1943 college football season
1943 college football season | ||
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First AP No. 1 of season | Notre Dame[1] | |
Number of bowls | 5 | |
Champion(s) | Notre Dame (AP) | |
Heisman | Angelo Bertelli, (quarterback, Notre Dame) | |
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The 1943 college football season was the 75th season of
The teams ranked highest in the final Associated Press poll in December 1943:
- The Notre Dame Fighting Irish compiled a 9–1 and were ranked No. 1 in the final AP Poll. They lost their final game of the season against No. 6 Great Lakes Navy. The Fighting Irish defeated two No. 2 ranked teams (Michigan and Iowa Pre-Flight) and two No. 3 ranked teams (Navy and Army).
- The Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks, led by head coach Don Faurot, compiled a 9–1 record, outscored opponents by a total of 277 to 98, and led the nation with 324.4 rushing yards per game. They ranked highest among the service teams.
- The Michigan Wolverines, led by head coach Fritz Crisler, compiled an 8–1 record and tied for the Big Ten championship. They outscored opponents by a total of 302 to 73. Their only loss was to No. 1 Notre Dame. The Wolverines led the Big Ten (and ranked fifth nationally) with an average of 363.2 yards per game of total offense. They also led the Big Ten (and ranked 10th nationally) by giving up 164.1 yards per game in total defense. Bill Daley rushed for 817 yards and led the nation with an average of 6.81 yards per carry.
- The Navy Midshipmen compiled an 8–1 record and outscored opponents by a total of 236 to 88. They ranked eighth nationally in total defense, giving up only 161.2 yards per game.
- The Purdue Boilermakers compiled a 9–0 record, tying with Michigan for the Big Ten championship and outscoring opponents by a total of 214 to 55. Guard Alex Agase was a consensus All-American. Fullback Tony Butkovich (who was later killed at the Battle of Okinawa in 1945) led the Big Ten and ranked third nationally with 833 rushing yards.
Quarterback Angelo Bertelli of Notre Dame won the Heisman Trophy, and halfback Bob O'Dell of Penn won the Maxwell Award. The statistical leaders for 1943 included Robert Hoernschemeyer of Indiana with 1,648 yards of total offense, Creighton Miller of Notre Dame with 911 rushing yards, Paul Rickards of Pittsburgh with 997 passing yards, Marion Flanagan of Texas A&M with 403 receiving yards, and Steve Van Buren of LSU with 98 points scored.
A number of universities suspended their football programs for the 1943 season, including Alabama, Auburn, Boston College, Duquesne, Florida, Fordham, Harvard, Kentucky, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Oregon State, Stanford, Syracuse, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Washington State, and William & Mary.
Conference and program changes
School | 1942 Conference | 1943 Conference |
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Creighton Bluejays | Missouri Valley | Dropped Program |
Jaspers |
Independent | Dropped Program |
Washington University in St. Louis Bears | Missouri Valley | Independent |
September
September 17 Georgia beat Presbyterian College 25–7. The next day, September 18, Michigan won at Camp Grant, 26–0. Wisconsin lost to Marquette, 33–7, on its way to a 1–9–0 finish.
September 25 Ohio State lost to Iowa Pre-Flight 28–13. Michigan beat Western Michigan 57–6. Notre Dame won at Pitt, 42–0. Army beat Villanova 27–0, and Navy beat North Carolina Pre-Flight, 31–0. Georgia lost at LSU, 34–27. Tulsa beat SMU 20–7. Georgia Tech beat North Carolina 20–7.
October
October 2 Michigan won at Northwestern 21–7. Notre Dame beat Georgia Tech 55–13. Army defeated Colgate 42–0, and Navy beat Cornell 46–7. The first AP Poll of the season led off with No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Army, No. 4 Navy, and No. 5 Duke.
