# 1948 Northwestern Wildcats football team

The 1948 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University in the 1948 Big Nine Conference football season. The Wildcats won their first Rose Bowl in school history.
Northwestern finished the season with an 8–2 record, losing only to perennial powerhouses Michigan, 28–0, and Notre Dame, 17–12. Northwestern blanked UCLA, 19–0, Purdue, 21–0, and Syracuse, 48–0. The Wildcats rallied from three turnovers and a 16-point deficit to defeat Minnesota, 19–16, and beat Ohio State, 21–7, Wisconsin, 16–7, and Illinois, 20–7. Big Nine Conference rules prevented conference champion Michigan from making a successive trip to the Rose Bowl, so second-place Northwestern won the bid instead.

## Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 25 | at UCLA* | | Los Angeles Memorial ColiseumLos Angeles, CA | W 19–0 | 55,156 |
| October 2 | Purdue | | Dyche StadiumEvanston, IL | W 21–0 | 37,000 |
| October 9 | No. 8 Minnesota | No. 3 | Dyche StadiumEvanston, IL | W 19–16 | 47,000 |
| October 16 | at No. 4 Michigan | No. 3 | Michigan StadiumAnn Arbor, MI (rivalry) | L 0–28 | 87,782 |
| October 23 | Syracuse* | No. 10 | Dyche StadiumEvanston, IL | W 48–0 | 35,000 |
| October 30 | Ohio State | No. 9 | Dyche StadiumEvanston, IL | W 21–7 | 47,000 |
| November 6 | at Wisconsin | No. 10 | Camp Randall StadiumMadison, WI | W 16–7 | 45,000 |
| November 13 | at No. 2 Notre Dame* | No. 8 | Notre Dame StadiumNotre Dame, IN (rivalry) | L 7–12 | 59,305 |
| November 20 | Illinois | No. 7 | Dyche StadiumEvanston, IL (rivalry) | W 20–7 | 47,000 |
| January 1 | vs. No. 5 California* | No. 7 | Rose BowlPasadena, CA (Rose Bowl) | W 20–14 | 93,000 |
| *Non-conference gameRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game |||||||

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Final |
| AP | 3 (21) | 3 (25) | 10 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 7 |

## Roster

* 10 Bob Nelson
* 11 Loran "PeeWee" Day (halfback and safety)
* 14 Gene Miller
* 15 Ed Tunnicliff(halfback)
* 16 Tom Worthington (halfback)
* 19 Bob Meeder
* 20 Lloyd Hawkinson
* 21 Don Burson (quarterback)
* 22 Frank Aschenbrenner (halfback)
* 23 Pat Keefe (quarterback)
* 25 John Yungwirth
* 26 Jim Farrar (extra points)
* 29 Dick Flowers (quarterback)
* 30 Art Murakowski (fullback)
* 32 Armandy Cureau
* 33 Ralph Rossi
* 34 Gasper Perricone (fullback)
* 36 George Hlebasko
* 37 George Sundheim
* 42 Johnny Miller
* 54 Alex Sarkisian (center). (team captain)
* 55 Chuck Petter
* 56 Ray Wietecha
* 57 Dick Price
* 60 Lawrence "Fatso" Day (linemen)
* 61 Francis De Pauw
* 62 Richard Anderson
* 63 Bob Nowicki(guard)
* 67 Ed Nemeth (left guard)
* 68 Jim Parseigan
* 69 LeRoy Pantera
* 70 Joe Sewell
* 73 Bill Ford
* 71 Bill Forman (tackle)
* 74 Steve Sawle (tackle)
* 75 Rudy Cernoch (tackle)
* 77 George Maddock (kick offs)
* 78 Paul Barkal
* 79 Dick Eggers
* 80 Charles Hagmann (end)
* 82 Burton Keddie (end)
* 83 Don Stonesifer (end),
* 85 Joe Zuravleff (end)
* 87 Al Thomas
* 88 Littrell Clark
* 97 Paul Balog

## Awards and honors

* Art Murakowski, Chicago Tribune Silver Football

## 1949 NFL draft

| Player | Position | Round | Pick | NFL club |
| George Sundheim | Back | 12 | 115 | New York Giants |