1945 college football season

1945 college football season
First AP No. 1 of season	Army [1]
Number of bowls	8
Champion(s)	Army, (AP), Oklahoma A&M (AFCA)
Heisman	Doc Blanchard, (fullback, Army)
←  1944  · football seasons ·  1946  →

The 1945 college football season was the 77th season of intercollegiate football in the United States. Competition included schools from the Big Ten Conference, the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC), the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the Big Six Conference, the Southern Conference, the Southwest Conference, and numerous smaller conferences and independent programs. The season followed the end of World War II in August 1945, though many college players remained in military service.

Army was the unanimous No. 1 choice by all 116 voters in the final AP poll and was rated as national champion by all nine contemporary title selectors. ^[2] The undefeated 1945 Army team was one of the strongest of all time, as during World War II, loose player transfer rules allowed service academies to assemble many of the nation's best players. ^[3]

In October 2016, Oklahoma State was retroactively awarded the 1945 national championship by a committee of the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), consisting of former Baylor coach Grant Teaff, Georgia's Vince Dooley, and Texas A&M's R.C. Slocum. ^[4] "After gathering all the pertinent information and doing our due diligence, it is the pleasure of our Blue Ribbon Commission of coaches to officially recognize Oklahoma State's 1945 championship season with the AFCA Coaches' Trophy," said AFCA executive director Todd Berry in a release announcing the decision. ^[5]

The year's statistical leaders included halfback Bob Fenimore of Oklahoma A&M with 1,641 yards of total offense and 1,048 rushing yards, quarterback Al Dekdebrun of Cornell with 1,227 passing yards, and end Reid Moseley of Georgia with 662 receiving yards.

Conference and program changes

School	1944 Conference	1945 Conference
Wichita Shockers	Independent	Missouri Valley

Season timeline

September

The Associated Press did not poll the writers until the third week of the season. Among the teams that had been ranked in the top six at the end of 1944, only the two service academies (Army and Navy) as well as Ohio State, were still playing a regular schedule. Among the service teams that had ranked high in 1944, Randolph Field, Bainbridge Naval, and Iowa Pre-Flight no longer played against college teams. Some service teams still remained in place, even after the end of World War II.

On September 15, Michigan beat Great Lakes Navy, 27–2. On September 22, Michigan lost to Indiana, 13–7. Minnesota beat Missouri, 34–0. In a Friday night game in Los Angeles, USC beat UCLA 13–6. September 29 Notre Dame beat Illinois 7–0, Army beat Louisville Field, 32–0, and Navy beat Villanova 49–0. USC won at California, 13–2, and Ohio State won at Missouri 47–6.

October

On October 6, Army beat Wake Forest, 54–0 and Navy beat Duke, 21–0. Ohio State beat Iowa 42–0. Minnesota won at Nebraska 61–7. Notre Dame won at Georgia Tech, 40–7. UCLA beat St. Mary's Pre-Flight, 26–14. The year's first AP Poll was led by No. 1 Army, No. 2 Navy, No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 4 Ohio State, and No. 5 Minnesota.

October 13 At Yankee Stadium in New York, No. 1 Army beat No. 9 Michigan, 28–7. No. 2 Navy stayed unscored upon with a 28–0 win over Penn State. No. 3 Notre Dame beat Dartmouth, 34–0. No. 4 Ohio State beat Wisconsin, 12–0. No. 5 Minnesota beat Fort Warren, 14–0. The top five in the AP Poll remained the same.

October 20 No. 1 Army beat Melville PT Boats 55–13. In Baltimore, No. 2 Navy beat Georgia Tech 20–6. No. 3 Notre Dame won at Pittsburgh, 39–9. No. 4 Ohio State lost to No. 9 Purdue, 35–13. No. 5 Minnesota defeated Northwestern, 30–7. The new top five was No. 1 Army, No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 Navy, No. 4 Purdue, and No. 5 Minnesota.

October 27 In New York, No. 1 Army beat No. 19 Duke 48–13. No. 2 Notre Dame beat Iowa 56–0. In Philadelphia, No. 3 Navy defeated No. 7 Penn, 14–7. No. 4 Purdue lost to unranked Northwestern, 26–14. No. 5 Minnesota lost to No. 12 Ohio State, 20–7. In Birmingham, No. 6 Alabama beat Georgia 28–14. No. 8 Indiana beat No. 14 Tulsa 7–2, to reach 5–0–1 and the No. 5 ranking behind Army, Notre Dame, Navy, and Alabama.

