1945 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

The 1945 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 1945 Big Ten Conference football season. In their 11th non-consecutive year under head coach Bernie Bierman (Bierman was not Minnesota's coach from 1942 to 1944), the Golden Gophers compiled a 4–5 record and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 177 to 55.^[1]

1945 Minnesota Golden Gophers football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	4–5 (1–5 Big Ten)
Head coach	Bernie Bierman (11th season)
MVP	Bob Fitch
Captain	Game captains
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1944 1946 →

1945 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Indiana $	5	–	0	–	1			9	–	0	–	1
No. 6 Michigan	5	–	1	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
No. 12 Ohio State	5	–	2	–	0			7	–	2	–	0
Northwestern	3	–	3	–	1			4	–	4	–	1
Purdue	3	–	3	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
Wisconsin	2	–	3	–	1			3	–	4	–	2
Illinois	1	–	4	–	1			2	–	6	–	1
Minnesota	1	–	5	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Iowa	1	–	5	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Tackle Bob Fitch was awarded the team's MVP award.^[2]

Total attendance for the season was 246,931, which averaged to 41,155. The season high for attendance was against Ohio State.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 22		Missouri*		Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	W 34–0	34,246
October 6		at Nebraska*		Memorial Stadium Lincoln, NE (rivalry)	W 61–7	25,000
October 13	2:00 p.m.	Fort Warren*	No. 5	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	W 14–0	32,465	^[4]^[5]^[6]
October 20		Northwestern	No. 5	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	W 30–7	55,940
October 27		No. 12 Ohio State	No. 5	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	L 7–20	56,000
November 3		at No. 10 Michigan	No. 16	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (Little Brown Jug)	L 0–26	84,472
November 10		No. 6 Indiana	No. 20	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	L 0–49	41,400
November 17		at Iowa		Iowa Stadium Iowa City, IA (rivalry)	L 19–20	13,880
November 24		Wisconsin		Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)	L 12–26	34,800
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

Rankings

See also: 1945 NCAA football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked ( ) = First-place votes

	Week
Poll	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Final
AP	5 (2)	5	5 (1)	16	20	—	—	—	—

Game summaries

Michigan

Week 7: Minnesota at Michigan

1 2 3 4 Total Minnesota 0 0 0 0 0 • Michigan 7 0 0 19 26 Date: November 3, 1945 Location: Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan Game attendance: 85,132^[7] Referee: Dr. R. W. Huegel (Marquette)

On November 3, 1945, Minnesota lost to Michigan by a 26 to 0 score. Michigan's touchdowns were scored by Yerges (short run in the first quarter), fullback Jack Weisenburger (13-yard run in fourth quarter), and halfbacks Wally Teninga and Warren Bentz (12-yard pass from Don Robinson). Bob Callahan kicked two points after touchdown. Michigan gained 261 rushing yards and 131 passing yards in the game.^[7]

References

1. "1945 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. 181^{[permanent dead link]}
3. Keiser, Jeff (2007), 2007 Media Guide (PDF), p. 160^{[permanent dead link]}
4. "Fort Warren Hopes For Upset Today". The St. Cloud Daily Times. St. Cloud, Minnesota. Associated Press. October 13, 1945. p. 7. Retrieved March 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com  .
5. Johnson, Charles (October 14, 1945). "Gophers Tip Startling Ft. Warren, 14-0". Minneapolis Sunday Tribune. Minneapolis, Minnesota. p. 21. Retrieved March 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com  .
6. Johnson, Charles (October 14, 1945). "Gophers Win (continued)". Minneapolis Sunday Tribune. Minneapolis, Minnesota. p. 22. Retrieved March 26, 2023 – via Newspapers.com  .
7. Edward Burns (November 4, 1945). "Michigan Crushes Minnesota, 26 to 0; Scores 3 Times in 4th". Chicago Tribune. p. 2-1.