1944 college football season
First AP No. 1 of seasonNotre Dame[1]
Number of bowls5
Champion(s)Army (AP)
HeismanLes Horvath (halfback/quarterback, Ohio State)
← 1943 · football seasons · 1945 →

The 1944 college football season was the 76th 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 Southwestern Conference, and numerous smaller conferences and independent programs.

The season was played at the height of World War II, starting less than three months after the Normandy landings and as battles raged throughout Europe and the Pacific. As in 1943, the Associated Press poll included service teams, drawn from flight schools and training centers which were preparing men for fighting in the war. Half of the final top 20 teams were composed of service teams, in addition to the Army and Navy service academies. Many colleges that had suspended their programs in 1943 returned to competition in 1944, including the entire SEC.

The teams ranked highest in the final Associated Press poll in December 1944 were:

Rank Team Record Notes
1 Army 9–0 Voted No. 1 by 95 of 121 writers in the final AP poll. Halfback Glenn Davis led nation with 120 points scored and finished second in Heisman voting. Fullback Doc Blanchard finished third in Heisman voting. Davis and Blanchard were consensus All-Americans. The Cadets ranked No. 1 nationally in scoring offense (56.0 points per game), No. 2 in total offense (430.8 yards per game), and No. 4 in total defense (129.1 yards per game).
2 Ohio State 9–0 Big Ten champion. Halfback/quarterback Les Horvath won the 1944 Heisman Trophy. Horvath, guard Bill Hackett, and end Jack Dugger were consensus All-Americans. Retroactively selected national champion by National Championship Foundation and Sagarin Ratings.
3 Randolph Field 9–0 Texas air field team featuring Glenn Dobbs, Bill Dudley, Pete Layden. Ranked No. 2 nationally in total defense (110.8 yards per game) and scoring offense (42.3 points per game) and No. 3 in total offense (377.0 yards per game). Defeated Second Air Force in Treasury Bond Bowl.
4 Navy 6–3 Tackle Don Whitmire and halfback Bob Jenkins finished fourth and seventh, respectively, in Heisman Trophy voting. Whitmire and guard Ben Chase were consensus All-Americans. Ranked No. 2 nationally in rushing defense (allowing only 53.8 yards per game).
5 Bainbridge NTS 10–0 Naval training center in Maryland. Players included Charlie Justice
6 Iowa Pre-Flight 10–1 Navy pre-flight school at University of Iowa.
7 USC 7–0–2 PCC champion. Shut out victory over Tennessee in 1945 Rose Bowl. Tackle John Ferraro was a consensus All-American.
8 Michigan 8–2 Fullback Don Lund team MVP. Tackle Milan Lazetich a second-team All-American.
9 Notre Dame 8–2 Halfback Bob Kelly finished fifth in Heisman Trophy voting. Halfback Creighton Miller was a consensus All-American.
10 March Field 7–2–2 Fourth Air Force base in Riverside, California.

The year's statistical leaders included Bob Fenimore of Oklahoma A&M with 1,758 yards of total offense, Wayne Williams of Minnesota with 911 rushing yards, Paul Rickards of Pittsburgh with 997 passing yards, Reid Moseley of Georgia with 424 receiving yards, and Glenn Davis of Army with 120 points scored.

Season timeline

September

On September 16 the Great Lakes Naval Training Center team defeated Fort Sheridan, 62–0, before a crowd of 25,000 at its base north of Chicago. Michigan beat Iowa Pre-Flight, 12–7 before a crowd of 22,000 in Ann Arbor.

September 23 Great Lakes won at Purdue, 27–18. In Milwaukee, Michigan beat Marquette 14–0. At San Antonio, Randolph Field defeated Abilene Field, 67–0.

September 30 Notre Dame won at Pittsburgh 58–0. Great Lakes and Illinois played to a 26–26 tie. Michigan lost to Indiana, 20–0. In Houston, Randolph Field beat Rice 59–0. Army beat North Carolina, 46–0. North Carolina Pre-Flight, quarterbacked by Otto Graham (formerly of Northwestern, and a future Cleveland Browns star) upset Navy, 21–14.[2]

October

October 7 Notre Dame beat Tulane 26–0 and Army defeated Brown 59–7. In games between service teams and colleges, the servicemen triumphed, as North Carolina Pre-Flight won at Duke, 13–6, Great Lakes won at Northwestern 25–0, and Randolph Field won at Texas 42–6. In the poll that followed, Notre Dame was first and Army third, with service teams occupying the other spots in the top five: No. 2 North Carolina Pre-Flight, No. 4 Randolph Field, and No. 5 Great Lakes.