November

November 3 No. 1 Army beat Villanova, 54–0. No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 3 Navy, both 5–0–0, met in Cleveland, and played to a 6–6 tie. In Louisville, No. 4 Alabama defeated Kentucky, 60–19. No. 5 Indiana beat Cornell College of Iowa, 46–6, but dropped to sixth in the next poll. In Los Angeles, No. 8 St. Mary's beat No. 6 USC 26–0 and moved up to fifth place behind Army, Notre Dame, Alabama, and Navy.

November 10 No. 1 Army (6–0–0) and No. 2 Notre Dame (5–0–1) met for a showdown at Yankee Stadium, and it was no contest, with the Cadets winning 48–0. No. 3 Alabama was idle. In Baltimore, No. 4 Navy beat No. 7 Michigan 33–7. No. 5 St. Mary's beat Fresno State, 32–6. No. 6 Indiana won at No. 20 Minnesota, 49–0. The next poll was No. 1 Army, No. 2 Navy, No. 3 Alabama, No. 4 Indiana, and No. 5 St. Mary's.

November 17 In Philadelphia, No. 1 Army beat No. 6 Penn, 61–0. No. 2 Navy defeated Wisconsin 36–7 in Baltimore. In Nashville, No. 3 Alabama beat Vanderbilt, 71–0. No. 4 Indiana won at Pittsburgh, 19–0. No. 5 St. Mary's lost to UCLA, 13–7. No. 7 Notre Dame won at Northwestern 34–7 and moved back up to No. 5, with the top four remaining the same.

November 24 No. 1 Army (8–0–0) and No. 2 Navy (7–0–1), both unbeaten, were idle as they prepared for the Army–Navy Game. No. 3 Alabama beat the Pensacola Naval Air Station, 55–6. No. 4 Indiana closed its season at 9–0–1 with a 26–0 win over No. 18 Purdue. In New Orleans, No. 5 Notre Dame beat Tulane, 32–6. The top five remained the same.

December

December 1 In the second No. 1 and No. 2 matchup of the year, No. 1 Army (8–0–0) and No. 2 Navy (7–0–1) met at the Army–Navy Game in Philadelphia, with Army winning 32–13 to close a perfect season and a wire-to-wire No. 1 ranking. No. 3 Alabama defeated Mississippi State 55–13 and moved to No. 2 in the final poll with Navy falling to No. 3. Indiana had finished its season and remained at No. 4. No. 5 Notre Dame lost to the Great Lakes Navy team, 39–7. No. 6 Oklahoma A&M, which had finished the season 9–0–0 and accepted an invitation to the Sugar Bowl, rose to fifth in the final poll.

Bowl games

Bowl game	Winning team		Losing team
Rose Bowl	No. 2 Alabama	34	No. 11 USC	14
Sugar Bowl	No. 5 Oklahoma A&M	33	No. 7 Saint Mary's	13
Orange Bowl	Miami (FL)	13	No. 16 Holy Cross	6
Cotton Bowl Classic	No. 10 Texas	40	Missouri	27
Sun Bowl	New Mexico Lobos	34	Denver	24
Gator Bowl	No. 19 Wake Forest	26	South Carolina	14
Oil Bowl	No. 18 Georgia	20	No. 17 Tulsa	6
Raisin Bowl	Drake	13	Fresno State	12

Conference standings

For this article, major conferences defined as those including multiple state flagship public universities or a team ranked in the AP Poll.

