1945 Virginia Cavaliers football team

1945 Virginia Cavaliers football
Conference	Independent
Record	7–2
Head coach	Frank Murray (9th season)
Captain	James Walker, John Duda [1]
Home stadium	Scott Stadium
Seasons ←  1944 1946  →

1945 Southern college football independents records

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Miami (FL)			–					9	–	1	–	1
No. 3 Navy			–					7	–	1	–	1
Louisiana Normal (Grambling)			–					9	–	2	–	0
Virginia			–					7	–	2	–	0
Chattanooga			–					5	–	3	–	0
Jacksonville State			–					1	–	1	–	0
West Virginia			–					2	–	6	–	1
Tennessee Tech			–					1	–	8	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1945 Virginia Cavaliers football team represented the University of Virginia during the 1945 college football season. The Cavaliers were led by ninth-year head coach Frank Murray and played their home games at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia. They competed as independents, finishing with a record of 7–2. On October 8, 1945, Virginia made their first appearance in the AP Poll in school history when they were ranked 20th in the year's first poll. They dropped from the poll the following week, but reentered November 5 as they continued a seven-game win-streak. The Cavaliers did not finish ranked, however, being knocked from the polls after season-ending losses to rivals Maryland and North Carolina. Their first ranked finish would come in 1951. Murray left the team following the season to return to coaching at Marquette, where he had coached from 1927 to 1936. ^[2] He ended his career at Virginia as the school's longest-serving and winningest coach. ^[3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 22	Coast Guard		Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	W 39–0	4,500	[4]
September 29	vs. NC State		Foreman Field Norfolk, VA	W 26–6	20,000	[5]
October 6	vs. VMI		City Stadium Lynchburg, VA	W 40–7	8,000	[6]
October 27	vs. VPI		Victory Stadium Roanoke, VA (rivalry)	W 31–13	12,000	[7]
November 3	vs. West Virginia		Laidley Field Charleston, WV	W 13–7	9,000	[8]
November 10	Richmond	No. 15	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	W 45–0	7,000	[9]
November 17	Oceana NAS	No. 13	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	W 40–0	6,500	[10]
November 24	vs. Maryland	No. 13	Griffith Stadium Washington, DC (rivalry)	L 13–19	15,000	[11]
December 1	at North Carolina	No. 20	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC (South's Oldest Rivalry)	L 18–27	12,000–15,000	[12]
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[13]

Rankings

See also: 1945 college football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend:██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below

	Week
Poll	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Final
AP	20т	—	—	—	15	13	13	20	—

References

1. "2017 Cavalier Football Fact Book" (PDF). Virginia Cavaliers Athletics. p. 119. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 28, 2017. Retrieved June 19, 2018.
2. "Murray Returns As Coach At Marquette: Resumes Old Football Job On March 15". Chicago Daily Tribune. March 3, 1946. p. A1.
3. "Virginia Cavaliers Coaches". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved June 18, 2018.
4. "Coast Guard easy sailing for Virginia". The Roanoke Times. September 23, 1945. Retrieved May 2, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
5. "State loses; Cavaliers topples Wolfpack". Greensboro Daily News. September 30, 1945. Retrieved December 22, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Cavaliers score another victory". The News and Observer. October 7, 1945. Retrieved January 3, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Cavaliers defeat Virginia Tech, 31–13". Richmond Times-Dispatch. October 28, 1945. Retrieved December 22, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Virginia gains 13–7 win over West Virginia". Durham Morning Herald. November 4, 1945. Retrieved May 2, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Brown scores 4 touchdowns for Cavaliers". Norfolk Virginian-Pilot. November 11, 1945. Retrieved November 8, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
10. "Va. Cavaliers Beat Oceana By 40 To 0". Daily Press . Newport News, Virginia. Associated Press. November 18, 1945. p. 14. Retrieved April 5, 2023– via Newspapers.com .
11. Craig E. Taylor (November 25, 1945). "Maryland Hands Virginia First Defeat Of Season, 19-13: Cavaliers Beaten By Long Pass". The Baltimore Sun. pp. 1, 23 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Leonard, Lawrence (December 2, 1945). "Tarheels Get Jump on Cavaliers to Register 27-18 Triumph". Richmond Times-Dispatch . Richmond, Virginia. p. 10B. Retrieved October 7, 2023– via Newspapers.com .
13. "1945 Virginia Cavaliers Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 18, 2018.