October 14 In Boston, No. 1 Notre Dame beat Dartmouth, 64–0. No. 2 North Carolina Pre-Flight was tied by Virginia, 13–13. No. 3 Army beat Pittsburgh, 69–7. No. 4 Randolph Field, quarterbacked by “Bullet Bill” Dudley, beat SMU at home in San Antonio, 41–0.[3] No. 5 Great Lakes beat Western Michigan 38–0. No. 8 Ohio State won at No. 19 Wisconsin, 20–7 and No. 11 Iowa Pre-Flight won at No. 7 Purdue, 13–6. N.C. Pre-Flight and Great Lakes fell out of the top five, which was now No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Army, No. 3 Randolph Field, No. 4 Ohio State, and No. 5 Iowa Pre-Flight.

October 21 No. 1 Notre Dame defeated Wisconsin 28–13. No. 2 Army beat the Coast Guard Academy, 76–0. No. 3 Randolph Field and Camp Polk played a Sunday game at Fort Worth, Texas, with Randolph's Ramblers winning 67–0. No. 4 Ohio State beat No. 6 Great Lakes, 26–6. No. 5 Iowa Pre-Flight defeated Fort Warren, 30–0. In Atlanta, No. 8 Georgia Tech defeated No. 9 Navy 17–15 and moved up to No. 5 behind Notre Dame, Army, Randolph Field, and Ohio State.

October 28 No. 1 Notre Dame won at No. 14 Illinois, 13–7. At a war bonds fundraiser at the Polo Grounds in New York, No. 2 Army beat Duke 27–7. No. 3 Randolph Field defeated Morris Field 19–0. No. 4 Ohio State beat Minnesota 34–14. No. 5 Georgia Tech reached 5–0–0 after a 13–7 win over the flight training school located on the U.Ga. campus, Georgia Pre-Flight. Army moved up to No. 1 in the next poll—the first time since the 1942 season that Notre Dame did not hold the top spot. The Fighting Irish fell to No. 2, followed by No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Randolph Field, and No. 5 Georgia Tech.

November

November 4 No. 1 Army rolled over Villanova, 83–0. In six games, the Cadets had outscored their opponents by an average of 60 to 3. In Baltimore, No. 2 Notre Dame lost to No. 6 Navy, 32–13. No. 3 Ohio State beat Indiana 21–7. No. 4 Randolph Field beat North Texas Agricultural (later called the University of Texas-Arlington) 68–0. No. 5 Georgia Tech lost at Duke, 19–13. The new top five were No. 1 Army, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Navy, No. 4 Randolph Field, and No. 5 Notre Dame.

November 11 At Yankee Stadium in New York, No. 1 Army crushed No. 5 Notre Dame, 59–0. No. 2 Ohio State beat Pittsburgh 54–19. No. 3 Navy beat Cornell, 48–0. No. 4 Randolph Field defeated Maxwell Field, 25–0. No. 8 Michigan, which beat No. 10 Illinois 14–0, took Notre Dame's place at No. 5 behind No. 1 Army, No. 2 Randolph Field, No. 3 Navy, and No. 4 Ohio State.

November 18 In Philadelphia, No. 1 Army beat Pennsylvania, 62–7. In Georgetown, Texas, No. 2 Randolph Field beat Southwestern University, 54–0. No. 3 Navy defeated No. 14 Purdue in Baltimore, 32–0. In Cleveland, before a crowd of 83,627 fans, No. 4 Ohio State beat Illinois 26–12. No. 5 Michigan defeated Wisconsin, 14–0. In a Sunday game between service teams, No. 6 United States Naval Training Center Bainbridge, Maryland defeated Camp Lejeune, 33–6. The next top five was No. 1 Army, No. 2 Navy, No. 3 Ohio State, No. 4 Randolph Field, and No. 5 Bainbridge Naval.

