1945 Wisconsin Badgers football team

The 1945 Wisconsin Badgers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Wisconsin in the 1945 Big Ten Conference football season. The team compiled a 3–4–2 record (2–3–1 against conference opponents) and finished in sixth place in the Big Ten Conference. Harry Stuhldreher was in his 10th year as Wisconsin's head coach.^[1][2] The team led the Big Ten with an average of 310 yards of total offense per game.^[3]

1945 Wisconsin Badgers football
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Record	3–4–2 (2–3–1 Big Ten)
Head coach	Harry Stuhldreher (10th season)
MVP	Clarence Esser
Captain	Jack Mead
Home stadium	Camp Randall Stadium
Seasons ← 1944 1946 →

1945 Big Ten Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Indiana $	5	–	0	–	1			9	–	0	–	1
No. 6 Michigan	5	–	1	–	0			7	–	3	–	0
No. 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

Don Kindt tied for the lead in the Big Ten with 36 points scored, and Rex Johns led the conference with an average of 40.8 yards per punt.^[3] Tackle Clarence Esser received the team's most valuable player award.^[4] Esser also received first-team honors from the Associated Press on the 1945 All-Big Ten Conference football team.^[5] Jack Mead was the team captain.^[6]

The team played its home games at Camp Randall Stadium. During the 1945 season, the average attendance at home games was 32,666.^[7]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 22	at Great Lakes Navy*	Ross Field North Chicago, IL	T 0–0
September 29	Marquette*	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 40–13	37,000	[8]
October 6	Purdue	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	L 7–13	30,000
October 13	at No. 4 Ohio State	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	L 0–12	69,235
October 20	Illinois	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	T 7–7	33,000
November 3	Iowa	Iowa Stadium Iowa City, IA (rivalry)	W 27–7
November 10	Northwestern	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	L 14–28
November 17	at No. 2 Navy*	Municipal Stadium Baltimore, MD	L 7–36
November 24	at Minnesota	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)	W 26–12	34,800
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[1][2]

References

1. "1945 Wisconsin Badgers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. March 13, 2017.
2. "Wisconsin Football 2016 Fact Book" (PDF). University of Wisconsin. 2016. pp. 212, 219. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 30, 2016. Retrieved March 14, 2017.
3. Wisconsin Football 2016 Fact Book, p. 131.
4. Wisconsin Football 2016 Fact Book, p. 181.
5. "Esser Wins Berth on All-Big-Ten Team". The Milwaukee Journal. November 26, 1945. p. L2.
6. Wisconsin Football 2016 Fact Book, p. 185.
7. Wisconsin Football 2016 Fact Book, p. 258.
8. Henry J. McCormick (September 30, 1945). "Badgers Bludgeon Marquette, 40-13: Cards Show Good Line, Tough Backs". The Wisconsin State Journal. pp. 25, 26 – via Newspapers.com.