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1945 Indiana Hoosiers football team

1945 Indiana Hoosiers football
Indiana Hoosiers logo.svg
Big Ten champion
Conference Big Ten Conference
Ranking
AP No. 4
1945 record 9–0–1 (5–0–1 Big Ten)
Head coach Bo McMillin (12th year)
MVP Howard Brown
Captain Russ Deal
Home stadium Memorial Stadium
Seasons
← 1944
1946 →
1945 Big Ten football standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   T     W   L   T
#4 Indiana $ 5 0 1     9 0 1
#6 Michigan 5 1 0     7 3 0
#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
Week 1: Indiana at Michigan
1 2 3 4 Total
Indiana 6 7 0 0 13
Michigan 0 0 7 0 7
Week 2: Indiana at Northwestern
1 2 3 4 Total
Indiana 0 0 0 7 7
Northwestern 7 0 0 0 7
Week 3: Indiana at Illinois
1 2 3 4 Total
Indiana 0 0 0 6 6
Illinois 0 0 0 0 0
  • Date: October 6, 1945
  • Location: Memorial Stadium, Champaign, IL
  • Game attendance: 25,173
  • Referee: William A. Blake
Week 4: Nebraska at Indiana
1 2 3 4 Total
Nebraska 0 0 7 7 14
Indiana 6 21 14 13 54
  • Date: October 13, 1945
  • Location: Memorial Stadium
    Bloomington, IN
  • Game attendance: 20,000
  • Referee: Ted O'Sullivan
Week 5: Indiana at Iowa
1 2 3 4 Total
Indiana 20 20 12 0 52
Iowa 0 0 0 20 20
  • Date: October 20, 1945
  • Location: Iowa City, IA
  • Game attendance: 15,800
Week 6: Tulsa at Indiana
1 2 3 4 Total
Tulsa 0 0 2 0 2
Indiana 0 7 0 7
  • Date: October 27, 1945
  • Location: Memorial Stadium
    Bloomington, IN
  • Game attendance: 20,000
Week 7: Cornell at Indiana
1 2 3 4 Total
Cornell (IA) 0 0 0 6 6
Indiana 14 13 12 7 46
  • Date: November 3, 1945
  • Location: Memorial Stadium
    Bloomington, IN
  • Game attendance: 6,000
  • Referee: Mike Layden
Week 8: Indiana at Minnesota
1 2 3 4 Total
Indiana 7 28 14 0 49
Minnesota 0 0 0 0 0
  • Date: November 10, 1945
  • Location: Minneapolis
  • Game attendance: 41,400
  • Referee: Rollie Barnum

The 1945 Indiana Hoosiers football team was an American football team that represented the Indiana University Bloomington in the 1945 Big Ten Conference football season, compiled the only undefeated record and won the first Big Ten Conference championship in the program's history. In their 12th year under head coach Bo McMillin, the Hoosiers compiled a 9–0–1 record (5–0–1 Big Ten), outscored their opponents by a combined total of 279 to 56, and finished the season ranked #4 in the final AP Poll. The lone blemish on the team's record was a 7-7 tie with Northwestern in the second game of the season.

Head coach Bo McMillin was selected as the Coach of the Year by his fellow college football coaches. Four Hoosier players also received first-team honors on either the 1945 All-America Team or the 1945 All-Big Ten Conference football team. End Bob Ravensberg was a consensus first-team All-American, while fullback Pete Pihos received first-team All-American honors from Yank, the Army Weekly. Freshman halfback George Taliaferro rushed for 719 yards (the first African-American player to lead the Big Ten in rushing) and received second-team All-American honors. Pihos, Taliaferro, and end Ted Kluszewski also received first-team All-Big Ten honors. Pihos, Taliaferro, and coach McMilllin were later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Quarterback Ben Raimondi led the team in passing, completing 35 of 83 passes for 593 yards and 10 touchdowns with three interceptions. Mel Groomes was the team's leading receiver with 12 catches for 223 yards. In 1948, Groomes became the first African-American player to sign with the Detroit Lions.


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