michigan and Minnesota, were finding ways to evade the conference's rules on aid to football players.
Regular season
September 29 On September 29, 1956, the Big Ten football games opened the season with one conference game and eight non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in eight wins and no losses.
Michigan State 21, Stanford 7. Michigan State (ranked No. 3 in the AP Poll) defeated Stanford (ranked No. 12), 21–7, before a crowd of 55,000 at Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California. The game was tied at the end of the third quarter, and Michigan State scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Dennis Mendyk rushed for 72 yards on 14 carries. Ohio State 34, Nebraska 7. Ohio State (ranked No. 8 in the AP Poll) defeated Nebraska, 34–7, before a crowd of 82,153 at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. The crowd was the largest for an opening game in Ohio State history to that point. The Buckeyes rushed for 416 yards in the game. Ohio halfback Don Clark scored two touchdowns on runs of 35 and 38 yards. Michigan 42, UCLA 13. Michigan (ranked No. 13 in the AP Poll) defeated UCLA, 42–13, before a crowd of 67,739 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan took a 28–0 lead at halftime. The loss was the worst suffered by UCLA since 1950. Fullback John Herrnstein and halfback Bob Ptacek made their debuts for Michigan. Herrnstein scored two rushing touchdowns, and Ptacek threw a touchdown pass to Jim Van Pelt. Ron Kramer also scored on a 70-yard touchdown pass from Terry Barr. Iowa 27, Indiana 0. Iowa defeated Indiana, 27–0, before a crowd of 25,000 at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington, Indiana, for the first conference game of the 1956 season. Iowa scored two touchdowns in the first quarter off an Indiana fumble and an interception. Iowa rushed for 242 yards to 76 yards for Indiana. Minnesota 34, Washington 14. Minnesota defeated Washington, 34–14, before a crowd of 40,000 at Husky Stadium in Seattle. Quarterbacks Dick Larson and Bobby Cox led Minnesota on offense. Cox had played for Washington in 1954 threw a touchdown pass to give Minnesota the lead at halftime. Northwestern 14, Iowa State 13. Northwestern defeated Iowa State, 14–13, before a crowd of 38,000 at Dyche Stadium in Evanston, Illinois. With six seconds remaining in the game and Iowa State driving deep into Northwestern territory, Chuck Latting fumbled at the seven-yard line. Wisconsin 41, Marquette 0. Wisconsin defeated Marquette, 41–0, before a crowd of 52,700 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. Wisconsin totaled 441 rushing yards to 43 for Marquette. Purdue 16, Missouri 7. Purdue defeated Missouri, 16–7, before a crowd of 46,455 at Ross–Ade Stadium in Lafayette, Indiana. Purdue halfback Tom Fletcher rushed for 154 yards, including a 35-yard touchdown run. Purdue quarterback Len Dawson completed eight of 17 passes for 118 yards. Illinois 32, California 20. Illinois defeated California, 32–20, before a crowd of 54,833 at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois. The attendance was a Memorial Stadium record for an opening game. California took a 20–0 lead, but Illinois scored four touchdowns in the third quarter over a span of six minutes and 36 seconds. Abe Woodson recovered Ray Nitschke's fumble for Illinois' first touchdown.
October 6 On October 6, 1956, the Big Ten teams played two conference games and six non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in two wins and four losses, giving the Big Ten a non-conference record of 10–4.
Michigan State 9, Michigan 0. Michigan State (ranked No. 2 in the AP Poll) defeated Michigan (ranked No. 5), 9–0, before a crowd of 101,001 at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. Michigan dominated the game in the first half but was unable to score. Michigan State was hampered by an ankle injury to its leading rusher (Walt Kowalczyk) and a passing game that failed to complete a single pass. In the third quarter, the Spartans kicked a field goal after Arch Matsos intercepted a pass at Michigan's 38-yard line. John Matsko, who had not attempted a field goal in high school or in three years of college ball, kicked the field goal. In the fourth quarter, John Herrnstein fumbled at Michigan's 21-yard line, setting up a touchdown run by Dennis Mendyk. Ohio State 32, Stanford 20. Ohio State (ranked No. 4 in the AP Poll) defeated Stanford, 32–20. The crowd of 82,881 was the largest to that point to see a game at Ohio Stadium. Stanford quarterback John Brodie completed 21 of 35 passes for 256 yards and two touchdowns. Ohio State gained 302 of its 320 yards on the ground. In the fourth quarter, Don Clark ran for a touchdown and threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Jim Roseboro to break a 20–20 tie. Iowa 14, Oregon State 13. Iowa (ranked No. 20 in the AP Poll) defeated Oregon State, 14–13, before a crowd of 41,027 at Iowa Stadium in Iowa City. The game matched the same teams that met again in the 1957 Rose Bowl. Oregon State scored on its second play from scrimmage on a 30-yard pass, but the extra point attempt was blocked. Oregon State scored again in the third quarter on a 49-yard run by Paul Lowe and led, 13–0, at the start of the fourth quarter. Iowa threw two touchdown passes in a span of six minutes in the fourth quarter to secure the victory. Minnesota 21, Purdue 14. Minnesota defeated Purdue, 21–14, before a crowd of 59,314 at Memorial Stadium in Minneapolis. Fullback Dick Borstad scored two Minnesota touchdowns on runs of 23 yards and one yard. Purdue quarterback Len Dawson completed seven of 13 passes for 102 yards and three interceptions. Tulane 20, Northwestern 13. Tulane defeated Northwestern, 20–13, before a crowd of 32,000 at Dyche Stadium in Evanston. Tulane scored all 20 of its points in a wild second quarter. Northwestern's Bob McKelver rushed for 116 net yards on 12 carries. USC 13, Wisconsin 6. USC defeated Wisconsin, 13–6, before a crowd of 52,979 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison. USC's All-American halfback Jon Arnett rushed for 182 yards on 25 carries. Washington 28, Illinois 13. Washington defeated Illinois, 28–13, before a crowd of 36,261 at Husky Stadium in Seattle. On the opening series of the game, Illinois drove to Washington's two yard line but quarterback Hiles Stout fumbled. Washington recovered the ball, and Dean Derby ran 92 yards for a touchdown. Notre Dame 20, Indiana 6. Notre Dame (ranked No. 17 in the AP Poll) defeated Indiana, 20–6, before a crowd of 58,372 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.
October 13 On October 13, 1956, the Big Ten teams played four conference games and two non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in two wins and no losses, giving the Big Ten a non-conference record of 12–4.