Major conference standings

1945 Big Six Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Missouri $ 5 – 0 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Oklahoma 4 – 1 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Iowa State 2 – 2 – 1 4 – 3 – 1 Nebraska 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Kansas 1 – 3 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 Kansas State 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1945 Big Ten Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 4 Indiana $ 5 – 0 – 1 9 – 0 – 1 No. 6 Michigan 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 No. 12 Ohio State 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Northwestern 3 – 3 – 1 4 – 4 – 1 Purdue 3 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Wisconsin 2 – 3 – 1 3 – 4 – 2 Illinois 1 – 4 – 1 2 – 6 – 1 Minnesota 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Iowa 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1945 Border Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T New Mexico 1 – 0 – 1 6 – 1 – 1 Texas Tech 1 – 0 – 1 3 – 5 – 2 West Texas State 0 – 2 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Arizona 0 – 0 – 0 5 – 0 – 0 Arizona State–Flagstaff 0 – 0 – 0 2 – 3 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1945 Middle Three Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Rutgers $ 2 – 0 – 0 5 – 2 – 0 Lafayette 1 – 1 – 0 1 – 7 – 1 Lehigh 0 – 2 – 0 2 – 4 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1945 Missouri Valley Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 5 Oklahoma A&M $ 1 – 0 – 0 9 – 0 – 0 No. 17 Tulsa 2 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0 Wichita 1 – 1 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Drake 1 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 1 Saint Louis 0 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1945 Mountain States Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Denver $ 4 – 1 – 0 4 – 5 – 1 Colorado 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Utah 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Utah State 1 – 3 – 0 4 – 3 – 0 Colorado A&M 0 – 4 – 0 2 – 5 – 1 $ – Conference champion
1945 New England Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Connecticut + 2 – 0 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 Rhode Island State + 1 – 0 – 0 2 – 1 – 0 Maine 0 – 3 – 0 0 – 5 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1945 Pacific Coast Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 11 USC $ 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 4 – 0 Washington State 6 – 2 – 1 6 – 2 – 1 Washington 6 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Oregon State 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 1 UCLA 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 California 2 – 4 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 Oregon 3 – 6 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Idaho 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 Montana 0 – 1 – 0 1 – 4 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1945 Southeastern Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 2 Alabama $ 6 – 0 – 0 10 – 0 – 0 No. 14 Tennessee 3 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 No. 15 LSU 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 No. 18 Georgia 4 – 2 – 0 9 – 2 – 0 Ole Miss 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Georgia Tech 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 Mississippi State 2 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Auburn 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Vanderbilt 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Florida 1 – 3 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 Tulane 1 – 3 – 1 2 – 6 – 1 Kentucky 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll
1945 Southern Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 13 Duke $ 4 – 0 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 No. 19 Wake Forest 4 – 1 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 William & Mary 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Clemson 2 – 1 – 1 6 – 3 – 1 Maryland 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 1 VMI 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 North Carolina 2 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 NC State 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 VPI 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 South Carolina 0 – 3 – 2 2 – 4 – 3 Richmond 0 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1945 Southwest Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 10 Texas $ 5 – 1 – 0 10 – 1 – 0 SMU 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 TCU 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Rice 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 Texas A&M 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Baylor 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 1 Arkansas 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Independents

