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1945 Alabama

10–⁠0 (6–⁠0 Southeastern Conference), coached by Frank Thomas, finished No. 2 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Alabama in 1945, game by game: won at Keesler Field 21–0; won at LSU 26–7; won vs. South Carolina 55–0; won vs. Tennessee 25–7; won vs. Georgia 28–14; won at Kentucky 60–19; won at Vanderbilt 71–0; won vs. Pensacola NAS 55–6; won vs. Mississippi State 55–13; won vs. No. 16 USC 34–14+71Won 21–0 at Keesler Field+21Keesler FieldWon 26–7 at LSU+19LSUWon 55–0 vs. South Carolina+55South CarolinaWon 25–7 vs. Tennessee+18TennesseeWon 28–14 vs. Georgia+14GeorgiaWon 60–19 at Kentucky+41KentuckyWon 71–0 at Vanderbilt+71VanderbiltWon 55–6 vs. Pensacola NAS+49Pensacola NASWon 55–13 vs. Mississippi State+42Mississippi Sta…Won 34–14 vs. No. 16 USC+20No. 16 USC
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 29atKeesler FieldW 21–⁠087%
Oct 6atLSUW 26–⁠751%
Oct 13vsSouth CarolinaW 55–⁠079%
Oct 20vsTennesseeW 25–⁠757%
Oct 27vsGeorgiaW 28–⁠1472%
Nov 3atKentuckyW 60–⁠1980%
Nov 17atVanderbiltW 71–⁠079%
Nov 24vsPensacola NASW 55–⁠697%
Dec 1vsMississippi StateW 55–⁠1366%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs16USCRose BowlW 34–⁠1472%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat USC 34–⁠14 in the Rose Bowl; No. 2 in the final AP poll; Southeastern Conference champions.

In program history: The 38th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 7
  2. Wk 2: 6
  3. Wk 3: 6
  4. Wk 4: 4
  5. Wk 5: 3
  6. Wk 6: 3
  7. Wk 7: 3
  8. Wk 8: 3
  9. Final: 2

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1945.

Southeastern Conference champions6–⁠0 in the conference

Heisman voteHarry Gilmer, fifth

Consensus All-AmericanVaughn Mancha, C

Record
10–⁠0
Conference
6–⁠0 first in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 2 peak No. 2
Points
430–⁠80
Coach
Frank Thomas
Elo
1748 +162 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
31.5 No. 3 of 101 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—

All-SEC

4 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1945 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1945 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama6–⁠010–⁠02
Tennessee3–⁠18–⁠114
LSU5–⁠27–⁠215
Georgia4–⁠29–⁠218
Ole Miss3–⁠34–⁠5
Georgia Tech2–⁠24–⁠6
Mississippi State2–⁠36–⁠3
Auburn2–⁠35–⁠5
Vanderbilt2–⁠43–⁠6
Florida1–⁠3–⁠14–⁠5–⁠1
Tulane1–⁠3–⁠12–⁠6–⁠1
Kentucky0–⁠52–⁠8

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.