| 1946 Sugar Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 12th Sugar Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
 Tulane Stadium inNew Orleans, Louisiana, hosted the Sugar Bowl. | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 1, 1946 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1945 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Tulane Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | New Orleans,Louisiana | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Oklahoma A&M (–13)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Bus Haskins | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 68,822[2] | ||||||||||||||||||
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The1946 Sugar Bowl was the twelfth edition of thebowl game and matched theOklahoma A&M Cowboys and theSt. Mary's Gaels. It was played on Tuesday, January 1, 1946, atTulane Stadium inNew Orleans,Louisiana.[3][4]
The radio broadcast was carried by theABC network.[5]
The undefeated Oklahoma A&M Aggies (later became Oklahoma State Cowboys) repeated as champions of theMissouri Valley Conference, and had won the previous year'sCotton Bowl. St. Mary's was a small independent from northernCalifornia that was making its second bowl appearance (1939 Cotton Bowl). The Gaels started the season6–0 with notable wins overUSC,California, andNevada, before a loss toUCLA in the last game ending the unbeaten streak. Both teams were invited afterAlabama (9–0) accepted the invitation to theRose Bowl and undefeatedArmy continued their bowl abstinence.[6]
The Gaels were small compared to the Aggies, being undersized by at least fifteen pounds (6.8 kg) to a team that averaged 203 pounds (92 kg) and that had war veterans such asJim Reynolds andBurt Cole. But St. Mary's scored first on aHerman Wedemeyer touchdown pass to Denis O'Connor.Bob Fenimore responded with a touchdown pass toCecil Haskins, and Fenimore scored on a touchdown run later in the half. Wedemeyer contributed to the Gaels' final touchdown as he lateraled to guardCarl DeSalvo, who ran 20 yards for a touchdown. But the kick failed, making it only14–13 at halftime.
Fenimore and Reynolds added in touchdown runs in the second half as the lineman size started to make a difference, with St. Mary's four turnovers mattering more than Oklahoma A&M's. Joe Thomas caught a touchdown in the final five minutes to make the final score33–13 as the Gaels were shut out in the second half, and the Cowboys won their second straight bowl game. Note: Denis O'Connor, St, Mary's QB also played both ways as did Wedemeyer and Fenimore, known as 60-Minute Men in the day. O'Connor on defense is tied for Sugar Bowl interceptions with three.[2]
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After a Bowl appearance the following year in the Oil Bowl, played in Houston vs. Georgia Tech, the Gaels never qualified for a bowl game again, later playing inDivision II andDivision I-AA; the program was disbanded prior to the2004 season. O'Connor (1944) and Wedemeyer (1943) both played in the East West Shrine All Star game.
The1945 Oklahoma A&M football team was retroactively awarded theAFCA national championship andCoaches Trophy, the school’s first national title. The Cowboys did not return to the Sugar Bowl for seventy years, until January2016.
| Statistics | SMC | A&M |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 8 | 15 |
| Yards Rushing | 61 | 217 |
| Yards Passing | 166 | 112 |
| Total Yards | 238 | 339 |
| Punts-Average | 5–43.0 | 4–47.2 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 2–2 | 0–0 |
| Interceptions | 2 | 4 |
Source:[3]