November 25 No. 1 Army (8–0–0) and No. 2 Navy (6–2–0) were both idle as they prepared for the annual Army–Navy Game. No. 3 Ohio State beat No. 6 Michigan 18–14. The next day, No. 4 Randolph Field beat Amarillo Field, 33–0, and No. 5 Bainbridge Naval beat No. 14 Camp Peary, 21–13. The top five remained the same.

December

December 2 No. 1 Army and No. 2 Navy met in Baltimore. Army's offense was held to its lowest score of the season, but won 23–7 to cap a perfect season. Army had scored 59 points or more in seven of its nine games, with a 504 to 35 aggregate over its opponents. No. 3 Ohio State had finished its season and moved up to No. 2 after Navy's loss, while No. 4 Randolph Field and No. 5 Bainbridge Naval were idle. After the release of the final poll, Randolph Field participated in two more games for the sale of bonds. In Los Angeles, the "Ramblers" beat the Fourth Air Force team (March Field), 20–7, on December 10. Six days later, Randolph Field met the Second Air Force Superbombers at the Polo Grounds in New York for the “Treasury Bond Bowl”, and won 13–6 to complete their season at 11–0–0. Their final ranking was No. 3, ahead of No. 4 Navy and No. 5 Bainbridge Naval.

Bowl games

Bowl game Winning team Losing team
Rose Bowl No. 7 USC 25 No. 12 Tennessee 0
Sugar Bowl No. 11 Duke 29 Alabama 26
Orange Bowl Tulsa 26 No. 13 Georgia Tech 12
Cotton Bowl Classic Oklahoma A&M 34 TCU 0
Sun Bowl Southwestern (TX) 35 Pumas CU 0

Conference standings

For this article, major conferences defined as those including multiple state flagship public universities.

Major conference standings

1944 Big Six Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Oklahoma $ 4 – 0 – 1 6 – 3 – 1
Iowa State 3 – 1 – 1 6 – 1 – 1
Missouri 2 – 1 – 2 3 – 5 – 2
Nebraska 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 6 – 0
Kansas 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 1
Kansas State 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 5 – 2
  • $ – Conference champion
1944 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Ohio State $ 6 – 0 – 0 9 – 0 – 0
No. 8 Michigan 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Purdue 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Minnesota 3 – 2 – 1 5 – 3 – 1
Indiana 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
No. 15 Illinois 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 1
Wisconsin 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Northwestern 0 – 5 – 1 1 – 7 – 1
Iowa 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 7 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
1944 Mountain States Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Colorado $ 2 – 0 – 0 6 – 2 – 0
Denver 2 – 1 – 1 4 – 3 – 2
Utah 1 – 2 – 1 5 – 2 – 1
Utah State 0 – 2 – 0 3 – 3 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1944 New England Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
New Hampshire + 1 – 1 – 0 1 – 3 – 0
Maine + 1 – 1 – 0 2 – 2 – 0
Connecticut 0 – 0 – 0 7 – 1 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
1944 Pacific Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 7 USC $ 3 – 0 – 2 8 – 0 – 2
Washington 1 – 1 – 0 5 – 3 – 0
UCLA 1 – 2 – 1 4 – 5 – 1
California 1 – 3 – 1 3 – 6 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1944 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 13 Georgia Tech $ 4 – 0 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
No. 12 Tennessee 5 – 0 – 1 7 – 1 – 1
Georgia 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Alabama 3 – 1 – 2 5 – 2 – 2
Mississippi State 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0
LSU 2 – 3 – 1 2 – 5 – 1
Ole Miss 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 6 – 0
Tulane 1 – 2 – 0 4 – 3 – 0
Kentucky 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Florida 0 – 3 – 0 4 – 3 – 0
Auburn 0 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 0
Vanderbilt 0 – 0 – 0 3 – 0 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1944 Southern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 11 Duke $ 4 – 0 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Wake Forest 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0
Clemson 3 – 1 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
NC State 3 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
William & Mary 2 – 1 – 1 5 – 2 – 1
Maryland 1 – 1 – 0 1 – 7 – 1
South Carolina 1 – 3 – 0 3 – 4 – 2
VMI 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0
North Carolina 0 – 3 – 1 1 – 7 – 1
Richmond 0 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1944 Southwest Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
TCU $ 3 – 1 – 1 7 – 3 – 1
Texas 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Arkansas 2 – 2 – 1 5 – 5 – 1
Texas A&M 2 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
SMU 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Rice 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Independents

