1951 Stanford Indians football team

1951 Stanford Indians football
PCC champion
Rose Bowl, L 7–40 vs. Illinois
ConferencePacific Coast Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 7
APNo. 7
Record9–2 (6–1 PCC)
Head coach
Home stadiumStanford Stadium
Seasons
← 1950
1952 →
1951 Pacific Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 7 Stanford $ 6 1 0 9 2 0
No. 17 UCLA 4 1 1 5 3 1
No. 12 California 5 2 0 8 2 0
USC 4 2 0 7 3 0
No. 18 Washington State 4 3 0 7 3 0
Oregon State 3 5 0 4 6 0
Washington 1 5 1 3 6 1
Oregon 1 6 0 2 8 0
Idaho 0 3 0 2 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1951 Stanford Indians football team represented Stanford University in the 1951 college football season. Stanford was led by first-year head coach Chuck Taylor. The team was a member of the Pacific Coast Conference and played their home games at Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California.

The 1950 season had ended in disappointing fashion after high expectations and a fast start. Head coach Marchmont Schwartz had resigned following the season,[1] and to replace him, Stanford hired Chuck Taylor, a former Stanford All-American guard and member of Stanford's undefeated 1940 team which defeated Nebraska in the 1941 Rose Bowl.[2]

Led by the passing attack of senior quarterback Gary Kerkorian and senior end Bill McColl, Stanford ran out to a 9–0 start and took a #3 ranking into the Big Game, where they were 13-point favorites over rival California.[3] Cal upset the Indians 20–7, but as PCC champions, Stanford was invited to the 1952 Rose Bowl against Big Ten champion and 4th-ranked Illinois.[4] The Indians led at halftime 7–6 and trailed only 13–7 to start the fourth quarter, but a 27-point scoring outburst gave the Fighting Illini a convincing 40–7 victory.[4]

  1. ^ "Schwartz out at Stanford". Miami News. December 30, 1950. Retrieved September 9, 2011.
  2. ^ "Chuck Taylor is new grid coach at Stanford U". Modesto Bee. February 3, 1951. Retrieved October 10, 2011.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ "Stanford Game-by-Game Results; 1951–1955". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on March 2, 2012. Retrieved September 9, 2011.
  4. ^ a b Migdol, Gary (1997). Stanford: Home of Champions. Champaign, Illinois: Sports Publishing LLC. p. 116. ISBN 1-57167-116-1.