1945 Eastern college football independents records v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 1 Army   –   9 – 0 – 0 Franklin & Marshall   –   4 – 0 – 1 No. 20 Columbia   –   8 – 1 – 0 Temple   –   7 – 1 – 0 No. 16 Holy Cross   –   8 – 2 – 0 Tufts   –   4 – 1 – 0 No. 8 Penn   –   6 – 2 – 0 Yale   –   6 – 3 – 0 Massachusetts State   –   2 – 1 – 1 Harvard   –   5 – 3 – 0 Penn State   –   5 – 3 – 0 Cornell   –   5 – 4 – 0 Villanova   –   4 – 4 – 0 Boston College   –   3 – 4 – 0 Brown   –   3 – 4 – 1 Colgate   –   3 – 4 – 1 Princeton   –   2 – 3 – 2 NYU   –   3 – 4 – 0 Pittsburgh   –   3 – 7 – 0 Bucknell   –   2 – 5 – 0 Drexel   –   2 – 5 – 0 Dartmouth   –   1 – 6 – 1 Syracuse   –   1 – 6 – 0 Boston University   –   0 – 5 – 0 CCNY   –   0 – 8 – 0 Rankings from AP Poll	1945 Midwestern college football independents records v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Michigan State Normal   –   5 – 0 – 1 Central Michigan   –   6 – 1 – 0 Miami (OH)   –   7 – 2 – 0 No. 9 Notre Dame   –   7 – 2 – 1 Detroit   –   6 – 3 – 0 Great Lakes Navy   –   6 – 4 – 1 Michigan State   –   5 – 3 – 1 Akron   –   5 – 4 – 0 Marquette   –   5 – 4 – 1 Bowling Green   –   4 – 3 – 0 Western Michigan   –   4 – 3 – 0 Cincinnati   –   4 – 4 – 0 Ohio   –   3 – 4 – 0 Ohio Wesleyan   –   3 – 4 – 0 Carthage   –   2 – 3 – 0 Wayne   –   2 – 5 – 1 Rankings from AP Poll	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 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
1945 Western college football independents records v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 7 Saint Mary's   –   7 – 2 – 0 Nevada   –   7 – 3 – 0 Cal Poly   –   1 – 5 – 1 Pacific (CA)   –   0 – 10 – 1 San Francisco State   –   0 – 2 – 0 Rankings from AP Poll	1945 military service football records v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Army Air Forces League Third Air Force + 4 – 1 – 1 7 – 2 – 1 AAF Training Command + 4 – 1 – 1 8 – 3 – 1 Fourth Air Force 3 – 2 – 1 6 – 3 – 1 First Air Force 2 – 2 – 2 3 – 2 – 3 Air Transport Command 2 – 3 – 1 6 – 3 – 2 Personnel Distribution Command 2 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Second Air Force 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Independents Hutchinson NAS   –   8 – 0 – 0 Fleet City   –   11 – 0 – 1 Corpus Christi NAS   –   7 – 1 – 0 North Camp Hood   –   7 – 1 – 0 Selman Field   –   7 – 1 – 0 Jacksonville NAS   –   9 – 2 – 0 El Toro Marines   –   8 – 2 – 0 Camp Beale   –   6 – 1 – 2 Little Creek   –   7 – 2 – 0 Amarillo AAF   –   3 – 1 – 0 Farragut NTS   –   6 – 2 – 0 South Camp Hood   –   5 – 2 – 0 Santa Barbara Marines   –   7 – 3 – 1 Fort McClellan   –   4 – 2 – 0 San Diego NTS   –   4 – 2 – 0 Eastern Flying Training Command   –   6 – 3 – 1 Atlantic City NAS   –   4 – 2 – 1 Minter Field   –   4 – 2 – 1 Camp Lee   –   7 – 4 – 0 Camp Peary   –   5 – 3 – 0 Olathe NAS   –   3 – 2 – 0 Great Lakes Navy   –   6 – 4 – 1 Hondo AAF   –   6 – 4 – 1 Bainbridge   –   5 – 4 – 0 Fort Benning   –   5 – 4 – 1 Albany Navy   –   3 – 3 – 1 Williams Field   –   4 – 4 – 0 Stockton AAF   –   4 – 5 – 2 Camp Detrick   –   3 – 4 – 0 Kearney AAF   –   3 – 4 – 0 Fort Warren   –   5 – 7 – 0 Bergstrom Field   –   3 – 5 – 1 Barksdale Field   –   4 – 7 – 0 Saint Mary's Pre-Flight   –   2 – 4 – 1 Keesler Field   –   3 – 6 – 1 Camp Blanding   –   1 – 2 – 0 Great Bend AAF   –   2 – 4 – 0 Luke Field   –   1 – 2 – 0 Miami NAS   –   1 – 2 – 0 Fort Pierce   –   4 – 9 – 0 Gulfport AAF   –   2 – 5 – 0 Ellington Field   –   1 – 4 – 1 Miami NTC   –   1 – 3 – 0 Oceana NAS   –   1 – 3 – 0 Fort Riley   –   1 – 4 – 0 Lake Charles AAF   –   1 – 4 – 0 Pensacola NAS   –   2 – 7 – 1 Cherry Point Marines   –   1 – 8 – 0 Dalhart AAF   –   0 – 3 – 0 Homestead AAB   –   0 – 3 – 0 Fort Monroe   –   0 – 7 – 0 + – Conference co-champions

Minor conferences

Conference	Champion(s)	Record
California Collegiate Athletic Association	No champion	—
Central Intercollegiate Athletics Association	Virginia State College	7–0–1
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	No champion	—
Far Western Conference	No champion	—
Indiana Intercollegiate Conference	Valparaiso	4–0
Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Central (IA)	5–0
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference	No champion	—
Lone Star Conference	No champion	—
Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference	No champion	—
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Gustavus Adolphus	4–0
Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association	No champion	—
Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association	No champion	—
Nebraska College Athletic Conference	Nebraska Wesleyan	2–0
New Mexico Intercollegiate Conference	No champion	—
North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	No champion	—
North Dakota College Athletic Conference	No champion	—
Ohio Athletic Conference	Oberlin	2–0
Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference	No champion	—
Pacific Northwest Conference	No champion	—
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference	No champion	—
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference	Colorado College	1–0
South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference	No champion	—
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Redlands	4–0
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Florida A&M College	6–0
Southwestern Athletic Conference	Wiley (TX)	6–0
State Teacher's College Conference of Minnesota	No champion	—
Texas Collegiate Athletic Conference	No champion	—
Washington Intercollegiate Conference	No champion	—
Wisconsin State Teachers College Conference	No champion	—

