The 1953 Big Ten Conference football season was the 58th 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 1953 college football season. The 1953 Michigan State Spartans football team, under head coach Clarence Munn, won the Big Ten championship in the program's first year of participating in the Big Ten. The Spartans compiled a 9–1 record and was ranked No. 3 in the final AP and UPI polls. End Don Dohoney was a consensus first-team All-American. Halfback Leroy Bolden was selected as the team's most valuable player. The 1953 Illinois Fighting Illini football team, under head coach Ray Eliot, finished in second place in the Big Ten with a 7–1–1, led the conference with 25.3 points allowed per game, and was ranked No. 7 in the final AP Poll. Halfback J. C. Caroline was a consensus first-team All-American. Minnesota quarterback Paul Giel was a consensus first-team All-American and received the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy as the Big Ten's most valuable player for the second consecutive year. Season overview Results and team statistics Key AP final = Team's rank in the final AP Poll of the 1953 season AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1953 season PPG = Average of points scored per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold PAG = Average of points allowed per game; conference leader's average displayed in bold MVP = Most valuable player as voted by players on each team as part of the voting process to determine the winner of the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy; trophy winner in bold Preseason Regular season September 26 Michigan State 21, Iowa 7. Illinois 21, Nebraska 21. Wisconsin 20, Penn State 0. Ohio State 36, Indiana 12. USC 17, Minnesota 7. Michigan 50, Washington 0. Missouri 14, Purdue 7. Northwestern 35, Iowa State 0. October 3 Michigan State 21, Minnesota 0. Illinois 33, Stanford 21. Wisconsin 13, Marquette 11. Ohio State 33, California 19. Michigan 26, Tulane 7. Iowa 54, Washington 12. USC 27, Indiana 14 (game played October 2). Notre Dame 37, Purdue 7. Northwestern 33, Army 20. October 10 Michigan State 26, TCU 19. Illinois 41, Ohio State 20. UCLA 13, Wisconsin 0 (game played October 9). Minnesota 30, Northwestern 13. Michigan 14, Iowa 13. Indiana 21, Marquette 20. Duke