October 9
October 16
October 23
October 30 In Cleveland,
November
November 6 At Yankee Stadium in New York,
November 13
November 20
November 27
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
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Independents
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Minor conferences
Conference | Champion(s) | Record |
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Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association
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No champion | — |
California Collegiate Athletic Association | No champion | — |
Central Intercollegiate Athletics Association
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Morgan State College | 5–1–1 |
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
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No champion | — |
Far Western Conference
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No champion | — |
Indiana Intercollegiate Conference | DePauw Earlham |
2–0 |
Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
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No champion | — |
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference | No champion | — |
Lone Star Conference | No champion | — |
Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference
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No champion | — |
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | No champion | — |
Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association
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No champion | — |
Nebraska College Athletic Conference
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No champion | — |
New Mexico Intercollegiate Conference
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No champion | — |
North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference
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No champion | — |
North Dakota College Athletic Conference | No champion | — |
Ohio Athletic Conference | No champion | — |
Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference
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No champion | — |
Pacific Northwest Conference
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No champion | — |
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference | No champion | — |
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference | No champion | — |
South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference | No champion | — |
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | No champion | — |
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference | Tuskegee | 5–1–1 |
Southwestern Athletic Conference | No champion | — |
State Teacher's College Conference of Minnesota
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No champion | — |
Texas Collegiate Athletic Conference
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No champion | — |
Washington Intercollegiate Conference
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No champion | — |
Wisconsin State Teachers College Conference
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No champion | — |
Minor conference standings
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Rankings
Heisman Trophy voting
The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player
Player | School | Position | Total |
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Angelo Bertelli | Notre Dame | QB | 648 |
Bob Odell | Penn | HB | 177 |
Otto Graham | Northwestern | HB | 140 |
Creighton Miller | Notre Dame | HB | 134 |
Eddie Prokop | Georgia Tech | HB | 85 |
Hal Hamburg | Navy | HB | 73 |
Bill Daley | Michigan | FB | 71 |
Tony Butkovich | Purdue | FB | 65 |
Jim White | Notre Dame | OT | 52 |
Bowl games
Bowl game | Winning team | Losing team | ||
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Rose Bowl | USC | 29 | No. 12 Washington | 0 |
Sugar Bowl | No. 13 Georgia Tech | 20 | No. 15 Tulsa | 18 |
Orange Bowl | LSU | 19 | Texas A&M | 14 |
Cotton Bowl Classic | No. 14 Texas
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7 | Randolph Field | 7 |
Sun Bowl | Southwestern (TX) | 7 | New Mexico | 0 |
Statistical leaders
Team leaders
Total offense
Rank | Team | Games played | Total plays | Yards gained | Yards per game |
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1 | Notre Dame | 10 | 734 | 4180 | 418.0 |
