1945 Holy Cross Crusaders football team

1945 Holy Cross Crusaders football
Orange Bowl, L 6–13 vs. Miami (FL)
Conference	Independent
Ranking
AP	No. 16
Record	8–2
Head coach	Ox DaGrosa (1st season)
Home stadium	Fitton Field

1945 Eastern college football independents records

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Army			–					9	–	0	–	0
Franklin & Marshall			–					4	–	0	–	1
No. 20 Columbia			–					8	–	1	–	0
Temple			–					7	–	1	–	0
No. 16 Holy Cross			–					8	–	2	–	0
Tufts			–					4	–	1	–	0
No. 8 Penn			–					6	–	2	–	0
Yale			–					6	–	3	–	0
Massachusetts State			–					2	–	1	–	1
Harvard			–					5	–	3	–	0
Penn State			–					5	–	3	–	0
Cornell			–					5	–	4	–	0
Villanova			–					4	–	4	–	0
Boston College			–					3	–	4	–	0
Brown			–					3	–	4	–	1
Colgate			–					3	–	4	–	1
Princeton			–					2	–	3	–	2
NYU			–					3	–	4	–	0
Pittsburgh			–					3	–	7	–	0
Bucknell			–					2	–	5	–	0
Drexel			–					2	–	5	–	0
Dartmouth			–					1	–	6	–	1
Syracuse			–					1	–	6	–	0
Boston University			–					0	–	5	–	0
CCNY			–					0	–	8	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1945 Holy Cross Crusaders football team represented the College of the Holy Cross in the 1945 college football season. The Crusaders were led by first-year head coach John "Ox" DaGrosa and played their home games at Fitton Field in Worcester, Massachusetts. They finished the regular season with a record of 8–1, ranked 16th in the AP Poll.^[1] Holy Cross was invited to the Orange Bowl, played on New Year's Day, where they lost to the University of Miami, 6–13. This was the first and only bowl game in Holy Cross's history.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 29	at Dartmouth		Memorial Field Hanover, NH	W 13–6	8,000	[2]
October 6	at Yale		Yale Bowl New Haven, CT	W 21–0	25,000	[3]
October 14	Villanova	No. 12	Fitton Field Worcester, MA	W 26–7	26,000	[4]
October 20	at Brown	No. 19	Brown Stadium Providence, RI	W 25–0	25,000	[5]
October 27	Colgate	No. 15	Fitton Field Worcester, MA	W 21–0	25,000	[6]
November 4	New London Sub Base	No. 11	Fitton Field Worcester, MA	W 20–6	10,000	[7]
November 11	Coast Guard	No. 13	Fitton Field Worcester, MA	W 39–6	6,000	[8]
November 17	Temple	No. 10	Fitton Field Worcester, MA	L 6–14	25,000	[9]
November 25	vs. Boston College		Fenway Park Boston, MA (rivalry)	W 46–0	32,457	[10]
January 1	at Miami (FL)	No. 16	Burdine Stadium Miami, FL (Orange Bowl)	L 6–13	38,000	[11]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[12]

Rankings

See also: 1945 NCAA football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Final
AP	12	19	15	11	13	10	—	13	16

References

1. "1945 Final AP Football Poll". CollegePollArchive.com. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
2. "Holy Cross Pushed Hard by Big Green". The Hartford Courant. Hartford, Conn. Associated Press. September 30, 1945. p. 1C – via Newspapers.com.
3. Keyes, Frank (October 7, 1945). "Holy Cross Scores First Gridiron Victory over Yale by Score of 21 to 0; Eight Fumbles Shackle Bulldog Running Attack". The Hartford Courant. Hartford, Conn. p. 1C – via Newspapers.com.
4. McNulty, Joe (October 15, 1945). "Villanova Bows, 26-7; 26,000 See Holy Cross Gain Third". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. p. 20 – via Newspapers.com.
5. McGowen, Roscoe (October 21, 1945). "Holy Cross Routs Brown Team, 25-0". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
6. "Holy Cross Whacks Colgate, 21-0; Koslowski's Play Shines for Winners". Democrat and Chronicle. Rochester, N.Y. United Press. October 28, 1945. p. 2C – via Newspapers.com.
7. Birtwell, Roger (November 5, 1945). "Koslowski Whole Show, Holy Cross Wins, 20-6". The Boston Daily Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Birtwell, Roger (November 12, 1945). "H.C. Tops Coast Guard, 39-6; Kos Gets 21 Points". The Boston Daily Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
9. Baumgartner, Stan (November 18, 1945). "Temple Upsets Holy Cross, 14-6". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. p. S1 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Nason, Jerry (November 26, 1945). "Miami-Bound H.C. Eleven Forges Record Margin over B.C., 46-0". The Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Mass. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
11. Burns, Jimmy (January 2, 1946). "Last-Play Run Wins for Miami, 13-6; Al Hudson Carries Ball 89 Yards". The Miami Herald. Miami, Fla. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "1945 Holy Cross Crusaders football team". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 13, 2017.