1944 Eastern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Army   –   9 – 0 – 0
Yale   –   7 – 0 – 1
Harvard   –   5 – 1 – 0
Bucknell   –   7 – 2 – 1
Penn State   –   6 – 3 – 0
Penn   –   5 – 3 – 0
Boston College   –   4 – 3 – 0
Cornell   –   5 – 4 – 0
Villanova   –   4 – 4 – 0
Drexel   –   2 – 2 – 0
Pittsburgh   –   4 – 5 – 0
Brown   –   3 – 4 – 1
Temple   –   2 – 4 – 2
Syracuse   –   2 – 4 – 1
Princeton   –   1 – 2 – 0
Dartmouth   –   2 – 5 – 1
Colgate   –   2 – 5 – 0
NYU   –   2 – 5 – 0
Columbia   –   2 – 6 – 0
Tufts   –   1 – 4 – 1
Franklin & Marshall   –   1 – 8 – 0
CCNY   –   0 – 7 – 0
Rankings from AP Poll
1944 Midwestern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Miami (OH)   –   8 – 1 – 0
Michigan State   –   6 – 1 – 0
No. 9 Notre Dame   –   8 – 2 – 0
Central Michigan   –   5 – 2 – 0
Wichita   –   5 – 2 – 1
Bowling Green   –   5 – 3 – 0
Western Michigan   –   4 – 3 – 0
Wayne   –   1 – 1 – 0
Ohio Wesleyan   –   1 – 8 – 1
Marquette   –   1 – 7 – 0
Rankings from AP Poll
1944 Southern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Virginia   –   6 – 1 – 2
No. 4 Navy   –   6 – 3 – 0
West Virginia   –   5 – 3 – 1
Delaware State   –   2 – 3 – 0
Tennessee Tech   –   1 – 2 – 0
Miami (FL)   –   1 – 7 – 1
Millsaps   –   1 – 5 – 0
Sewanee   –   0 – 3 – 1
Howard (AL)   –   0 – 5 – 0
Rankings from AP Poll
1944 Western college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Nevada   –   4 – 4 – 0
Idaho Southern Branch   –   4 – 5 – 0
Pacific (CA)   –   3 – 8 – 0
Saint Mary's   –   0 – 5 – 0
1944 military service football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 Randolph Field   –   11 – 0 – 0
No. 5 Bainbridge   –   10 – 0 – 0
No. 18 Fort Pierce   –   9 – 0 – 0
No. 13 Norman NAS   –   6 – 0 – 0
No. 6 Iowa Pre-Flight   –   10 – 1 – 0
No. 16 El Toro Marines   –   8 – 1 – 0
Hondo AAF   –   7 – 1 – 0
Bunker Hill NAS   –   6 – 1 – 0
Lincoln AAF   –   6 – 1 – 0
Blackland AAF   –   7 – 1 – 1
Keesler Field   –   8 – 1 – 2
No. 17 Great Lakes Navy   –   9 – 2 – 1
No. 10 March Field   –   7 – 2 – 2
Third Air Force   –   8 – 3 – 0
North Carolina Pre-Flight   –   6 – 2 – 1
Atlantic City NAS   –   5 – 2 – 0
Camp Peary   –   5 – 2 – 0
Tonopah AAF   –   5 – 2 – 0
Daniel Field   –   7 – 3 – 0
No. 20 Second Air Force   –   10 – 4 – 1
San Francisco Coast Guard   –   4 – 2 – 1
Ellington Field   –   6 – 3 – 2
Amarillo AAF   –   5 – 3 – 0
Alameda Coast Guard   –   4 – 2 – 2
Coronado Amphibious   –   2 – 1 – 1
Olathe NAS   –   4 – 2 – 2
Selman Field   –   4 – 2 – 2
Galveston AAF   –   5 – 3 – 2
Fleet City   –   6 – 4 – 1
Jacksonville NAS   –   4 – 3 – 0
San Diego NTS   –   4 – 3 – 1
Camp Beale   –   5 – 4 – 0
Lubbock AAF   –   5 – 4 – 0
Fort Warren   –   5 – 4 – 1
Fort Monroe   –   5 – 5 – 0
Klamath Falls Marines   –   2 – 2 – 1
Maxwell Field   –   5 – 5 – 0
Minter Field   –   3 – 3 – 0
No. 19 Saint Mary's Pre-Flight   –   4 – 4 – 0
Fourth Infantry   –   3 – 4 – 2
Georgia Pre-Flight   –   4 – 5 – 0
Third Infantry   –   4 – 5 – 0
Bergstrom Field   –   3 – 4 – 0
Ottumwa NAS   –   3 – 4 – 0
Camp Lee   –   3 – 5 – 0
Cherry Point Marines   –   3 – 6 – 0
Chatham Field   –   2 – 8 – 1
Sampton NTS   –   2 – 7 – 0
Miami NTC   –   2 – 8 – 0
Bryan AAF   –   1 – 7 – 0
Fairfield-Suisun AAB   –   1 – 7 – 0
Richmond AAB   –   0 – 10 – 1
Camp Ellis   –   0 – 5 – 0
South Plains AAF   –   0 – 8 – 0
Rankings from AP Poll

