1962 Wisconsin Badgers football team
| 1962 Wisconsin Badgers football | |
|---|---|
Big Ten champion | |
| Conference | Big Ten Conference |
| Ranking | |
| Coaches | No. 2 |
| AP | No. 2 |
| Record | 8–2 (6–1 Big Ten) |
| Head coach |
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| MVP | Ron Vander Kelen |
| Captains |
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| Home stadium | Camp Randall Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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. 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. 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. The Badgers played home games at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin.
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.
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.