Minor conference standings

1945 California Collegiate Athletic Association football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T San Diego State 1 – 0 – 0 2 – 5 – 0 Fresno State 0 – 1 – 0 4 – 6 – 2 No champion named for the 1945 season	1945 Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Virginia State $ 6 – 0 – 1 7 – 0 – 2 West Virginia State 4 – 0 – 2 5 – 1 – 2 North Carolina College 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Johnson C. Smith 3 – 3 – 1 5 – 4 – 1 Morgan State 5 – 2 – 0 5 – 2 – 0 Howard 4 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Virginia Union 4 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Delaware State 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 3 – 0 Lincoln (PA) 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 5 – 0 North Carolina A&T 2 – 5 – 0 2 – 5 – 0 Hampton 2 – 6 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Bluefield State 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 6 – 0 Shaw 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1945 Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Illinois State Normal $ 3 – 1 – 0 4 – 3 – 0 Southern Illinois 2 – 1 – 1 4 – 1 – 2 Northern Illinois State 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 3 – 0 Eastern Illinois 1 – 1 – 2 2 – 3 – 2 Western Illinois 0 – 3 – 1 1 – 5 – 1 $ – Conference champion
1945 Indiana Intercollegiate Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Valparaiso $ 4 – 0 – 0 6 – 1 – 0 DePauw 1 – 0 – 0 3 – 2 – 0 Ball State 4 – 1 – 1 4 – 1 – 1 Butler 3 – 2 – 0 3 – 3 – 0 Earlham 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 3 – 0 Wabash 1 – 1 – 1 2 – 3 – 1 Central Normal 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 4 – 0 Indiana State 1 – 2 – 0 2 – 4 – 0 Manchester 0 – 2 – 0 0 – 2 – 0 Franklin (IN) 0 – 5 – 0 0 – 5 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1945 Iowa Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Central (IA) $ 5 – 0 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 Iowa Wesleyan 1 – 0 – 0 3 – 2 – 0 Wartburg 3 – 2 – 1 3 – 2 – 1 Loras 0 – 0 – 0 5 – 2 – 0 Dubuque 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 2 – 0 Simpson 1 – 2 – 0 2 – 5 – 0 Luther 1 – 3 – 0 2 – 5 – 0 Upper Iowa 1 – 4 – 1 1 – 4 – 1 Parsons 0 – 1 – 0 1 – 5 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1945 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Gustavus Adolphus $ 4 – 0 – 0 6 – 0 – 0 St. Thomas (MN) 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 1 – 0 Macalester 2 – 1 – 0 3 – 1 – 0 St. Olaf 1 – 2 – 0 2 – 3 – 0 Saint John's (MN) 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 6 – 0 Concordia (MN) 0 – 1 – 0 2 – 2 – 2 Augsburg 0 – 1 – 0 0 – 3 – 0 Saint Mary's (MN) 0 – 1 – 0 0 – 5 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1945 North State Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T High Point + 5 – 0 – 0 5 – 0 – 1 Catawba + 2 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0 Appalachian State 1 – 3 – 0 1 – 6 – 0 Western Carolina 0 – 2 – 0 1 – 3 – 0 Guilford 0 – 3 – 0 0 – 7 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1945 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Oberlin $ 3 – 0 – 0 8 – 0 – 0 Capital 5 – 1 – 0 5 – 1 – 0 Baldwin–Wallace 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Muskingum 4 – 1 – 1 6 – 1 – 1 Ashland 3 – 1 – 0 4 – 1 – 0 Otterbein 3 – 1 – 2 4 – 2 – 2 Wittenberg 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 4 – 0 Denison 2 – 2 – 0 2 – 4 – 0 Case 1 – 3 – 0 2 – 5 – 0 Heidelberg 1 – 4 – 1 1 – 4 – 1 Ohio Northern 0 – 2 – 0 3 – 2 – 0 Wooster 0 – 4 – 0 0 – 6 – 0 Kenyon 0 – 6 – 0 0 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1945 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings v t e Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Wiley $ 6 – 0 – 0 10 – 0 – 0 Southern 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 1 Texas College 3 – 2 – 1 7 – 3 – 1 Langston 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Samuel Huston 1 – 3 – 2  ? –  ? –  ? Prairie View 1 – 4 – 1 3 – 5 – 1 Arkansas AM&N 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion

Rankings

Main article: 1945 NCAA football rankings

The teams ranked highest in the final Associated Press poll in December 1945 were:

