1945 Northwestern Wildcats football team

1945 Northwestern Wildcats football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	4–4–1 (3–3–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Pappy Waldorf (11th season)
MVP	Dick Conners
Captain	Max Morris[1]
Home stadium	Dyche Stadium

1945 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Indiana $	5	–	0	–	1			9	–	0	–	1
No. 6 Michigan	5	–	1	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
No. 12 Ohio State	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	2	–	0
Northwestern	3	–	3	–	1			4	–	4	–	1
Purdue	3	–	3	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Wisconsin	2	–	3	–	1			3	–	4	–	2
Illinois	1	–	4	–	1			2	–	6	–	1
Minnesota	1	–	5	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Iowa	1	–	5	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1945 Northwestern Wildcats team was an American football team that represented Northwestern University in the Big Ten Conference during the 1945 Big Ten Conference football season. In their 11th year under head coach Pappy Waldorf, the Wildcats compiled a 4–4–1 record (3–3–1 against Big Ten opponents), finished in fourth place in the Big Ten, and were outscored by a total of 148 to 127.^[2]

Four Northwestern players received honors from the Associated Press (AP) or United Press (UP) on the 1945 All-Big Ten Conference football team: Max Morris at end (AP-1, UP-1); Jim Lecture at guard (AP-1 UP-1); Dick Conners at halfback (UP-2); and Paul Schuetz at Northwestern (UP-2).^[3][4] Morris was also selected as a consensus first-team All-American.^[5] Conners ranked 14th in the nation with 671 rushing yards.^[6]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 22	Iowa State*		Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 18–6	34,725
September 29	Indiana		Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	T 7–7	30,000
October 6	Michigan		Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL (rivalry)	L 7–20	32,772
October 20	at No. 5 Minnesota		Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	L 7–30	55,940
October 27	No. 4 Purdue		Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 26–14	42,000
November 3	at No. 6 Ohio State	No. 20	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	L 14–16	74,079
November 10	at Wisconsin		Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 28–14
November 17	No. 7 Notre Dame*		Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL (rivalry)	L 7–34	46,294
November 24	Illinois		Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL (rivalry)	W 13–7	35,000
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

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	—	—	—	20	—	—	—	—	—

References

1. "Year-by-Year Results" (PDF). 2007. p. 147. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 16, 2019. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
2. "1945 Northwestern Wildcats Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
3. "All-Big Ten Grid Team Selected". The Decatur Herald. Associated Press. November 27, 1945. p. 9. Retrieved April 26, 2017 – via Newspapers.com.
4. Walter Byers (November 26, 1945). "Indiana and Ohio State Each Get Three Men on United Press All Star Big Ten Team". The Daily Register (Harrisburg,Illinois). p. 5.
5. "2014 NCAA Football Records: Consensus All-America Selections" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2014. p. 6. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 22, 2014. Retrieved February 10, 2015.
6. 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.