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1945 Wake Forest

5–⁠3–⁠1 (3–⁠1–⁠1 Southern Conference), coached by D.C. Walker, finished No. 19 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Wake Forest in 1945, game by game: lost at Tennessee 6–7; lost at Army 0–54; lost vs. No. 13 Duke 19–26; won at NC State 19–18; won vs. Presbyterian 53–0; won at North Carolina 14–13; tied vs. South Carolina 13–13; won at No. 18 Clemson 13–6; won vs. South Carolina 26–14+53−54Lost 6–7 at Tennessee-1TennesseeLost 0–54 at Army-54ArmyLost 19–26 vs. No. 13 Duke-7No. 13 DukeWon 19–18 at NC State+1NC StateWon 53–0 vs. Presbyterian+53PresbyterianWon 14–13 at North Carolina+1North CarolinaTied 13–13 vs. South Carolina0South CarolinaWon 13–6 at No. 18 Clemson+7No. 18 ClemsonWon 26–14 vs. South Carolina+12South Carolina
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 29atTennesseeL 6–⁠734%
Oct 6atArmyL 0–⁠5425%
Oct 13vs13DukeL 19–⁠2649%
Oct 20atNC StateW 19–⁠1859%
Nov 3vsPresbyterianW 53–⁠093%
Nov 17atNorth CarolinaW 14–⁠1350%
Nov 22vsSouth CarolinaT 13–⁠1371%
Dec 1at18ClemsonW 13–⁠637%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvsSouth CarolinaGator BowlW 26–⁠1469%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat South Carolina 26–⁠14 in the Gator Bowl; No. 19 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Southern Conference.

In program history: The 14th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 119 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Final: 19
Record
5–⁠3–⁠1
Conference
3–⁠1–⁠1 2nd in Southern Conference
AP final
No. 19 peak No. 19
Points
163–⁠151
Coach
D.C. Walker
Elo
1569 +12 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
9.5 No. 26 of 101 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Nick Sacrinty

Drafted in 1946

The 1946 draft
Rd 2Elmer Jones OGNew York Giants
Rd 5Dave Harris EDetroit Lions

All-Southern Conference

3 first team, 2 second team

First team

  • Nick SacrintyB
  • Dave HarrisEAP-1; UP-1
  • Charles GarrisonOGAP-1; UP-2

Second team

  • Rock BrinkleyBAP-2; UP-2
  • Dick ForemanCAP-2; UP-2

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

1945 Southern Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Duke4–⁠06–⁠213
Wake Forest3–⁠1–⁠15–⁠3–⁠119
William & Mary4–⁠26–⁠3
Clemson2–⁠1–⁠16–⁠3–⁠1
Maryland3–⁠26–⁠2–⁠1
VMI3–⁠25–⁠4
North Carolina2–⁠25–⁠5
NC State2–⁠43–⁠6
Virginia Tech2–⁠52–⁠6
South Carolina0–⁠2–⁠22–⁠4–⁠3
Richmond0–⁠42–⁠6

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