San Francisco Dons
San Francisco has played football since at least 1930 and is 79–79–10 in the 168 games on record. Their best finish in the final AP poll is No. 14, in 1951. Since 1936, the NFL Draft has taken 10 players from here in its first seven rounds, 2 of them in the first round. The AAFC draft also took two players from here. The College Football Hall of Fame holds 1 player from San Francisco. Joe Kuharich (1948–1951) won more games here than any other coach: 25. This season, under Joe Kuharich, they’re 9–0.
On this date in 1946San Francisco lost to Mississippi State 48–20.
Résumé
- Record on file
- 79–79–10 .500; how we count
- Postseason
- 0–0 bowls, title games, playoff
- AP No. 1 finishes
- 0
- Weeks at No. 1
- 0 of 7 ranked
- Elo now
- 1683
- Seasons
- 20 since 1930, 168 games
1951 season 9–0
RosterFull 1951 season| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 21 | vs San José State | W 39–2 | 71% |
| Sep 29 | at Idaho | W 28–7 | 59% |
| Oct 7 | vsCamp Pendleton | W 26–0 | 92% |
| Oct 12 | atSan José State | W 42–7 | 65% |
| Oct 20 | at Fordham | W 32–26 | 47% |
| Oct 26 | vsSan Diego Navy | W 26–7 | 89% |
| Nov 4 | vsSanta Clara | W 26–7 | 78% |
| Nov 17 | atPacific | W 47–14 | 52% |
| Nov 25 | vsLoyola Marymount | W 20–2 | 85% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
This season, game by game
Players
The 1951 rosterProgram greats See all
Heisman finalists, College Football Hall of Famers, consensus All-Americans, national award winners and first-round picks, for what they did at San Francisco.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons, free licenses; credits on each player’s page.
Program strength since 1930
Best seasons everHead coaches
| Coach | Years | Record |
|---|---|---|
| Joe Kuharich | 1948–1951 | 25–14 |
 Ed McKeever | 1947 | 7–3 |
 Jeff Cravath | 1941 | 6–4 |
Most-played series
All rivalries- Saint Mary’s (CA)
5–13–1 in 19
- 1939 W 7–0
- 1940 L 7–13
- 1941 L 0–30
- 1942 L 0–27
- 1943 L 7–19
- 1946 L 0–6
- 1947 W 32–20
- 1948 W 7–0
- 1949 W 41–14
- 1950 W 33–7
Won the last four.
- Santa Clara
3–13–1 in 17
- 1939 T 13–13
- 1940 L 0–27
- 1941 L 7–32
- 1942 L 6–8
- 1946 L 13–19
- 1947 W 20–9
- 1948 L 13–25
- 1949 L 7–13
- 1950 W 27–6
- 1951 W 26–7
Won the last two.
- Loyola Marymount
11–2–2 in 15
- 1937 W 6–0
- 1939 W 14–7
- 1940 W 21–0
- 1941 W 27–20
- 1942 L 2–7
- 1947 W 41–6
- 1948 W 28–0
- 1949 W 27–12
- 1950 L 28–40
- 1951 W 20–2
Won the last one.
| Opponent | Games | SF record |
|---|---|---|
| Saint Mary’s (CA) | 19 | 5–13–1 |
| Santa Clara | 17 | 3–13–1 |
| Loyola Marymount | 15 | 11–2–2 |
| Nevada | 10 | 8–2 |
| San José State | 10 | 8–2 |
| Gonzaga | 9 | 6–3 |
| Stanford | 8 | 0–8 |
| Fresno State | 6 | 5–1 |
Every opponent (50)
Every program San Francisco has played, A to Z, with San Francisco’s record against it. Each links to the series, game by game.
- Alameda Coast Guard 1–1
- Albuquerque Field 1–0
- Arizona State 1–0
- BYU 2–0
- California 0–2
- California–Santa Barbara 1–0–1
- Camp Pendleton 1–0
- Creighton 1–0–1
- Daniel Baker 1–0
- Del Monte Pre-Flight 0–1
- Denver 2–0
- Detroit Mercy 2–2
- Duquesne 1–0
- Fordham 1–1
- Fort Ord 1–0
- Fresno State 5–1
- Gonzaga 6–3
- Hardin Simmons 1–1–1
- Idaho 1–0
- Kansas State 1–0
- Loyola Marymount 11–2–2
- Marquette 2–0
- Michigan State 0–1
- Mississippi State 0–4
- Montana 1–2–1
- Nevada 8–2
- Oklahoma State 0–1
- Olympic Club 2–1
- Oregon 0–1
- Oregon State 1–1
- Pacific 1–2
- Pleasanton Navy 0–1
- Portland 1–0–1
- Saint Mary’s (CA) 5–13–1
- Saint Mary’s (CA) Pre-Flight 0–1
- San Diego Navy 1–0
- San José State 8–2
- Santa Clara 3–13–1
- St. Bonaventure 1–1
- St. Mary’s (Texas) 2–1–1
- Stanford 0–8
- Texas A&M 0–2
- Texas Tech 0–1
- Tulsa 1–1
- USC 0–1
- Utah 0–1
- Villanova 0–2
- West Coast Army 0–1
- West Coast Navy 0–1
- Wyoming 1–0
Led the nation 2
| 1951 | Ollie Matson rushing yards (1,566 yds), points (126 pts) |
| 1946 | Forrest Hall kickoff return yards (573 yds), kickoff return average (38.2) |
The NCAA’s official national leaders since 1937, from Wikipedia’s yearly leader lists.
In the Hall of Fame
Every inductee- Players
- 1
- Coaches
- 0
| 1976 | Ollie Matson RB |
In the draft
By college- NFL picks, rounds 1–7
- 10 since 1936
- First-round picks
- 2
- AAFC picks
- 2 1948–49
| 1952 | Ollie Matson RB | No. 3, Chicago Cardinals |
| 1948 | Joe Scott B | No. 5, San Francisco 49ers (AAFC) |
| 1936 | Russ Letlow OG | No. 7, Green Bay Packers |
Season by season
National champions| Season | Record | Conf. | AP pre | AP final | Coach | Elo | SP+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1951 | 9–0 | 14 | Joe Kuharich | 1683 | |||
| 1950 | 7–4 | Joe Kuharich | 1546 | ||||
| 1949 | 7–3 | Joe Kuharich | 1516 | ||||
| 1948 | 2–7 | Joe Kuharich | 1370 | ||||
| 1947 | 7–3 | Ed McKeever | 1529 | ||||
| 1946 | 3–6 | 1345 | |||||
| 1943 | 1–7 | 1280 | |||||
| 1942 | 6–4 | 1485 | |||||
| 1941 | 6–4 | Jeff Cravath | 1452 | ||||
| 1940 | 1–6–1 | 1389 | |||||
| 1939 | 4–3–3 | 1452 | |||||
| 1938 | 5–2–1 | 1458 | |||||
| 1937 | 4–5–1 | 1411 | |||||
| 1936 | 4–4–2 | 1412 | |||||
| 1935 | 5–3 | 1494 | |||||
| 1934 | 3–3–1 | 1409 | |||||
| 1933 | 1–6–1 | 1249 | |||||
| 1932 | 2–6 | 1217 | |||||
| 1931 | 1–2 | 1226 | |||||
| 1930 | 1–1 | 1197 |
No season on file for 1944–45: wartime seasons, when many programs didn’t play.
All 20 seasons on file are complete, game by game: every win and loss in the record has its game here.
Records are computed from every game on file at CollegeFootballData.com, whose coverage of the earliest seasons can be incomplete. Elo is this site’s own rating; see how it works on the records page.