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1945 Saint Mary’s (CA)

6–⁠2, coached by James Phelan, finished No. 7 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Saint Mary’s (CA) in 1945, game by game: won at California 20–13; won at Nevada 39–0; won vs. Pacific 61–0; won vs. McClellan Field 58–0; won at USC 26–0; won vs. Fresno State 32–6; lost at UCLA 7–13; lost vs. No. 6 Oklahoma State 13–33+61−20Won 20–13 at California+7CaliforniaWon 39–0 at Nevada+39NevadaWon 61–0 vs. Pacific+61PacificWon 58–0 vs. McClellan Field+58McClellan FieldWon 26–0 at USC+26USCWon 32–6 vs. Fresno State+26Fresno StateLost 7–13 at UCLA-6UCLALost 13–33 vs. No. 6 Oklahoma State-20No. 6 Oklahoma State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 22atCaliforniaW 20–⁠1330%
Sep 28atNevadaW 39–⁠032%
Oct 13vsPacificW 61–⁠070%
Oct 21vsMcClellan FieldW 58–⁠082%
Nov 3atUSCW 26–⁠023%
Nov 10vsFresno StateW 32–⁠689%
Nov 17atUCLAL 7–⁠1343%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs6Oklahoma StateSugar BowlL 13–⁠3320%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Oklahoma State 33–⁠13 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 7 in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 15th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 37 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 19
  2. Wk 2: 11
  3. Wk 3: 10
  4. Wk 4: 8
  5. Wk 5: 5
  6. Wk 6: 5
  7. Wk 7: 9
  8. Wk 8: 9
  9. Final: 7

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.

Consensus All-AmericanHerman Wedemeyer, RB

Record
6–⁠2
Conference
—
AP final
No. 7 peak No. 5
Points
256–⁠65
Coach
James Phelan
Elo
1453 +156 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
10.0 No. 25 of 101 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—

All-Pacific Coast

3 first team, 2 second team

First team

  • Herman WedemeyerRBAP-1; UP-1
  • Charles Albert (Spike) Cordeiro Jr.RBAP-3; UP-1
  • Ed RyanEAP-1; UP-1

Second team

  • Denis O’ConnorQBAP-2; UP-2
  • Vic CucciaCAP-2

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