1962 Wisconsin Badgers football team

The 1962 Wisconsin Badgers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Wisconsin as a member of the Big Ten Conference during the 1962 Big Ten season. In their seventh year under head coach Milt Bruhn, the Badgers compiled an 8–2 record (6–1 in conference games), won the Big Ten championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 285 to 88.^[1][2] The Badgers were ranked No. 2 in the final AP and UPI polls, both released in early December. This remains the highest season-ending ranking in program history.^[3][4] Wisconsin met No. 1 USC in the 1963 Rose Bowl, the first bowl game in college football history to pair the top two ranked teams in the nation.^[5][6] The Badgers played home games at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.

1962 Wisconsin Badgers football
Big Ten champion
Rose Bowl, L 37–42 vs. USC
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 2
AP	No. 2
Record	8–2 (6–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Milt Bruhn (7th season)
MVP	Ron Vander Kelen
Captains	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 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 No. 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 No. 3 Wisconsin vs No. 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 No. 2 ranking. 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. However, the game was still a de facto national championship game as the winner would receive the Grantland Rice Trophy.^[7][8]

Quarterback Ron Vander Kelen won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the most valuable player in the Big Ten, and end Pat Richter was a consensus first-team All-American.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 29	New Mexico State*		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 69–13	40,495	[9]
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	[10]
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 (rivalry)	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

Game summaries

at Ohio State

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 5 Badgers	0	7	0	0	7
• Buckeyes	7	0	0	7	14

• Date: October 27, 1962
• Location: Ohio Stadium
  Columbus, Ohio
• Game attendance: 82,540
• Game weather: Cloudy, wind SSW 15 mph, 44 °F (7 °C)

Scoring summary

Q1	1:11	OSU	Sparma 21 yard pass to Warfield (Van Raaphorst kick)	OSU 7–0
Q2	5:31	WIS	Vander Kelen 47 yard pass to Scott (Kroner kick)	TIED 7–7
Q4	7:16	OSU	Mummey 1 yard run (Van Raaphorst kick)	OSU 14–7

See also: 1962 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

No. 5 Minnesota

No. 5 Minnesota at No. 3 Wisconsin

Team	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 5 Golden Gophers	0	6	3	0	9
• No. 3 Badgers	0	7	0	7	14

• Date: November 24, 1962
• Location: Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, Wisconsin
• Game attendance: 65,541

See also: 1962 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

^[11][12]

Statistics and awards

The Badgers gained an average of 144.3 passing yards and 172.7 rushing yards per game. On defense, they gave up an average of 122.3 passing yards and 110.0 rushing yards per game.^[13]

After missing the 1961 season due to injury and being declared academically ineligible in 1962, quarterback Ron Vander Kelen won the Chicago Tribune Silver Football as the most valuable player in the Big Ten Conference and was also selected as Wisconsin's most valuable player.^[14][15] During the 1963 season, Vander Kelen completed 91 of 168 passes (54.2%) for 1,181 yards, 12 touchdowns, seven interceptions, and a passer rating of 128.5.^[13] He also finished ninth in the Heisman Trophy voting.

Senior end Pat Richter tallied 38 receptions for 531 yards and five touchdowns. He was a consensus first-team pick on the 1962 All-America team and finished sixth in the Heisman Trophy voting for 1962. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996.

Halfback Ralph Kurek led the team with 367 rushing yards.^[13]

Richter and guard Steve Underwood were the team captains.^[16]

Seven Wisconsin players received first-, second- or third-team honors from the Associated Press (AP) or United Press International (UPI) on the 1963 All-Big Ten Conference football team: Richter at end (AP-1, UPI-1); Vander Kelen at quarterback (AP-1, UPI-1); Roger Pillath at tackle (AP-2, UPI-3); Steve Underwood at guard (AP-2, UPI-3); Jim Schenk (AP-2, UPI-3); Lou Holland at halfback (AP-3, UPI-3); and Don Carlson at end (AP-3).^[17][18][19]

Junior center Ken Bowman played ten seasons with the Green Bay Packers, winning three consecutive NFL titles under head coach Vince Lombardi.

Roster

• E Pat Richter
• QB Ron Vander Kelen

1963 NFL draft

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

^[20]

• No Wisconsin Badgers were selected in the 1963 American Football League draft.