The 1945 Oklahoma A&M Cowboys football team represented Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College (later renamed Oklahoma State University–Stillwater) in the Missouri Valley Conference during the 1945 college football season. The team was led by seventh-year head coach Jim Lookabaugh and played its home games at Lewis Field in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Oklahoma A&M was awarded a retroactive national championship and The Coaches' Trophy[1] by the AFCA after compiling a 9–0 record, winning the Missouri Valley championship, defeating Saint Mary's in the 1946 Sugar Bowl, and being ranked No. 5 in the final AP Poll.[2] In addition, the Aggies also outscored all opponents by a combined total of 285 to 76. The 1945 season remains the only undefeated season in school history.[3][4]
| 1945 Oklahoma A&M Cowboys football | |
|---|---|
Sugar Bowl, W 33–13 vs. Saint Mary's | |
| Conference | Missouri Valley Conference |
| Ranking | |
| AP | No. 5 |
| Record | 9–0 (1–0 MVC) |
| Head coach |
|
| Home stadium | Lewis Field |
| 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 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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On offense, the 1945 team averaged 31.7 points, 286.9 rushing yards, and 133.5 passing yards per game.[5] On defense, the team allowed an average of 8.4 points, 108.6 rushing yards and 79.6 passing yards per game.[6]
Halfback Bob Fenimore led the nation with 1,048 rushing yards.[7] He also led the team with 593 passing yards, 72 points scored, and seven interceptions. Fenimore was selected as a consensus first-team halfback on the 1945 All-America college football team.[8] He was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Three Oklahoma A&M players received first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors in 1945: Bob Fenimore, end Neill Armstrong, and lineman J. C. Colhouer.[9]
In 2016, the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), the organization responsible for the Coaches Poll, awarded Oklahoma A&M the 1945 national championship and The Coaches' Trophy.[10] The AFCA tasked a blue ribbon commission, consisting of former Baylor coach Grant Teaff, Georgia's Vince Dooley, and Texas A&M's R. C. Slocum, to award retroactive national titles for the years spanning 1922 to 1949 and invited schools to nominate their teams.[11][12][13]
Schedule
edit| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 29 | at Arkansas* | W 19–14 | ||||
| October 6 | at Denver* | W 31–7 | 20,000 (17,311 paid) | [14] | ||
| October 12 | vs. SMU* | No. 15 | W 26–12 | |||
| October 20 | at Utah* | No. 15 | W 46–6 | |||
| October 27 | at TCU* | No. 17 | W 25–12 | |||
| November 10 | No. 19 Tulsa | No. 11 | W 12–6 | 18,000 | ||
| November 17 | Texas Tech* | No. 8 |
| W 46–6 | ||
| November 24 | at Oklahoma* | No. 6 | W 47–0 | |||
| January 1, 1946 | vs. No. 7 Saint Mary's* | No. 5 | W 33–13 | 75,000 | [15] | |
| ||||||
Rankings
edit| Week | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Final |
| AP | 14 | 15 | 17 | 9 | 11 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
After the season
editThe 1946 NFL Draft was held on January 14, 1946. The following Cowboys were selected.[16]
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 66 | Bert Cole | Tackle | Green Bay Packers |
| 9 | 71 | Jake Colhouer | Guard | Chicago Cardinals |
| 32 | 297 | Otis Schellstede | Guard | Detroit Lions |
References
edit- ^ The Coaches' Trophy — 1945 Oklahoma A&M (Trophy). Heritage Hall, Gallagher-Iba Arena: American Football Coaches Association. March 10, 2017. Archived from the original on April 9, 2023.
The American Football Coaches Association Honors The National Football Champion — Oklahoma A&M — 1945
{{cite sign}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Oklahoma State Cowboy Football 2016 Guide" (PDF). Oklahoma State University. p. 172. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 21, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
- ^ "1945 Oklahoma State Cowboys Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
- ^ 2016 Football Guide, p. 144.
- ^ 2016 Football Guide, p. 138.
- ^ 2016 Football Guide, p. 140.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 8. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
- ^ 2016 Football Guide, p. 154.
- ^ Culpepper, Chuck (October 13, 2016). "Oklahoma State just won the 1945 college football national championship". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
- ^ Tramel, Berry (August 23, 2017). "Why is Oklahoma State on an island with the retroactive titles?". The Daily Oklahoman. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ 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.
(Gary) Darnell, who played football at Oklahoma State in the late 1960s and was an assistant football coach from 1971-72, explained Oklahoma State got the nod over Army in part due to the AFCA using the Billingsley Encyclopedia of College Football.… One played in a bowl game, the other didn't.
- ^ Fornelli, Tom (October 13, 2016). "Why Oklahoma State has been named college football's 1945 national champion". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
- ^ Wally Wallis (October 7, 1945). "Puncher Reserves Sparkle in 31-7 Lacing of Denver". The Daily Oklahoman. p. 4B – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Gaels Lose, 33-13: Phelan Clan Makes Hit In Defeat". Oakland Tribune. January 2, 1946. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "1946 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 13, 2021.
