1962 Wisconsin Badgers football team

The 1962 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin in the 1962 NCAA University Division football season. Wisconsin was the Big Ten Conference champion and was ranked second in both final major polls, released in early December. This remains the highest season-ending ranking in program history (since the polls' inception in 1936 (AP) and 1950 (coaches)).

1962 Wisconsin Badgers football
Big Ten champion
Rose Bowl, L 42–37 vs. USC
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 2 ^[1]
AP	No. 2 ^[2]
Record	8–2 (6–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Milt Bruhn (7th season)
MVP	Ron Vander Kelen
Captain	Pat Richter Steve Underwood
Home stadium	Camp Randall Stadium
Seasons ← 1961 1963 →

1962 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 Wisconsin $	6	–	1	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
No. 10 Minnesota	5	–	2	–	0			6	–	2	–	1
Northwestern	4	–	2	–	0			7	–	2	–	0
Ohio State	4	–	2	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Michigan State	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Purdue	3	–	3	–	0			4	–	4	–	1
Iowa	3	–	3	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Illinois	2	–	5	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
Indiana	1	–	5	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
Michigan	1	–	6	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Wisconsin met the #1 USC Trojans in the historic Rose Bowl,^[3][4] the first bowl game in college football history to pair the top two ranked teams in the nation. This Wisconsin team is also tightly linked to the resurgence of the program in the 1990s through All-American end Pat Richter, who returned as athletic director in 1989 and hired head coach Barry Alvarez.

Season

Wisconsin opened the season by crushing New Mexico State and then subdued Indiana 30–6. On October 13, they defeated Notre Dame 17–8, which gave them a number 10 ranking. The Badgers then defeated the Iowa 42–15, which moved them up to fifth. A 14–7 loss to Ohio State the following week dropped Wisconsin out of the polls (top ten only).

On November 3, the Badgers defeated struggling Michigan on the road, 34–12. This set up following week's homecoming game versus #1 Northwestern at Camp Randall Stadium. Eighth-ranked Wisconsin soundly defeated Northwestern 37–6, and moved up to fourth in the next poll. A win at Illinois set up a #3 Wisconsin vs #5 Minnesota battle for Paul Bunyan's Axe. Wisconsin won 14–9, securing the Big Ten title and the berth in the Rose Bowl, as well as a season-ending #2 ranking.

The Badgers faced #1 USC in the historic Rose Bowl; the first bowl game in college football history between the top two teams in the polls, and the final rankings were already set. At the time, the two major polls (AP, UPI) released their final editions prior to the bowl games, so Wisconsin's runner-up rank went unchanged after the bowl loss.

Quarterback Ron Vander Kelen seemingly "come from nowhere" to lead the Badgers to a conference championship; he had missed the 1960 season due to an injury, and was declared academically ineligible for 1961. He was named the Big Ten Conference MVP for 1962 in his only season of play (except for late-game mop-up in 1959 versus Marquette).^[5]

Senior end Pat Richter was a unanimous consensus All-America selection and came in sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting for 1962. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996. Despite his an accomplishments as a player, he may be better known to younger generations for hiring coach Barry Alvarez when he became the athletic director at Wisconsin decades later. Junior center Ken Bowman played ten seasons with the Green Bay Packers, winning three consecutive NFL titles under head coach Vince Lombardi.

Schedule and results

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 29	New Mexico State*		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 69–13	40,495
October 6	Indiana		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 30–6	41,354
October 13	Notre Dame*		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 17–8	61,098
October 20	Iowa	No. 10	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI (rivalry)	W 42–14	60,297
October 27	at Ohio State	No. 5	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	L 7–14	82,540
November 3	at Michigan		Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI	W 34–12	53,789	^[6]
November 10	No. 1 Northwestern	No. 8	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 37–6	65,501
November 17	at Illinois	No. 4	Memorial Stadium Champaign, IL	W 35–6	36,762
November 24	No. 5 Minnesota	No. 3	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI (Paul Bunyan's Axe)	W 14–9	65,514
January 1, 1963	vs. No. 1 USC*	No. 2	Rose Bowl Pasadena, CA (Rose Bowl)	L 37–42	98,698
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

• E Pat Richter
• QB Ron Vander Kelen

Team players in the 1963 NFL Draft

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL Club
Pat Richter	End	1	7	Washington Redskins
Gary Kroner	Back	7	93	Green Bay Packers

^[7]

• No Wisconsin Badgers were selected in the 1963 AFL Draft.

References

1. . American Football Coaches Association. Archived from the original on January 2, 2011. Retrieved January 14, 2010.
2. . Associated Press. Archived from the original on May 25, 2010. Retrieved January 14, 2010.
3. Bochat, Rel (January 1, 1963). . Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 9, part 2. Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved August 3, 2018.
4. Zimmermann, Paul (January 1, 1963). "Badgers bent on bowl vengeance; Wisconsin winless in two classics". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). (Los Angeles Times). p. 12.
5. John Underwoord (September 9, 2010). "Vander Kelen". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved July 4, 2011.
6. Joe Falls (November 4, 1962). "U-M Scores, but -- Badgers Win, 34-12". Detroit Free Press. p. 1F – via Newspapers.com.
7. . Archived from the original on 2007-12-23.