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1945 Michigan

7–⁠3 (5–⁠1 Western Conference), coached by Fritz Crisler, finished No. 6 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Michigan in 1945, game by game: won vs. Great Lakes Navy 27–2; lost vs. Indiana 7–13; won vs. Michigan State 40–0; won at Northwestern 20–7; lost at No. 1 Army 7–28; won at Illinois 19–0; won vs. No. 16 Minnesota 26–0; lost at No. 4 Navy 7–33; won vs. No. 11 Purdue 27–13; won vs. No. 7 Ohio State 7–3+40−26Won 27–2 vs. Great Lakes Navy+25Great Lakes NavyLost 7–13 vs. Indiana-6IndianaWon 40–0 vs. Michigan State+40Michigan StateWon 20–7 at Northwestern+13NorthwesternLost 7–28 at No. 1 Army-21No. 1 ArmyWon 19–0 at Illinois+19IllinoisWon 26–0 vs. No. 16 Minnesota+26No. 16 MinnesotaLost 7–33 at No. 4 Navy-26No. 4 NavyWon 27–13 vs. No. 11 Purdue+14No. 11 PurdueWon 7–3 vs. No. 7 Ohio State+4No. 7 Ohio State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 15vsGreat Lakes NavyW 27–⁠273%
Sep 22vsIndianaL 7–⁠1369%
Sep 29vsMichigan StateW 40–⁠070%
Oct 6atNorthwesternW 20–⁠766%
Oct 13at1ArmyL 7–⁠2836%
Oct 27atIllinoisW 19–⁠062%
Nov 3vs16MinnesotaW 26–⁠069%
Nov 10at4NavyL 7–⁠3336%
Nov 17vs11PurdueW 27–⁠1362%
Nov 24vs7Ohio StateW 7–⁠357%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Ohio State 7–⁠3; No. 6 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Western Conference.

In program history: The 51st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 140 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 9
  2. Wk 2: 13
  3. Wk 3: 16
  4. Wk 4: 10
  5. Wk 5: 7
  6. Wk 6: 14
  7. Wk 7: 8
  8. Wk 8: 7
  9. Final: 6

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.

Record
7–⁠3
Conference
5–⁠1 2nd in Western Conference
AP final
No. 6 peak No. 6
Points
187–⁠99
Coach
Fritz Crisler
Elo
1694 +56 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
28.4 No. 4 of 101 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Joseph Ponsetto
Most valuable player
Harold Watts
Offense
Single-wing

Drafted in 1946

The 1946 draft
Rd 3Bob Nussbaumer BGreen Bay Packers
Rd 7Art Renner EGreen Bay Packers

All-Big Ten

2 first team

First team

  • Harold WattsC
  • Joe PonsettoQB

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

1945 Western Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Indiana5–⁠0–⁠19–⁠0–⁠14
Michigan5–⁠17–⁠36
Ohio State5–⁠27–⁠212
Purdue3–⁠37–⁠3
Northwestern3–⁠3–⁠14–⁠4–⁠1
Wisconsin2–⁠3–⁠13–⁠4–⁠2
Illinois1–⁠4–⁠12–⁠6–⁠1
Minnesota1–⁠54–⁠5
Iowa1–⁠52–⁠7

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