The 1958 Wisconsin Badgers football team, under head coach Milt Bruhn, finished in second place in the Big Ten with a 7–1–1 record, led the conference in scoring defense (8.6 points allowed per game), and was ranked No. 7 in the final AP Poll. Wisconsin's sole loss was to Iowa. Dale Hackbart led the Badgers with 641 passing yards and 1,032 yards of total offense.
The 1958 Ohio State Buckeyes football team, under head coach Woody Hayes, compiled a 6–1–2 record and was ranked No. 8 in the final AP Poll. Fullback Bob White was a consensus first-team All-American and led the Big Ten with 859 rushing yards and 72 points scored. End Jim Houston and tackle Jim Marshall were also selected as first-team All-Americans by multiple selectors.
Other notable individual performances during the 1958 season include Michigan State end Sam Williams who was selected as a consensus first-team All-American and Illinois end Rich Kreitling who led the Big Ten with 688 receiving yards.
Key
AP final = Team's rank in the final AP Poll of the 1958 season[1]
AP high = Team's highest rank in the AP Poll throughout the 1958 season[1]
PPG = Average of points scored per game[1]
PAG = Average of points allowed per game[1]
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[2]
Preseason
Phil Dickens was hired by Indiana as its head football coach in 1957 but was suspended by the NCAA for recruiting violations. Accordingly, the 1958 season was Dickens' first as Indiana's head coach.
On January 1, 1959, Iowa defeated the California Golden Bears, 38–12, in the 1959 Rose Bowl. Iowa halfback Bob Jeter was named the Rose Bowl player of the game. Iowa finished No. 2 in the AP and UPI polls taken prior to the bowl games, but was named national champion in the FWAA poll taken after the bowl games.
Post-season developments
On November 14, 1958, Bennie Oosterbaan resigned as Michigan's head football coach with two games remaining in the program's worst season since 1936. Bump Elliott, who had been Michigan's backfield coach for two years, was hired to replace him.[3]
Statistical leaders
The Big Ten's individual statistical leaders for the 1958 season included the following:[1]
At the end of the 1958 season, Big Ten players secured three of the 12 consensus first-team picks on the 1958 College Football All-America Team.[4] The Big Ten's consensus All-Americans were:
Two Big Ten players finished among the top five in the voting for the 1958 Heisman Trophy: Iowa quarterback Randy Duncan (second); and Ohio State fullback Bob White (fourth).[5]
1959 NFL Draft
The following Big Ten players were among the first 100 picks in the 1959 NFL draft:[6]
