The1946 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team compiled an 8–0–1 record and was ranked No. 1 in the final AP poll. The Fighting Irish, led by consensus All-AmericansJohnny Lujack at quarterback andGeorge Connor at tackle, played a scoreless tie against No. 2 Army in a game billed as the"Game of the Century". Notre Dame also ranked first in the nation intotal offense (441.3 yards per game), rushing offense (340.1 yards per game), and total defense (141.7 yards per game).
Delaware compiled a 10–0 record and was recognized by the AP as the small college national champion.Morgan State (8–0) andTennessee A&I (10–1) have been recognized as the black college national champions.
Significant games played in September 1946 included the following:
September 21
Indiana was upset byCincinnati, 15–6, at home in Bloomington. Indiana had won the Big Ten championship in 1945 with a No. 4 ranking in the final AP Poll.
In Baltimore, No. 2 Notre Dame defeated Navy, 28–0.
No. 3 Penn lost to Princeton, 17–14.
No. 5 Georgia beat No. 15 Alabama, 14–0.
No. 4 UCLA beat St. Mary's, 46–20, in a Friday night game.
No. 8 Rice beat Texas Tech 41–6
In the poll that followed No. 1 Army, No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 Georgia, and No. 4 UCLA, and No. 5 Rice.
November 9
A crowd of 74,000 turned out at New York's Yankee Stadium to watch No. 1 Army and No. 2 Notre Dame in a meeting of the nation's two unbeaten and untied teams. Both teams missed scoring opportunities. In the opening quarter, Army recovered a fumble on the Irish 24, but was stopped on fourth down at the 13 yard line. The Irish drove to the Army three yard line in the second quarter but no further. Army reached the Irish 20 yard line in the third quarter, but Notre Dame's Terry Brennan picked off a pass from Glenn Davis. In the last quarter, a bad punt was returned by Davis to the Irish 39 yard line, but Notre Dame forced a fumble and stopped any further scoring chances. The game ended in a scoreless tie, 0–0.
In Jacksonville, No. 3 Georgia beat Florida 33–14.
In Portland, No. 4 UCLA beat Oregon 14–0.
No. 5 Rice lost in Little Rock to Arkansas, 7–0.
In the poll that followed, No. 9 Penn moved back up to No. 5 after beating Columbia in New York's "other" football game, 41–6. The top four remained the same.
November 16
In its third meeting against a Top Five team, No. 1 Army beat No. 5 Penn in Philadelphia, 34–7.
No. 2 Notre Dame beat Northwestern, 27–0.
No. 3 Georgia beat Auburn 41–0 in a neutral site in Columbus, Georgia.
No. 4 UCLA beat Montana 61–7.
No. 9 Illinois beat No. 13 Ohio State 16–7 and replaced Penn at No. 5.
November 23
No. 1 Army was idle.
No. 2 Notre Dame beat Tulane in New Orleans, 41–0.
No. 3 Georgia won at Chattanooga, 48–27.
No. 4 UCLA defeated No. 10 USC 13–6.
No. 5 Illinois won at Northwestern, 20–0, to close its season with an 8–1–0 record.
No. 8 Michigan defeated Ohio State, 58–6, in Columbus.
The top five remained the same.
November 30
No. 1 Army barely beat a 1–7–0 Navy team, 21–18
No. 2 Notre Dame beat No. 16 USC 26–6. Army still had a 9–0–1 record and had been ranked No. 1 in 22 of the last 23 AP Polls dating back to 1944, but the results of the final games convinced the voters to move the Irish up to first place in the postseason poll and the Cadets down to second.
No. 3 Georgia defeated No. 7 Georgia Tech 35–7
No. 4 UCLA beat Nebraska, 18–0, and accepted an invitation to face No. 5 Illinois in the Rose Bowl.
With the exception of Notre Dame leapfrogging Army, the rankings of the other top-five teams remained the same.
On December 2, the finalAP Poll was issued with Notre Dame at No. 1, Army at No. 2, Georgia at No. 3, UCLA at No. 4, Illinois at No. 5, Michigan at No. 6, Tennessee at No. 7, LSU at No. 8, North Carolina at No. 9, and Rice at No. 10.
Notable post-season games played in December included:
December 7: Tennessee A&I defeated West Virginia State, 27–7, in the Derby Bowl
December 7: Lincoln (PA) defeated Florida A&M, 20–14, in the Orange Blossom Classic
December 7: Southern defeated Xavier of Louisiana, 35–0, in New Orleans
December 7: Allen defeated Fayetteville State, 40–6, in the Piedmont Tobacco Bowl.
December 14: Muhlenberg defeated St. Bonaventure, 26–25, in the Tobacco Bowl
December 21: USC defeated Tulane, 20–13, in New Orleans
December 23: Stanford defeated Hawaii, 18–7, in Honolulu.
December 25: Southern defeated Tuskegee, 64–7, in the Yam Bowl
December 28: Florida A&M and Wiley played to a 6–6 tie in the Angel Bowl.
The following list of scoring leaders is taken from the NCAA's Official Football Guide for 1947 and includes both major and minor college players.Gene "Choo-Choo" Roberts ranked third overall and first among major college players.[14]
^"Glenn Davis honored".St. Petersburg Times. Florida. International News Service. December 4, 1946. p. 10.
^abW.J. Bingham, ed. (1947).The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1947. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 73.
^abW.J. Bingham, ed. (1947).The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1947. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 74.
^abW.J. Bingham, ed. (1947).The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1947. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 75.
^W.J. Bingham, ed. (1947).The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1947. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 79.
^W.J. Bingham, ed. (1947).The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1947. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 80.
^W.J. Bingham, ed. (1947).The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1947. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 82.
^W.J. Bingham, ed. (1947).The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1947. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 83.
^abW.J. Bingham, ed. (1947).The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1947. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 89.