Rank	Team	Record	Notes
1	Army	9–0	Outscored opponents, 412 to 46. Unanimous No. 1 choice by all 116 voters in the AP poll. Led country in total offense (462.7 yards per game). Fullback Doc Blanchard won 1945 Heisman Trophy. Four consensus All-Americans: Blanchard; halfback Glenn Davis; tackle Tex Coulter; and guard John Green. Part of 32-game undefeated streak covering entire 1944, 1945, and 1946 seasons.
2	Alabama	10–0	SEC champion. Defeated USC in 1946 Rose Bowll. Led nation in total defense (109.9 yards per game) and ranked second in total offense (462.7 yards per game). Harry Gilmer had 905 passing yards. Center Vaughn Mancha was a consensus All-American.
3	Navy	7–1–1	Lost to Army on December 1 in battle of No. 1 vs. No. 2. End Dick Duden was a consensus All-American.
4	Indiana	9–0–1	Big Ten champion. Outscored opponents, 279 to 56. Halfback George Taliaferro was first African-American Big Ten rushing leader. End Bob Ravensberg was a consensus All-American.
5	Oklahoma A&M	9–0	Missouri Valley champion. Defeated Saint Mary's (CA) in 1946 Sugar Bowl. Consensus All-American halfback Bob Fenimore led country in total offense and rushing.
6	Michigan	7–3	All three losses to teams ranked in top four: Army, Navy, and Indiana. Center Harold Watts team MVP.
7	Saint Mary's (CA)	7–2	Led nation in passing offense (161.3 yards per game). Consensus All-American halfback Herman Wedemeyer second nationally with 1,040 passing yards.
8	Penn	6–2	Tackle George Savitsky a consensus All-American. Only losses to No. 1 Army and No. 3 Navy.
9	Notre Dame	7–2–1	Quarterback Frank Dancewicz and guard John Mastrangelo were second-team All-Americans. Losses to No. 1 Army and unranked Great Lakes Navy.
10	Texas	10–1	Southwest Conference champion. Defeated Missouri in 1946 Cotton Bowl Classic.

Awards and honors

Heisman Trophy voting

The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player

Player	School	Position	Total
Doc Blanchard	Army	FB	860
Glenn Davis	Army	HB	638
Bob Fenimore	Oklahoma A&M	HB	187
Herman Wedemeyer	St. Mary's (CA)	HB	152
Harry Gilmer	Alabama	HB	132
Frank Dancewicz	Notre Dame	QB	56
Warren Amling	Ohio State	G/OT	42
Pete Pihos	Indiana	E/FB	38

^[6]

All-America team

Main article: 1946 College Football All-America Team

Statistical leaders

Team leaders

Total offense

Rank	Team	Games played	Total plays	Yards gained	Yards per game
1	Army	9	526	4164	462.7
2	Alabama	9	557	3795	421.7
3	Oklahoma A&M	8	496	3363	420.4
4	St. Mary's	8	502	2995	374.4
5	Georgia	9	575	3291	365.7
6	LSU	9	539	3269	363.2
7	Notre Dame	9	626	3180	353.3
8	Maryland	7	427	2433	347.6
9	Indiana	10	619	3254	325.4
10	Yale	9	648	2911	323.4
11	Tennessee	7	424	2260	322.9
12	Colorado College	8	462	2433	304.1
13	Mississippi State	8	542	2422	302.8
14	Tulsa	10	597	3021	302.1
15	Minnesota	9	609	2710	301.1

^[7]

Total defense

Rank	Team	Games played	Total plays	Yards gained	Yards per game
1	Alabama	9	452	989	109.9
2	Temple	8	403	1005	125.6
3	Holy Cross	8	371	1131	141.4
4	Mississippi State	8	365	1191	148.9
5	St. Mary's	8	397	1236	154.5
6	Tulsa	10	491	1550	155.0
7	Yale	9	427	1441	160.1
8	Tennessee	7	368	1142	163.1
9	Indiana	10	536	1641	164.1
10	Army	9	515	1528	169.8
11	Washington	9	497	1535	170.6
12	Texas	10	541	1710	171.0
13	Texas A&M	10	544	1763	176.3
14	Georgia	6	309	1074	179.0
15	Colgate	6	310	1097	182.8

^[7]

Rushing offense

Rank	Team	Games	Rushes	Yards gained	Yards per game
1	Army	9	424	3238	359.8
2	LSU	9	443	2705	300.6
3	Alabama	9	440	2679	297.7
4	Oklahoma A&M	8	383	2293	286.6
5	Notre Dame	9	451	2395	266.1
6	Maryland	7	345	1846	263.7
7	Mississippi State	8	443	2028	253.5
8	Ohio State	9	505	2133	237.0
9	Colorado College	8	366	1882	235.3
10	Indiana	10	484	2331	233.1
11	Tennessee	7	328	1631	233.0
12	Duke	8	375	1806	225.8
13	Missouri	9	476	2018	224.2
14	Temple	8	405	1791	223.9
15	Tulsa	10	449	2236	223.6

^[7]

