1945 college football season

American college football season August 2023 1945 Army 8 Army (AP) Oklahoma A&M (AFCA) Doc Blanchard, (fullback, Army) 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.https://archive.org/details/1995-ncaa-football-records-book-national-champions 1995 NCAA Football Records Book National Collegiate Athletic Association 1995 54–58 July 15, 2023 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. What made 1945 Army the greatest college football team of all time 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. Bill Connelly https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2016/12/9/13843204/1945-army-football-season-world-war-2 Vox Media, LLC SBNation 10 December 2016 2022-07-07 In 2016 a committee of former Baylor coach Grant Teaff, Georgia's Vince Dooley, and Texas A&M's R. C. Slocum awarded Oklahoma A&M an American Football Coaches Association championship title for 1945, upon OSU's application for the recognition.Marshall Kendrick October 18, 2016 AFCA member explains why OSU awarded 1945 national championship Tulsa World Stillwater, Oklahoma Tulsa, Oklahoma March 24, 2023 https://tulsaworld.com/sports/college/osu/afca-member-explains-why-osu-awarded-1945-national-championship/article_81901939-ef07-5a8b-a9d1-7599e6f13a37.html https://web.archive.org/web/20211230174412/https://tulsaworld.com/sports/college/osu/afca-member-explains-why-osu-awarded-1945-national-championship/article_81901939-ef07-5a8b-a9d1-7599e6f13a37.html December 30, 2021 subscriptionFornelli Tom https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/why-oklahoma-state-has-been-named-college-footballs-1945-national-champion/ Why Oklahoma State has been named college football's 1945 national champion CBS Sports 2016-10-13 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. 2018-12-04Tramel Berry https://newsok.com/article/5561230/why-is-oklahoma-state-on-an-island-with-the-retroactive-titles/ Why is Oklahoma State on an island with the retroactive titles? Daily Oklahoman 2017-08-23 The AFCA did not convene a panel of historians ... Instead, the AFCA opened the process up for proposals. It invited schools to nominate teams they felt were deserving. Then a committee would vote yea or nay on said team – the AFCA acknowledged it could hand out multiple awards for the same season [from 1922 to 1949]. 2018-12-04 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 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 1945 Drake Bulldogs Drake 13 Fresno State 12 Vulcan Bowl Tennessee A&I 33 1945 Texas College Steers Texas College 6 Coconut Bowl 1945 Bethune–Cookman Wildcats Bethune–Cookman 32 1945 Albany State Golden Rams Albany State 0 Azelea Bowl 1945 Knoxville Bulldogs Knoxville 18 1945 Florida N&I Lions Florida N&I 0 Flower Bowl Louisiana Normal (Grambling) 19 1945 Lane Dragons Lane 6 Conference standings Major conference standings Independents Minor conferences ConferenceChampion(s)Record 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 Rankings 1945 college football rankings The teams ranked highest in the final Associated Press poll in December 1945 were: Rank Team Record Notes1Army9–0Outscored 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.2Alabama10–0SEC champion. Defeated USC in 1946 Rose Bowl. 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.3Navy7–1–1Lost to Army on December 1 in battle of No. 1 vs. No. 2. End Dick Duden was a consensus All-American. 4Indiana9–0–1Big 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.5Oklahoma A&M9–0Missouri Valley champion. Defeated Saint Mary's (CA) in 1946 Sugar Bowl. Consensus All-American halfback Bob Fenimore led country in total offense and rushing.6Michigan7–3All three losses to teams ranked in top four: Army, Navy, and Indiana. Center Harold Watts team MVP.7Saint Mary's (CA)7–2Led nation in passing offense (161.3 yards per game). Consensus All-American halfback Herman Wedemeyer second nationally with 1,040 passing yards.8Penn6–2Tackle George Savitsky a consensus All-American. Only losses to No. 1 Army and No. 3 Navy.9Notre Dame7–2–1Quarterback Frank Dancewicz and guard John Mastrangelo were second-team All-Americans. Losses to No. 1 Army and unranked Great Lakes Navy.10Texas10–1Southwest 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 