1945 Washington Huskies football team

The 1945 Washington Huskies football team represented the University of Washington in the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) during the 1945 college football season. Home games were played on campus in Seattle at Husky Stadium, known at the time as University of Washington Stadium.

1945 Washington Huskies football
Conference	Pacific Coast Conference
Record	6–3 (6–3 PCC)
Head coach	Ralph Welch (4th season)
Captain	Bill McGovern
Home stadium	University of Washington Stadium
Seasons ← 1944 1946 →

1945 Pacific Coast Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 11 USC $	5	–	1	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Washington State	6	–	2	–	1			6	–	2	–	1
Washington	6	–	3	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Oregon State	4	–	4	–	0			4	–	4	–	1
UCLA	2	–	3	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
California	2	–	4	–	1			4	–	5	–	1
Oregon	3	–	6	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
Idaho	1	–	5	–	0			1	–	7	–	0
Montana	0	–	1	–	0			1	–	4	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Under fourth-year head coach Ralph Welch, the Huskies were 6–3, third in the PCC, and outscored its opponents 91 to 54.^[1] No non-conference games were played this season and center Bill McGovern was the team captain.

After a two-year hiatus due to World War II, in-state rival Washington State resumed its program and was played twice. The games were split, with home team wins in shutouts in Seattle in October,^[2][3] and in Pullman at the end of the season.^[4][5][6] The Cougars had last fielded a team in 1942.

Oregon and Oregon State were also played twice, in Seattle and Portland. The Huskies swept Oregon,^[7][8] but split with Oregon State, with the visiting teams prevailing.^[9][10][11] The Huskies upset USC 13–7 in Seattle,^[12][13] the Trojans' only PCC loss. UCLA was not on the schedule this season, and Stanford did not field a team from 1943 through 1945.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 29	Oregon		University of Washington Stadium Seattle, WA (rivalry)	W 20–6	32,000	[7]
October 6	at California		California Memorial Stadium Berkeley, CA	L 14–27	35,000
October 13	Washington State		University of Washington Stadium Seattle, WA (rivalry)	W 6–0	35,000	[2][3]
October 20	vs. Oregon State		Multnomah Stadium Portland, OR	W 13–0	18,000	[9]
October 27	No. 20 USC		University of Washington Stadium Seattle, WA	W 13–7	40,000	[12][13]
November 3	vs. Oregon	No. 18	Multnomah Stadium Portland, OR	W 7–0	28,194	[8]
November 10	Oregon State	No. 18	University of Washington Stadium Seattle, WA	L 6–7	20,000	[10][11]
November 17	Idaho		University of Washington Stadium Seattle, WA	W 12–0	6,000	[14][15]
November 24	at Washington State		Rogers Field Pullman, WA	L 0–7	15,000	[4][5][6]
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

See also: 1945 college football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below

	Week
Poll	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Final
AP	—	—	—	18т	18	—	—	—	—

NFL draft selections

Six University of Washington Huskies were selected in the 1946 NFL draft, which lasted 32 rounds with 300 selections.^[16]

= Husky Hall of Fame[17]

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Keith DeCourcy	Back	8	7	Detroit Lions
Lee Louis	Back	13	1	Chicago Cardinals
John Wingender	Back	13	7	Philadelphia Eagles
Maurice Stacy	Back	24	6	Green Bay Packers
John Norton	Back	26	6	Green Bay Packers
Gail Bruce	End	30	3	Pittsburgh Steelers