Rushing defense

Rank	Team	Games	Rushes	Yards gained	Yards per game
1	Alabama	9	320	305	33.9
2	Tennessee	7	231	385	55.0
3	Temple	8	296	520	65.0
4	St. Mary's	8	240	591	73.9
5	Penn State	8	295	634	79.3
6	Yale	9	300	721	80.1
7	Army	9	357	728	80.9
8	Texas	10	353	813	81.3
9	Mississippi State	8	256	670	83.8
10	Tulsa	10	353	850	85.0
11	Colgate	6	215	591	98.5
12	Indiana	10	393	1004	100.4
13	Washington	9	344	908	100.9
14	California	10	406	1023	102.3
15	Detroit	9	342	933	103.7

^[7]

Passing offense

Rank	Team	Games	Att.	Compl.	Int.	Pct. Compl.	Yards	Yds/Game
1	St. Mary's	8	150	74	16	.493	1290	161.3
2	Cornell	9	207	95	17	.459	1351	150.1
3	Georgia	9	159	71	17	.447	1335	148.3
4	Oklahoma A&M	8	113	54	11	.478	1070	133.8
5	Wake Forest	5	93	44	8	.473	634	126.8
6	Alabama	9	117	71	4	.607	1116	124.0
7	SMU	11	263	123	26	.468	1310	119.1
8	TCU	10	190	87	19	.458	1183	118.3
9	Colgate	6	94	46	8	.489	694	115.7
10	South Carolina	7	103	44	14	.427	808	115.4
11	Kansas State	8	174	62	20	.356	921	115.1
12	Yale	9	138	69	15	.500	1015	112.8
13	Virginia	6	77	32	5	.416	682	112.0
14	Texas	10	154	67	16	.435	1095	109.5
15	Michigan State	9	168	89	12	.530	958	106.4

^[8]

Individual leaders

Total offense

Rank	Player	Team	Games	Plays	Rush Yds	Pass Yds	Total Yds	Avg Gain per Play
1	Bob Fenimore	Oklahoma A&M	8	203	1048	593	1641	8.08
2	Harry Gilmer	Alabama	9	167	552	905	1457	8.72
3	Herman Wedemeyer	St. Mary's	8	199	388	1040	1428	7.18
4	Stan Kozlowski	Holy Cross	9	247	841	438	1279	5.18
5	Al Dekdebrun	Cornell	9	282	27	1227	1254	4.45
6	Glenn Davis	Army	9	102	944	253	1197	11.74
7	Gene Rossides	Columbia	8	152	506	497	1103	7.45
8	Leon Joslin	TCU	10	208	61	955	1016	4.88
9	Curtis Kuykendall	Auburn	10	183	616	367	983	5.37
10	Linwood Sexton	Wichita	8	155	707	246	953	6.15
11	Bobby Thomason	VMI	9	213	359	593	952	4.47
12	Ollie Cline	Ohio State	9	172	931	0	931	5.41
13	Thompson	Wisconsin	9	195	579	330	909	4.66
14	Jerry Niles	Iowa	9	217	6	872	878	4.05
15	Walt Schlinkman	Texas Tech	10	147	871	0	871	5.93
16	Nick Sacrinty	Nevada	5	153	278	578	856	5.59
17	Ed Cody	Purdue	10	157	847	0	847	5.39
18	Ellis	Virginia	8	124	290	542	832	6.71
19	Lund	Tennessee	7	128	466	360	826	6.45
20	George Taliaferro	Indiana	10	175	728	96	824	4.71

^[9]

Rushing

Rank	Player	Team	Games	Rushes	Yds Gained	Yds Lost	Net Yds	Avg Gain per Play
1	Bob Fenimore	Oklahoma A&M	8	142	1119	71	1048	7.38
2	Glenn Davis	Army	9	82	980	36	944	11.51
3	Ollie Cline	Ohio State	9	171	933	2	931	5.44
4	Walt Schlinkman	Texas Tech	10	145	908	37	871	6.01
5	Ed Cody	Purdue	10	157	868	21	847	5.39
6	Stan Kozlowski	Holy Cross	9	186	916	75	841	4.52
7	George Taliaferro	Indiana	10	156	801	73	728	4.67
8	Doc Blanchard	Army	9	101	726	8	718	7.11
9	Lowell Tew	Alabama	9	88	737	22	715	8.13
10	Linwood Sexton	Wichita	8	120	762	55	707	5.89
11	Ben Bendrick	Wisconsin	9	142	723	42	681	4.80
12	Gene Knight	LSU	9	85	709	30	679	7.99
13	Cal Rossi	UCLA	6	95	700	21	679	7.15
14	Dick Conners	Northwestern	9	116	685	14	671	5.78
15	Camp Wilson	Tulsa	10	138	679	17	662	4.80
16	Lynn Chewning	VMI	9	129	707	62	645	5.00
17	Harper Davis	Mississippi State	9	122	710	66	644	5.28
18	Bill Canfield	Purdue	10	143	654	25	629	4.40
19	Curtis Kuykendall	Auburn	10	132	692	76	616	4.67
20	Guy Brown	Detroit	9	82	649	39	610	7.44