1945 Heisman Trophy Voting Sports Reference LLC SR/College Football August 8, 2022 https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/awards/heisman-1945.html All-America team 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 The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1946 A.S. Barnes and Company W.J. Bingham 1946 30 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 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 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 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 The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1946 A.S. Barnes and Company W.J. Bingham 1947 31 Individual leaders Total offense Rank Player Team Games Plays Rush Yds Pass Yds Total Yds Avg Gainper 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 The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1946 A.S. Barnes and Company W.J. Bingham 1946 Rushing Rank Player Team Games Rushes Yds Gained Yds Lost Net Yds Avg Gainper 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 The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1946 A.S. Barnes and Company W.J. Bingham 1946 34 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 The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1946 A.S. Barnes and Company W.J. Bingham 1946 35 Receiving Rank Player Team Games Receptions ReceivingYards 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 Scoring Rank Player Team Points TD PAT FG1Walt TrojanowskiConnecticut13222002FowlerArkansas Tech12920903Doc BlanchardArmy11519104RossWiley11419005Glenn DavisArmy10818006Harry GhaulMiami (FL)100132207BassTennessee A&I96141208Lou KusserowColumbia9015009Stan KoslowskiHoly Cross871215010GreeneCatawba84140011Bob PfohlMerchant Marine83135012JonesVirginia State771111013Bob FenimoreOklahoma A&M72120013Ed CodyPurdue72120013RaganRedlands72120013MontgomeryFlorida A&M72120017Herman WedemeyerSt. Mary's71917017CromerColorado State711011019Fred GrantAlabama66110019Lowell TewAlabama66110019Gene RossidesColumbia66110019GoodeTexas A&M66110019BrownVirginia66110019BoswellOberlin66110019PerryCompton661100 W.J. Bingham, ed. (1946). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1946. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 39. Longest plays Longest punts (including roll) 1. Witherspoon, Florida N&I vs. Knoxville - 82 yards 2. Stabler, Charleston Teachers vs. Macomb Teachers - 80 yards 3. Lewis, Texas College vs. Wiley - 76 yards 4. Pattee, Kansas vs. Marquette - 75 yards 4. Perry, Southern vs. Langston - 75 yards 4. Pass, Johnson C. Smith vs. North Carolina College - 75 yards Longest rushing plays 1. Fleming, Montana State vs. Faragut Navy - 95 yards 1. Engraham, Florida A&M vs. Tuskegee - 95 yards 3. Montgomery, Florida A&M vs. Moorhouse - 92 yards 4. Aschenbrenner, Great Lakes vs. Michigan State - 90 yards 4. Faunce, Minot Teachers vs. Winnipeg Bombers - 90 yards Longest forward-pass plays 1. Green to Robinson, West Virginia State vs. Virginia State - 100 yards 2. Gray to Fuqua, Vanderbilt vs. LSU - 87 yards 3. Corlett to Fisher, Johnson C. Smith vs. Shaw - 85 yards 4. Powell to Edmonston, California vs. St. Mary's - 83 yards 5. Wieche to Hoover, Miami (OH) vs. Bowling Green - 82 yards Longest interception runbacks 1. Needs, Oklahoma vs. Kansas State - 100 yards 1. Joiner, Baylor vs. TCU - 100 yards 1. Howard, Iowa State vs. Kansas State - 100 yards 1. Turner, NC State vs. Duke - 100 yards 1. Pfohl, Merchant Marine vs. Ursinus - 100 yards Longest punt runbacks 1. Goode, Texas A&M vs. Ellington Field - 98 yards 2. Morris, Colorado vs. Utah - 95 yards 3. Robinson, Pittsburgh vs. Michigan State - 87 yards 4. Welch, SMU vs. Blackland AFB - 85 yards 5. Robinson, Pittsburgh vs. Penn State - 84 yards Longest kickoff runbacks 1. McCandless, Marin JC vs. Santa Rosa - 100 yards 2. Howard, Iowa State vs. Kansas State - 96 yards 3. Talliaferro, Indiana vs. Minnesota - 95 yards 4. Miller, Indiana vs. Nebraska - 94 yards 5. Kishbaugh, Bloomsburg Teachers vs. East Stroudsburg Teachers - 92 yards W.J. Bingham, ed. (1946). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1946. A.S. Barnes and Company. pp. 39-40. See also 1945 College Football All-America Team 1945 Little All-America college football team References