1941 Big Ten Conference football season
Date Home team Visiting team Site Result Attendance
November 22 No . 1 Minnesota Wisconsin Memorial Stadium , Minneapolis , MN ( Slab of Bacon ) W 41-6 52,984
November 22 No . 7 Michigan No . 14 Ohio State Michigan Stadium , Ann Arbor , MI ( rivalry ) T 20-20 85,753
November 22 No . 10 Northwestern Illinois Dyche Stadium , Evanston , IL ( rivalry ) W 27-0 5,000
November 1 Nebraska Iowa Memorial Stadium , Lincoln , NE ( rivalry ) L 13-14 20,000
November 22 Indiana Purdue Memorial Stadium , Bloomington , IN ( Old Oaken Bucket ) W 7-0 23,000
Season overview -- Regular season
All nine conference teams played games on November 22 , consisting of four conference games and one non-conference game . In the week 's biggest matchup , No . 7 Michigan played No . 14 Ohio State to a 20–20 tie . The non-conference game resulted in a loss . Big Ten teams finished the season with a non-conference record of 15–9–1 .
The 1941 Big Ten Conference football season was the 46th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference (also known as the Western Conference) and was a part of the 1941 college football season. The 1941 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team, led by head coach Bernie Bierman, compiled a perfect 8-0 record, led the conference in both scoring offense and scoring defense, was ranked No. 1 in the final AP Poll, and won the program's second consecutive national championship. Halfback Bruce Smith was a consensus All-American and won the 1941 Heisman Trophy. Tackle Dick Wildung was also a consensus first-team All-American. Michigan, under head coach Fritz Crisler, compiled a 6-1-1 record, outscored opponents 147 to 41, and was ranked No. 5 in the final AP Poll. Fullback Bob Westfall was selected as a consensus first-team player on the 1941 College Football All-America Team. In addition to Westfall, two other Michigan players received first-team honors on the 1941 All-Big Ten Conference football team: center Robert Ingalls and tackle Al Wistert. Ohio State, under head coach Paul Brown, compiled a 6-1-1 record, outscored opponents 167 to 110, and was ranked No. 13 in the final AP Poll. In the Chicago Tribune's poll of coaches, officials and experts, Ohio State fullback Jack Graf was selected as the Big Ten's most valuable player.