^[10]

Passing

Rank	Player	Team	Games	Att.	Compl.	Int.	Pct. Compl.	Yds.
1	Al Dekdebrun	Cornell	9	194	90	15	.464	1227
2	Leon Joslin	TCU	10	142	69	11	.486	955
3	Jerry Niles	Iowa	9	179	63	15	.352	872
4	Herman Wedemeyer	St. Mary's	8	103	59	5	.573	1040
5	Jack O. Price	Baylor	11	125	59	16	.472	708
6	Harry Gilmer	Alabama	9	88	57	3	.648	905
7	Arthur Dakos	Yale	9	109	56	10	.514	723
8	Bob DeMoss	Purdue	10	117	55	12	.470	742
9	Russ Reader	Michigan State	9	90	53	5	.589	613
10	Hotsinger	Georgia Tech	9	116	49	9	.422	682
11	Bob Thomason	VMI	9	114	46	10	.404	593
12	Gray	Oregon State	9	92	41	12	.446	359
13	Nick Sacrinty	Wake Forest	5	81	40	5	.494	578
14	Doak Walker	SMU	5	65	38	4	.585	387
15	Ben Raimondi	Indiana	10	84	37	3	.440	593
16	Howard Maley	SMU	11	79	36	6	.456	288
17	Evans	Penn	8	68	35	6	.515	517
18	Y. A. Tittle	LSU	9	76	35	9	.461	414
19	Hardey	Texas Tech	10	67	33	7	.493	427
20	Wolff	Pittsburgh	9	83	33	9	.398	499

^[11]

Receiving

Rank	Player	Team	Games	Receptions	Receiving Yards
1	Reid Moseley	Georgia	10	31	662
2	Gene Wilson	SMU	11	31	311
3	Steve Contos	Michigan State	9	31	285
4	Hub Bechtol	Texas	10	25	389
5	O'Conner	St. Mary's	8	23	373
6	Bill Canfield	Purdue	10	23	314
7	Joiner	Baylor	11	21	319
8	Paul Walker	Yale	9	21	277
9	Jones	Kentucky	6	19	369
10	Mason	TCU	10	19	218
11	Seymour Kuppersmith	NYU	7	19	207
12	Neill Armstrong	Oklahoma A&M	8	18	316
13	Steiner	Alabama	9	18	315
14	Page	SMU	11	18	234
15	Cordeiro	St. Mary's	8	17	346
16	Morris	Northwestern	9	16	301
17	Pierce	Baylor	11	16	183
18	R. Anderson	Oregon	9	15	290
19	Ryan	St. Mary's	8	15	276
20	Cash	Tulane	9	15	260

^[9]

See also

• 1945 College Football All-America Team

References

1. "October 8, 1945 AP Football Poll". CollegePollArchive.com. Archived from the original on March 27, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
2. 1995 NCAA Football Records Book. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 1995. pp. 54–58. Retrieved July 15, 2023.
3. Connelly, Bill (December 10, 2016). "What made 1945 Army the greatest college football team of all time". SBNation. Vox Media, LLC. Retrieved July 7, 2022. World War II gave the service academies competitive edges, and the Cadets took maximum advantage, producing perhaps the most dominant season of college football possible.
4. Marshall, Kendrick (October 18, 2016). Written at Stillwater, Oklahoma. "AFCA member explains why OSU awarded 1945 national championship". Tulsa World. Tulsa, Oklahoma. Archived from the original on December 30, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
5. Fornelli, Tom (October 13, 2016). "Why Oklahoma State has been named college football's 1945 national champion". CBS sports. CBS Sports. Retrieved April 9, 2024. After gathering all the pertinent information and doing our due diligence, it is the pleasure of our Blue Ribbon Commission of coaches to officially recognize Oklahoma State's 1945 championship season with the AFCA Coaches' Trophy.
6. "1945 Heisman Trophy Voting". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 8, 2022.
7. W.J. Bingham, ed. (1946). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1946. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 30.
8. W.J. Bingham, ed. (1947). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1946. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 31.
9. W.J. Bingham, ed. (1946). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1946. A.S. Barnes and Company.
10. W.J. Bingham, ed. (1946). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1946. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 34.
11. W.J. Bingham, ed. (1946). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1946. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 35.