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.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/1995-ncaa-football-records-book-national-champions |title=1995 NCAA Football Records Book |publisher=[[National Collegiate Athletic Association]] |date=1995 |pages=54–58 |access-date=July 15, 2023}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|title= What made 1945 Army the greatest college football team of all time|quote=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.|first= Bill|last=Connelly|url= https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2016/12/9/13843204/1945-army-football-season-world-war-2|publisher=Vox Media, LLC|website=SBNation|date=10 December 2016|access-date=2022-07-07}}</ref>
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.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/1995-ncaa-football-records-book-national-champions |title=1995 NCAA Football Records Book |publisher=[[National Collegiate Athletic Association]] |date=1995 |pages=54–58 |access-date=July 15, 2023}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{cite web|title= What made 1945 Army the greatest college football team of all time|quote=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.|first= Bill|last=Connelly|url= https://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2016/12/9/13843204/1945-army-football-season-world-war-2|publisher=Vox Media, LLC|website=SBNation|date=10 December 2016|access-date=2022-07-07}}</ref>
In 2016, the [[American Football Coaches Association]] (AFCA), the organization responsible for the [[Coaches Poll]], awarded undefeated Oklahoma A&M its 1945 national championship.<ref>{{cite web|last=Culpepper |first=Chuck |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2016/10/13/oklahoma-state-just-won-the-1945-college-football-national-championship/ |title=Oklahoma State just won the 1945 college football national championship |work=The Washington Post |date=2016-10-13 |access-date=2018-01-16}}</ref>
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 [[Oklahoma State University–Stillwater|OSU]]'s application for the recognition.<ref name=AFCAExplainsBRC>{{cite news |last=Marshall |first=Kendrick |date=October 18, 2016 |title=AFCA member explains why OSU awarded 1945 national championship |work=Tulsa World |place=Stillwater, Oklahoma |publication-place=Tulsa, Oklahoma |access-date=March 24, 2023 |url=https://tulsaworld.com/sports/college/osu/afca-member-explains-why-osu-awarded-1945-national-championship/article_81901939-ef07-5a8b-a9d1-7599e6f13a37.html |archive-url=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 |archive-date=December 30, 2021 |url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Fornelli |first=Tom |url=https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/why-oklahoma-state-has-been-named-college-footballs-1945-national-champion/ |title=Why Oklahoma State has been named college football's 1945 national champion |publisher=CBS Sports |date=2016-10-13 |access-date=2018-12-04}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Tramel |first=Berry |url=https://newsok.com/article/5561230/why-is-oklahoma-state-on-an-island-with-the-retroactive-titles/ |title=Why is Oklahoma State on an island with the retroactive titles? |publisher=News OK |date=2017-08-23 |access-date=2018-12-04}}</ref>
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 [[1945 Cornell Big Red football team|Cornell]] with 1,227 passing yards, and end [[Reid Moseley]] of [[1945 Georgia Bulldogs football team|Georgia]] with 662 receiving yards.
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 [[1945 Cornell Big Red football team|Cornell]] with 1,227 passing yards, and end [[Reid Moseley]] of [[1945 Georgia Bulldogs football team|Georgia]] with 662 receiving yards.
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]
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.
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 20No. 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 3No. 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 10No. 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 24No. 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.
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.
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.
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.
^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.
^ abcdW.J. Bingham, ed. (1946). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1946. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 30.
^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.
^ abW.J. Bingham, ed. (1946). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1946. A.S. Barnes and Company.
^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.
^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.