Minor conferences

Conference Champion(s) Record
California Collegiate Athletic Association No champion —
Central Intercollegiate Athletics Association Morgan State College 4–0
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference No champion —
Far Western Conference No champion —
Indiana Intercollegiate Conference Wabash College 4–0–1
Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference No champion —
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference No champion —
Lone Star Conference No champion —
Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference No champion —
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference No champion —
Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association No champion —
Nebraska College Athletic Conference No champion —
New Mexico Intercollegiate Conference No champion —
North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference No champion —
North Dakota College Athletic Conference No champion —
Ohio Athletic Conference No champion —
Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference No champion —
Pacific Northwest Conference 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 Florida A&M College 5–0
Southwestern Athletic Conference Langston
Texas College
Wiley (TX) 		5–1
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

1944 Border Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Texas Tech 2 – 0 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
West Texas State 1 – 1 – 0 4 – 3 – 0
New Mexico 0 – 2 – 0 1 – 7 – 0
Arizona State–Flagstaff 0 – 0 – 0 2 – 2 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1944 Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Morgan State $ 4 – 0 – 0 6 – 1 – 0
Virginia State 4 – 1 – 1 5 – 2 – 1
Johnson C. Smith 3 – 0 – 2 5 – 0 – 3
North Carolina A&T 1 – 3 – 1 4 – 4 – 1
Hampton 1 – 4 – 1 1 – 5 – 1
Howard 1 – 2 – 0 1 – 4 – 0
Lincoln (PA) 1 – 3 – 0 2 – 4 – 1
West Virginia State 0 – 2 – 1 1 – 4 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
1944 Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Northern Illinois State $ 3 – 0 – 0 7 – 0 – 0
Illinois State Normal 1 – 0 – 0 3 – 4 – 1
Southern Illinois 2 – 1 – 0 3 – 3 – 0
Eastern Illinois 1 – 2 – 0 1 – 3 – 0
Western Illinois 0 – 4 – 0 0 – 8 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1944 Middle Three Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Lafayette $ 4 – 0 – 0 6 – 1 – 0
Rutgers 2 – 2 – 0 3 – 2 – 0
Lehigh 0 – 4 – 0 0 – 6 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1944 Missouri Valley Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Oklahoma A&M $ 1 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0
Tulsa 0 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
Drake 0 – 0 – 0 7 – 2 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1944 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Texas College + 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0
Wiley + 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 0
Langston + 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 1
Southern 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 0
Samuel Huston 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 5 – 0
Prairie View State 2 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Arkansas AM&N 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 7 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions

Rankings

Main article: 1944 NCAA football rankings

Awards and honors

All-Americans

Main article: 1944 College Football All-America Team

The consensus All-America team included:

