American college football season
The1944 Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks football team represented theUnited States Navy pre-flight school at theUniversity of Iowa as an independent during the1944 college football season . In its third season, the team compiled a 10–1 record, outscored opponents by a total of 313 to 96, and was ranked No. 6 in thefinal AP poll .[ 1] [ 2]
In June 1944,Jack Meagher —the head football coach at Auburn from 1934 to 1942—was assigned to replaceDon Faurot as the pre-fight school's head coach. Faurot had been transferred toMonmouth College in January. Meagher was serving as a lieutenant commander in the Navyand had been assigned previously to the technical training center inNorman, Oklahoma .[ 3] Meagher's assistant coaches in 1944 includedBud Wilkinson (who later coached at Oklahoma),Steve Sinko , andChuck Jaskwhich .Harvey Harman was the athletic director.[ 4] [ 5]
In the finalLitkenhous Ratings , Iowa Pre-Flight ranked eighth among the nation's college and service teams and first out of 28United States Navy teams with a rating of 115.9.[ 6] [ 7]
Date Opponent Rank Site Result Attendance Source September 16 atMichigan L 7–1220,243 September 23 atMinnesota W 19–1331,600 [ 8] September 30 Olathe NAS W 45–125,000 [ 9] October 7 vs.Second Air Force W 12–629,500 [ 10] October 14 at No. 7Purdue No. 11 W 13–618,000 [ 11] October 22 Fort Warren No. 5 Iowa Stadium Iowa City, IA W 30–08,000 [ 12] October 29 atMarquette No. 6 W 26–08,000 [ 13] November 4 atTulsa No. 7 W 47–2718,000 [ 14] November 11 Bunker Hill NAS No. 7 Iowa Stadium Iowa City, IA W 33–74,000 [ 15] November 18 atMissouri No. 7 W 51–7[ 16] November 25 vs.Iowa No. 7 Iowa Stadium Iowa City, IA W 30–62,500 [ 17] Rankings fromAP Poll released prior to the game
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking██ Decrease in ranking ( ) = First-place votes Week Poll 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Final AP 11(1) 5(0.25) 6 7 7 7 7(2) 6(1) 6(1)
Player Position Arthur Guepe Back John Herriman End Lou King Back Bus Mertes Back Randle Rushing Back Don Samuels Back Vic Schleich Tackle Bob Smith Back Jimmy Smith Back Warren Smith Tackle George Strohmeyer Center Dick Sullivan Back Dell Taylor Back Don Waldron Back Charles Woodward Back
^ "1944 Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks Schedule and Results" .SR/College Football .Sports Reference LLC . RetrievedFebruary 23, 2018 .^ John B. Scott."1944 Iowa Pre-Flight" (PDF) . College Football Historical Society – viaLA84 Foundation . ^ "Meagher to Coach Iowa's Pre-Flight Football Team" .Muscatine Journal and NewsTribune . June 16, 1944. p. 6 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Name Aides To Meagher At Iowa Navy" .The Des Moines Tribune . July 15, 1944. p. 6 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Seahawks Open Grid Drills" .The Des Moines Register . July 18, 1944. p. 9 – viaNewspapers.com .^ Litkenhous, E. E. (December 10, 1944)."Big Ten Circuit Repeats As King of College Leagues" .The Salt Lake Tribune .Salt Lake City Utah . p. 8B. RetrievedApril 9, 2023 – viaNewspapers.com .^ Litkenhous, E. E. (December 17, 1944)."Army, Randolph Field One-Two in Final Litkenhouse Ratings" .Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph .Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania . p. 4, section 2. RetrievedApril 15, 2023 – viaNewspapers.com .^ Sec Taylor (September 24, 1944)."Seahawks' Rallies Tip Gophers, 19-13" .The Des Moines Register . p. 19 – viaNewspapers.com . ^ George Mills (October 1, 1944)."Iowa Seahawks Shellac Olathe Flyers 45-12" .The Des Moines Sunday Register . p. 4S – viaNewspapers.com . ^ George Mills (October 8, 1944)."Pre-Flights Stop Dobbs, Win, 12 to 6" .The Des Moines Register . p. 17 – viaNewspapers.com . ^ Sec Taylor (October 15, 1944)."Seahawks Surprise Purdue, 13-6" .The Des Moines Sunday Register . p. 17 – viaNewspapers.com . ^ Bert McGrane (October 23, 1944)."Seahawks Tame Broncos, 30-0" .The Des Moines Register . p. 9 – viaNewspapers.com . ^ "Cadets Slap Marquette, 26-0" .The Des Moines Register . October 30, 1944. p. 9 – viaNewspapers.com .^ Sec Taylor (November 5, 1944)."Cadets Romp, 47-27" .The Des Moines Register . p. 17 – viaNewspapers.com . ^ "Seahawks Swoop, 33 to 7" .The Des Moines Sunday Register . November 12, 1944. p. 2S – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Seahawks Grind Missouri, 51-7" .The Des Moines Sunday Register . November 19, 1944. p. 21 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Iowa Wilts in 4th, Bows, 30-6" .The Des Moines Sunday Register . November 26, 1944. p. 17 – viaNewspapers.com .
Bowl games All-Service 1942 1943 1944 1945