| 1918 Big Ten Conference football season | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Football |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| Co-champions | Illinois, Michigan, Purdue |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan + | 2 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Illinois + | 4 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Purdue + | 1 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa | 2 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minnesota | 2 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Northwestern | 1 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wisconsin | 1 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indiana | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ohio State | 0 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chicago | 0 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1918 Big Ten Conference football season was the 23rd season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference (officially known as the Western Intercollegiate Conference Athletic Association[1] and sometimes referred to as the Western Conference[by whom?]) and was a part of the 1918 college football season.
The 1918 season was played during World War I and the 1918 flu pandemic that killed 50 to 100 million persons worldwide. Due to travel and quarantine restrictions, many games were canceled, and the Big Ten teams played irregular schedules, some as short as five games and one as long as 11 games.
The 1918 Michigan Wolverines football team, under head coach Fielding H. Yost, finished with a perfect record of 5–0, shut out four of five opponents, led the conference in scoring defense (1.2 points per game allowed), and outscored all opponents by a combined total of 96 to 6. Fullback Frank Steketee was selected by Walter Camp as a first-team All-American, while tackle Angus Goetz and center Ernie Vick received first-team All-Big Ten honors. Michigan has been recognized as the 1918 national champion by the Billingsley Report and as a co-national champion with Pittsburgh by the National Championship Foundation.[2]
The 1918 Illinois Fighting Illini football team, under head coach Robert Zuppke, tied for the Big Ten championship but lost two non-conference games. Center Jack Depler was a consensus first-team All-American. Tackle Burt Ingwersen received first-team All-Big Ten honors.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Eckwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) (2015). "National Poll Rankings" (PDF). NCAA Division I Football Records. NCAA. p. 108. Retrieved January 4, 2016.