1952 Wisconsin Badgers football team

The 1952 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin in the 1952 Big Ten Conference football season. Led by fourth-year head coach Ivy Williamson, the Badgers compiled an overall record of 6–3–1 with a mark of 4–1–1 in conference play, sharing the Big Ten title with Purdue. Wisconsin was invited to the Rose Bowl, where they lost to USC. It was the Badgers' first bowl game. Dave Suminski was the team's MVP and George O'Brien was team's captain.^[1]

1952 Wisconsin Badgers football
Big Ten co-champion
Rose Bowl, L 0–7 vs. USC
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 10
AP	No. 11
Record	6–3–1 (4–1–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Ivy Williamson (4th season)
MVP	Dave Suminski
Captain	George O'Brien
Home stadium	Camp Randall Stadium
Seasons ← 1951 1953 →

1952 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 11 Wisconsin +	4	–	1	–	1			6	–	3	–	1
No. 18 Purdue +	4	–	1	–	1			4	–	3	–	2
No. 17 Ohio State	5	–	2	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Michigan	4	–	2	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Minnesota	3	–	1	–	2			4	–	3	–	2
Illinois	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Northwestern	2	–	5	–	0			2	–	6	–	1
Iowa	2	–	5	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
Indiana	1	–	5	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

The Badgers offense scored 228 points while the defense allowed 150 points. Wisconsin spent one week at No. 1 in the AP Poll for the first and only time in program history.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 27	Marquette*	No. 7	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 42–19	51,303
October 4	No. 2 Illinois	No. 8	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 20–6	52,071
October 11	at Ohio State	No. 1	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	L 14–23	80,345
October 18	at Iowa	No. 12	Iowa Stadium Iowa City, IA (rivalry)	W 42–13	45,050
October 25	No. 8 UCLA*	No. 10	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	L 7–20	52,131
November 1	at Rice*	No. 18	Rice Stadium Houston, TX	W 21–7	36,000
November 8	Northwestern	No. 18	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 24–20	52,131
November 15	at Indiana	No. 15	Memorial Stadium Bloomington, IN	W 37–14	22,000
November 22	Minnesota	No. 13	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI (Paul Bunyan's Axe)	T 21–21	52,131
January 1, 1953	vs. No. 5 USC*	No. 11	Rose Bowl Stadium Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	L 0–7	101,500
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Wisconsin players in the NFL Draft

Player	Position	Draft Year	Round	Pick	NFL club
Bob Kennedy	Back	1953	6	67	Green Bay Packers
Charley Berndt	Tackle	1953	10	111	Chicago Cardinals
Harland Carl	Back	1953	14	161	Chicago Bears
Dave Suminski	Tackle	1953	15	171	Washington Redskins
Alan Ameche	Back	1955	1	3	Baltimore Colts
Jim Haluska	Back	1954	34	340	Chicago Bears

References

1. "Wisconsin Football Fact Book" (PDF). Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. pp. 138, 143. Retrieved December 29, 2021.