CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1948 North Carolina

9–⁠1–⁠1 (4–⁠0–⁠1 Southern Conference), coached by Carl Snavely, finished No. 3 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

North Carolina in 1948, game by game: won vs. Texas 34–7; won at Georgia 21–14; won at Wake Forest 28–6; won vs. NC State 14–0; won vs. LSU 34–7; won at Tennessee 14–7; tied vs. William & Mary 7–7; won at Maryland 49–20; won vs. Duke 20–0; won at Virginia 34–12; lost vs. No. 6 Oklahoma 6–14+29−8Won 34–7 vs. Texas+27TexasWon 21–14 at Georgia+7GeorgiaWon 28–6 at Wake Forest+22Wake ForestWon 14–0 vs. NC State+14NC StateWon 34–7 vs. LSU+27LSUWon 14–7 at Tennessee+7TennesseeTied 7–7 vs. William & Mary0William & MaryWon 49–20 at Maryland+29MarylandWon 20–0 vs. Duke+20DukeWon 34–12 at Virginia+22VirginiaLost 6–14 vs. No. 6 Oklahoma-8No. 6 Oklahoma
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 25vsTexasW 34–⁠748%
Oct 2atGeorgiaW 21–⁠1452%
Oct 9atWake ForestW 28–⁠662%
Oct 16vsNC StateW 14–⁠077%
Oct 23vsLSUW 34–⁠778%
Oct 30atTennesseeW 14–⁠767%
Nov 6vsWilliam & MaryT 7–⁠776%
Nov 13atMarylandW 49–⁠2060%
Nov 20vsDukeW 20–⁠084%
Nov 27atVirginiaW 34–⁠1274%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs6OklahomaSugar BowlL 6–⁠1460%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Oklahoma 14–⁠6 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 3 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Southern Conference.

In program history: The best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 127 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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 1948.

Heisman voteCharlie Justice, second

Consensus All-AmericanCharlie Justice, RB

Record
9–⁠1–⁠1
Conference
4–⁠0–⁠1 2nd in Southern Conference
AP final
No. 3 peak No. 1
Points
261–⁠94
Coach
Carl Snavely
Elo
1770 +134 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
25.8 No. 2 of 117 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Hosea Rodgers and Dan Stiegman

Drafted in 1949

The 1949 draft
Rd 3Len Szafaryn OTWashington Redskins
Rd 2Len Szafaryn OTBrooklyn Dodgers (AAFC)
Rd 3Hosea Rodgers BLos Angeles Dons (AAFC)
Rd 7Dan Stiegman CSan Francisco 49ers (AAFC)

All-Southern Conference

3 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1948 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1948 Southern Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Clemson5–⁠011–⁠011
North Carolina4–⁠0–⁠19–⁠1–⁠13
VMI5–⁠16–⁠3
William & Mary5–⁠1–⁠17–⁠2–⁠217
Wake Forest5–⁠26–⁠420
Maryland4–⁠26–⁠4
Duke3–⁠2–⁠14–⁠3–⁠2
Richmond3–⁠3–⁠15–⁠3–⁠2
Washington and Lee2–⁠24–⁠6
George Washington2–⁠44–⁠6
Furman2–⁠42–⁠6–⁠1
Davidson2–⁠53–⁠5–⁠1
South Carolina1–⁠33–⁠5
NC State1–⁠4–⁠13–⁠6–⁠1
Virginia Tech0–⁠6–⁠10–⁠8–⁠1
The Citadel0–⁠52–⁠7

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