1944 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

The 1944 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 1944 Big Ten Conference football season. In their third year under head coach George Hauser, the Golden Gophers compiled a 5–3–1 record but were outscored by their opponents by a combined total of 225 to 162.^[1]

1944 Minnesota Golden Gophers football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	5–3–1 (3–2–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	George Hauser (3rd season)
MVP	John Lundquist
Captain	Game captains
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1943 1945 →

1944 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 2 Ohio State $	6	–	0	–	0			9	–	0	–	0
No. 8 Michigan	5	–	2	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
Purdue	4	–	2	–	0			5	–	5	–	0
Minnesota	3	–	2	–	1			5	–	3	–	1
Indiana	4	–	3	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
No. 15 Illinois	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	4	–	1
Wisconsin	2	–	4	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
Northwestern	0	–	5	–	1			1	–	7	–	1
Iowa	0	–	6	–	0			1	–	7	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll

No players were awarded any major awards, All-American status or All-Big Ten status.^[2][3][4] Back John Lundquist was awarded the Team MVP Award.^[5]

Total attendance for the season was 179,979, which averaged to 29,997. The season high for attendance was against Northwestern.^[6]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 23	Iowa Pre-Flight*	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	L 13–19	31,687	^[7]
September 30	Nebraska*	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)	W 39–0	21,876
October 7	Michigan	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN (Little Brown Jug)	L 13–28	37,256
October 14	Missouri*	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	W 39–27	24,207
October 28	at No. 4 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	L 14–34	43,563
November 4	Northwestern	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	T 14–14	46,482
November 11	Indiana	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	W 19–14	30,254
November 18	at Iowa	Iowa Stadium Iowa City, IA (rivalry)	W 46–0	11,200
November 25	at Wisconsin	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI (rivalry)	W 28–26	30,000
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

Michigan

Week 4: Michigan at Minnesota

1 2 3 4 Total • Michigan 0 7 7 14 28 Minnesota 0 0 6 7 13 Date: October 7, 1944 Location: Memorial Stadium, Minneapolis Game attendance: 40,052^[8] Referee: William A. Blake (Loras)

On October 7, 1944, Minnesota lost to Michigan by a 28 to 13 score at Memorial Stadium in Minneapolis. The outcome was the first victory by a Michigan team playing on the road against Minnesota since 1932. Michigan fullback Bob Wiese scored three touchdowns. Bill Culligan scored Michigan's first touchdown, and Joe Ponsetto kicked all four points after touchdown. In the first quarter, Michigan stopped two Minnesota drives inside the Michigan 10-yard line. Michigan gained all of its yards from scrimmage on the ground, attempting only one pass, and finishing the game with 265 net rushing yards. Minnesota gained 119 yards rushing and 81 passing yards.^[8][9]

References

1. "1944 Minnesota Golden Gophers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
2. Keiser, Jeff (2007), 2007 Media Guide (PDF), p. 179^{[permanent dead link]}
3. Keiser, Jeff (2007), 2007 Media Guide (PDF), p. 180^{[permanent dead link]}
4. Keiser, Jeff (2007), 2007 Media Guide (PDF), p. 182^{[permanent dead link]}
5. Keiser, Jeff (2007), 2007 Media Guide (PDF), p. 181^{[permanent dead link]}
6. Keiser, Jeff (2007), 2007 Media Guide (PDF), p. 160^{[permanent dead link]}
7. Sec Taylor (September 24, 1944). "Seahawks' Rallies Tip Gophers, 19-13". The Des Moines Register. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Arch Ward (October 1, 1944). "Wolverines Gain First Triumph at Minnesota in 12 Years, 28-13". Chicago Tribune. p. 2-1.
9. "Michigan Defeats Minnesota, 28 to 13; Fullback Wiese Races Across Gophers' Goal Line Thrice on Minneapolis Gridiron; 40,052 See Stirring Game; Wolverines Twice Halt Rivals on 1-Yard Stripe -- Fumbles Costly to Both Teams". The New York Times. UP. October 1, 1944.