Position Name Height Weight (lbs.) Class Hometown Team
QB Les Horvath 5'10" 173 Sr. Parma, Ohio Ohio State
HB Glenn Davis 5'9" 175 So. Claremont, California Army
HB Bob Jenkins 6'1" 195 Jr. Talladega, Alabama Navy
FB Doc Blanchard 6'0" 205 Jr. Bishopville, South Carolina Army
E Phil Tinsley 6'1" 188 Sr. Bessemer, Alabama Georgia Tech
E Paul Walker 6'3" 203 Jr. Springfield, Missouri Yale
T Don Whitmire 5'11" 215 Sr. Giles Co., Tennessee Alabama
G Bill Hackett 5'9" 191 Jr. London, Ohio Ohio State
C John Tavener 6'0" 220 Sr. Newark, Ohio Indiana
G Ben Chase 6'1" 195 San Diego, California Navy
T John Ferraro 6'4" 245 So. Los Angeles, California USC
E Jack Dugger 6'3" 210 Sr. Canton, Ohio Ohio State

Heisman Trophy voting

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

Player School Position Total
Les Horvath Ohio State HB/QB 412
Glenn Davis Army HB 287
Doc Blanchard Army FB 237
Don Whitmire Navy OT 115
Buddy Young Illinois HB 105
Bob Kelly Notre Dame HB 76
Bob Jenkins Navy HB 60
Doug Kenna Army QB 56
Bob Fenimore Oklahoma A&M HB 54
Shorty McWilliams Mississippi State HB 37

Statistical leaders

Team leaders

Total offense

Rank Team Games played Total plays Yards gained Yards per game
1 Tulsa 9 576 3912 434.7
2 Army 9 501 3877 430.8
3 Randolph Field 10 584 3770 377.0
4 Auburn 6* 399 2191 365.2
5 Ohio State 9 635 3264 362.7
6 Illinois 10 521 3559 355.9
7 Notre Dame 10 690 3552 355.2
8 Georgia 9* 680 3193 354.8
9 Navy 9 620 3159 351.0
10 Tulane 7 463 2381 340.1
11 Indiana 10 626 3381 338.1
12 Great Lakes Navy 12 733 3936 328.0
13 Minnesota 9 511 2928 325.3
14 Oklahoma A&M 8 435 2576 322.0
15 Texas A&M 11 656 3510 319.1
16 Virginia 9 558 2870 318.8

[4]

(*) One game not reported (**) Two or more games not reported

Total defense

Rank Team Games played Total plays Yards gained Yards per game
1 Virginia 9 394 872 96.8
2 Randolph Field 10 516 1108 110.8
3 Michigan State 6 286 692 115.3
4 Army 9 499 1162 129.1
5 Wake Forest 7** 303 907 129.6
6 Navy 9 447 1227 136.3
7 Yale 5** 260 707 141.4
8 Alabama 7* 365 1008 144.0
9 USC 9 434 1385 153.9
10 Texas A&M 11 607 1754 159.5
11 Temple 7* 330 1245 177.9
12 Tulsa 9 436 1628 180.1
13 TCU 10 589 1874 187.4
14 Tennessee 8* 395 1526 190.8
15 South Carolina 9 481 1758 195.3
16 Penn State 9 480 1770 196.7

[4]

(*) One game not reported (**) Two or more games not reported

Rushing offense

Rank Team Games Rushes Yards gained Yards per game
1 Army 9 381 2687 298.6
2 Tulane 7 385 2074 296.3
3 Illinois 10 449 2940 294.0
4 Auburn 6* 319 1752 292.0
5 Ohio State 9 542 2506 278.4
6 Virginia 9 481 2468 274.2
7 Minnesota 9 452 2381 264.6
8 Randolph Field 10 424 2574 257.4
9 Michigan 10 528 2541 254.1
10 Navy 9 470 2166 240.7
11 Washington 7 289 1680 240.0
12 Iowa State 6** 258 1436 239.3
13 Notre Dame 10 509 2323 232.3
14 Great Lakes Navy 12 553 2770 230.8
15 Tulsa 9 398 2055 228.3
16 Purdue 10 534 2277 227.7
17 USC 9 465 2024 224.9

[4]

