1948 Northwestern Wildcats football team

The 1948 Northwestern Wildcats football team represented Northwestern University in the 1948 college football season. The Wildcats won their first Rose Bowl in school history.

Season
Northwestern finished the season with an 8-2 record, losing only to perennial powerhouses Michigan, 28-0, and Notre Dame, 17-12. Northwestern blanked UCLA, 19–0, Purdue, 21–0, and Syracuse, 48–0. NU rallied from three turnovers and a 16-point deficit to defeat Minnesota, 19–16, and beat Ohio State, 21–7, Wisconsin, 16–7, and Illinois, 20–7. Big Nine Conference rules prevented conference champion Michigan from making a successive trip to face the Rose Bowl, so second-place Northwestern won the bid instead.

Awards and honors

 * Art Murakowski, Chicago Tribune Silver Football