2 | Iowa-Pre-Flight | 10 | 583 | 3929 | 392.9 |
3 | Washington | 4 | 250 | 1499 | 374.8 |
4 | Duke | 9 | 566 | 3299 | 366.6 |
5 | Michigan | 9 | 582 | 3269 | 363.2 |
6 | Army | 10 | 639 | 3545 | 354.5 |
7 | Texas | 8 | 498 | 2814 | 351.8 |
8 | Tulsa | 7 | 425 | 2379 | 339.9 |
9 | Georgia | 9* | 593 | 2969 | 329.9 |
10 | Holy Cross | 8 | 587 | 2628 | 323.5 |
(*) One game not reported
Total defense
Rank | Team | Games played | Total plays | Yards gained | Yards per game |
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1 | Duke | 9 | 405 | 1095 | 121.7 |
2 | Tulsa | 7 | 383 | 881 | 125.9 |
3 | Penn State | 9 | 439 | 1176 | 130.7 |
4 | Texas A&M | 9 | 488 | 1178 | 130.9 |
5 | Holy Cross | 8 | 371 | 1104 | 138.0 |
6 | Texas | 8 | 357 | 1110 | 138.8 |
7 | Army | 10 | 521 | 1525 | 152.5 |
8 | Navy | 9 | 499 | 1451 | 161.2 |
9 | USC | 8 | 413 | 1299 | 162.4 |
10 | Michigan | 8* | 460 | 1313 | 164.1 |
(*) One game not reported
Rushing offense
Rank | Team | Games | Rushes | Yards gained | Yards per game |
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1 | Iowa Pre-Flight | 10 | 481 | 3244 | 324.4 |
2 | Notre Dame | 10 | 625 | 3137 | 313.7 |
3 | Duke | 9 | 487 | 2660 | 295.6 |
4 | Michigan | 9 | 508 | 2648 | 294.2 |
5 | Washington | 1170 | 292.5 | ||
6 | Army | 2568 | 256.8 | ||
7 | Texas | 2016 | 252.0 | ||
8 | Minnesota | 2202 | 244.7 | ||
9 | Navy | 2165 | 240.6 | ||
10 | Holy Cross | 1876 | 234.5 |
Scoring
1. Duke - 37.2 points per game
2. Notre Dame - 34.0 points per game
3. Tulsa - 33.6 points points per game
4. Michigan - 33.6 points per game
5. Del Monte Pre-Flight - 31.5 points per game
6. Texas - 30.8 points per game
7. Army - 29.9 points per game
8. March Field - 29.2 points per game
9. Colorado College - 28.4 points per game
10. Richmond - 27.9 points per game
11. Iowa Pre-Flight - 27.7 points per game
12. Penn - 27.6 points per game
Individual leaders
Total offense
Rank | Player | Team | Games | Plays | Total Yds |
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1 | Robert Hoernschemeyer | Indiana | 10 | 355 | 1648 |
2 | Eddie Prokop | Georgia Tech | 10 | 269 | 1440 |
3 | Johnny Cook | Georgia | 10 | 307 | 1368 |
4 | Stan Kozlowski | Holy Cross | 8 | 252 | 1226 |
5 | James Hallmark | Texas A&M | 9 | 265 | 1080 |
6 | Jim Lucas | TCU | 8 | 258 | 1031 |
7 | Glenn Davis | Army | 10 | 144 | 1028 |
8 | Steve Van Buren | LSU | 8 | 186 | 1007 |
9 | Derald Lebow | Oklahoma | 9 | 192 | 951 |
10 | Bill Maceyko | Cornell-Sampson | 10 | 181 | 930 |
Rushing
Rank | Player | Team | Games | Rushes | Net Yds | Avg Gain per Play |
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1 | Creighton Miller | Notre Dame | 10 | 151 | 911 | 6.03 |
2 | Steve Van Buren | LSU | 8 | 150 | 847 | 5.65 |
3 | Tony Butkovich | Purdue | 9 | 142 | 833 | 5.87 |
4 | Bill Daley | Michigan | 9 | 120 | 817 | 6.81 |
5 | Stan Kozlowski | Holy Cross | 8 | 161 | 784 | 4.87 |
6 | Eddie Bray | Illinois | 10 | 117 | 738 | 6.31 |
7 | Jim Mello | Notre Dame | 10 | 137 | 704 | 5.14 |
8 | Ernie Parks | Ohio State | 9 | 161 | 693 | 4.30 |
9 | Dean Sensanbaugher | Ohio State | 9 | 150 | 677 | 4.51 |
10 | Joe Kane | Penn | 9 | 104 | 671 | 6.45 |
Passing
Rank | Player | Team | Games | Att. | Compl. | Int. | Pct. Compl. | Yds. |
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1 | Paul Rickards | Pittsburgh | 9 | 178 | 84 | 20 | .472 | 997 |
2 | Frank Dancewicz | Notre Dame | 10 | 153 | 68 | 12 | .444 | 989 |
3 | Cashion | Texas A&M | 11 | 113 | 59 | 12 | .522 | 852 |
4 | Bob Waterfield | UCLA | 10 | 136 | 55 | 19 | .404 | 901 |
5 | Al Dekdebrun | Cornell | 9 | 121 | 53 | 13 | .438 | 648 |
See also
References
- ^ "October 4, 1943 AP Football Poll". CollegePollArchive.com. Archived from the original on March 27, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
- ISBN 1616731338. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
- ^ a b W.J. Bingham, ed. (1944). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1944. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 69.
- ^ W.J. Bingham, ed. (1944). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1944. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 70.
- ^ a b W.J. Bingham, ed. (1944). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1944. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 72.
- ^ W.J. Bingham, ed. (1944). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1944. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 73.