(*) One game not reported (**) Two or more games not reported

Rushing defense

Rank Team Games Rushes Yards gained Yards per game
1 Randolph Field 10 289 296 29.6
2 Navy 9 282 484 53.8
3 Virginia 9 276 499 55.4
4 Army 9 298 518 57.6
5 Texas A&M 11 390 845 76.7
6 Tulsa 9 249 737 81.9
7 Wake Forest 7** 207 728 81.9
8 Yale 5** 181 414 82.8
9 USC 9 277 759 84.3
10 Michigan State 6 220 532 88.7

[4]

(*) One game not reported (**) Two or more games not reported

Passing offense

Rank Team Games Att. Compl. Int. Pct.
Compl. 		Yards Yds/Game
1 Tulsa 9 178 102 11 .573 1857 206.3
2 Georgia Tech 6** 125 53 10 .424 852 142.0
3 Georgia 9* 153 73 13 .477 1244 138.2
4 Army 9 120 64 8 .533 1190 132.2
5 Oklahoma A&M 8 110 63 8 .573 1008 126.0
6 Pittsburgh 9 212 97 28 .458 1117 124.1
7 Notre Dame 10 181 81 16 .448 1229 122.9
8 Texas 9 166 88 12 .530 1092 121.3
9 Randolph Field 10 160 66 12 .413 1196 119.6
10 Texas A&M 11 177 88 18 .497 1300 118.2

(*) One game not reported (**) Two or more games not reported

Scoring

1. Army - 56.0 points per game
2. Randolph Field - 42.3 points per game
3. Tulsa - 38.0 points per game
4. Washington - 36.6 points per game
5. Second Air Force - 34.2 points per game
6. Ohio State - 31.9 points per game
7. Alabama - 30.2 points per game
9. Great Lakes - 29.0 points per game
10. Iowa Pre-Flight - 28.5 points per game

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 8 241 897 861 1758
2 Wayne Williams Minnesota 9 176 911 378 1289
3 Les Horvath Ohio State 9 194 905 345 1250
4 Frank Dancewicz Notre Dame 10 231 841 989 1220
5 Al Dekdebrun Cornell 9 258 398 648 1046

[5]

Rushing

Rank Player Team Games Rushes Net Yds Avg Gain
per Play
1 Wayne Williams Minnesota 9 136 911 6.70
2 Les Horvath Ohio State 9 163 905 5.55
3 Bob Fenimore Oklahoma A&M 8 162 897 5.54
4 Kuykendall Auburn 7* 127 841 6.62
5 Young Illinois 10 94 840 8.94
6 Dimancheff Purdue 10 175 830 4.74
7 Patterson Illinois 10 131 790 5.27
8 Duda Virginia 9 125 716 5.72
9 Jones Tulane 7 140 700 5.00
10 Kelly Notre Dame 10 136 681 5.01
11 Glenn Davis Army 9 58 667 11.50

[6]

Passing

Rank Player Team Games Att. Compl. Int. Pct. Compl. Yds.
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

[6]

Receiving

Rank Player Team Games Receptions Receiving
Yards
1 Reid Moseley Georgia 9 32 506
2 Armstrong Oklahoma A&M 8 26 325
3 White Tulsa 9 25 450
4 Howell Texas A&M 11 24 394
5 Folsom SMU 10 21 246

[7]

Scoring

Rank Player Team Touchdowns PAT FG Points
1 Glenn Davis Army 20 0 0 120
2 Charlie Justice Bainbridge 14 0 0 84
3 Kelley Notre Dame 13 6 0 84
4 McWilliams Mississippi State 14 0 0 84
5 Perry Compton College 14 0 0 84

[8]

References

  1. ^ "October 9, 1944 AP Football Poll". CollegePollArchive.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  2. ^ “Navy Upset”, The Amarillo Sunday News-Globe, Oct. 1, 1944, p17
  3. ^ “Randolph Field Steamrolls Over Southern Methodist 41–0”, Amarillo Sunday Globe-Times, Oct. 15, 1944, pB-6
  4. ^ a b c d W.J. Bingham, ed. (1945). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1945. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 72.
  5. ^ W.J. Bingham, ed. (1945). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1945. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 74.
  6. ^ a b W.J. Bingham, ed. (1945). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1945. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 75.
  7. ^ W.J. Bingham, ed. (1945). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1945. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 76.
  8. ^ W.J. Bingham, ed. (1945). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1945. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 77.
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