The 1943 college football season was the 75th season of intercollegiate football in the United States. Played during World War II, the competition included schools from the Big Ten Conference, the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC), the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the Big Six Conference, the Southwestern Conference, and numerous smaller conferences and independent programs.

The teams ranked highest in the final Associated Press poll in December 1943:

  1. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish compiled a 9–1 and were ranked No. 1 in the final AP Poll. They lost their final game of the season against No. 6 Great Lakes Navy. The Fighting Irish defeated two No. 2 ranked teams (Michigan and Iowa Pre-Flight) and two No. 3 ranked teams (Navy and Army).
  2. The Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks, led by head coach Don Faurot, compiled a 9–1 record, outscored opponents by a total of 277 to 98, and led the nation with 324.4 rushing yards per game. They ranked highest among the service teams.
  3. The Michigan Wolverines, led by head coach Fritz Crisler, compiled an 8–1 record and tied for the Big Ten championship. They outscored opponents by a total of 302 to 73. Their only loss was to No. 1 Notre Dame. The Wolverines led the Big Ten (and ranked fifth nationally) with an average of 363.2 yards per game of total offense. They also led the Big Ten (and ranked 10th nationally) by giving up 164.1 yards per game in total defense. Bill Daley rushed for 817 yards and led the nation with an average of 6.81 yards per carry.
  4. The Navy Midshipmen compiled an 8–1 record and outscored opponents by a total of 236 to 88. They ranked eighth nationally in total defense, giving up only 161.2 yards per game.
  5. The Purdue Boilermakers compiled a 9–0 record, tying with Michigan for the Big Ten championship and outscoring opponents by a total of 214 to 55. Guard Alex Agase was a consensus All-American. Fullback Tony Butkovich (who was later killed at the Battle of Okinawa in 1945) led the Big Ten and ranked third nationally with 833 rushing yards.

Quarterback Angelo Bertelli of Notre Dame won the Heisman Trophy, and halfback Bob O'Dell of Penn won the Maxwell Award. The statistical leaders for 1943 included Robert Hoernschemeyer of Indiana with 1,648 yards of total offense, Creighton Miller of Notre Dame with 911 rushing yards, Paul Rickards of Pittsburgh with 997 passing yards, Marion Flanagan of Texas A&M with 403 receiving yards, and Steve Van Buren of LSU with 98 points scored.

A number of universities suspended their football programs for the 1943 season, including Alabama, Auburn, Boston College, Duquesne, Florida, Fordham, Harvard, Kentucky, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Oregon State, Stanford, Syracuse, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Washington State, and William & Mary.

Conference and program changes

School1942 Conference1943 Conference
Creighton BluejaysMissouri ValleyDropped Program
Manhattan JaspersIndependentDropped Program
Washington University in St. Louis BearsMissouri ValleyIndependent

September

September 17 Georgia beat Presbyterian College 25–7. The next day, September 18, Michigan won at Camp Grant, 26–0. Wisconsin lost to Marquette, 33–7, on its way to a 1–9–0 finish.

September 25 Ohio State lost to Iowa Pre-Flight 28–13. Michigan beat Western Michigan 57–6. Notre Dame won at Pitt, 42–0. Army beat Villanova 27–0, and Navy beat North Carolina Pre-Flight, 31–0. Georgia lost at LSU, 34–27. Tulsa beat SMU 20–7. Georgia Tech beat North Carolina 20–7.

October

October 2 Michigan won at Northwestern 21–7. Notre Dame beat Georgia Tech 55–13. Army defeated Colgate 42–0, and Navy beat Cornell 46–7. The first AP Poll of the season led off with No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Michigan, No. 3 Army, No. 4 Navy, and No. 5 Duke.

October 9 No. 1 Notre Dame beat No. 2 Michigan 35–21 in the first No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup in the seven-year history of the AP Poll. No. 3 Army registered another shutout, defeating Temple 51–0. In Baltimore, No. 4 Navy edged No. 5 Duke, 14–13. No. 6 Penn edged No. 14 Dartmouth 7–6. No. 7 Purdue went to 4–0–0 with a 19–0 win over Camp Grant. The next AP Poll featured No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Army, No. 3 Navy, No. 4 Penn, and No. 5 Purdue.

October 16 No. 1 Notre Dame won at Wisconsin 50–0. No. 2 Army won at Columbia, 52–0. In four games, the Cadets had outscored their opponents 172–0. No. 3 Navy beat Penn State 14–6. No. 4 Penn beat the Lakehurst Naval Air Station 74–6. No. 5 Purdue beat Ohio State 30–7 at a game in Cleveland. Penn and Purdue swapped spots in the next AP Poll, but Notre Dame, Army, and Navy remained the top three.

October 23 No. 1 Notre Dame beat Illinois 47–0. No. 2 Army yielded its first points, but won at Yale, 39–7. No. 3 Navy beat Georgia Tech 28–14 in Baltimore. No. 4 Purdue beat Iowa 28–7. No. 5 Penn won at Columbia, 33–0, but dropped from the Top Five. No. 7 USC stayed unbeaten, untied, and unscored upon with a 6–0 win over No. 6 Pacific, and the next poll raised the Trojans to No. 5 behind Notre Dame, Army, Navy, and Purdue.

October 30 In Cleveland, No. 1 Notre Dame beat No. 3 Navy, 33–6. In Philadelphia, No. 2 Army and No. 6 Pennsylvania played to a 13–13 tie. No. 4 Purdue won at Wisconsin, 32–0. No. 5 USC beat California, 13–0, for its sixth straight shutout. The next AP Poll featured No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Purdue, No. 3 Army, No. 4 USC, and No. 5 Penn.

November

November 6 At Yankee Stadium in New York, No. 1 Notre Dame beat No. 3 Army, 26–0. No. 2 Purdue won at Minnesota, 14–7. No. 4 USC lost at San Diego to the San Diego Navy team. No. 5 Penn lost to No. 7 Navy, 24–7. No. 6 Michigan beat Indiana 23–6. No. 8 Iowa Pre-Flight continued its unbeaten streak with a 46–19 win at Marquette on November 7, and became the first “service team” to ever reach the AP's Top Five, ranking No. 5 behind Notre Dame, Purdue, Navy, and Michigan.

November 13 No. 1 Notre Dame won at Northwestern 25–6. No. 2 Purdue was idle. No. 3 Navy won at Columbia 61–0. No. 4 Michigan beat Wisconsin 27–0. No. 5 Iowa Pre-Flight beat Camp Grant 28–13. The AP voters elevated Iowa Pre-Flight to No. 2 in the next poll, just in time for a showdown with No. 1 Notre Dame. No. 3 Purdue, No. 4 Michigan, and No. 5 Navy rounded out the Top Five.

November 20 No. 1 Notre Dame edged No. 2 Iowa Pre-Flight, 14–13. No. 3 Purdue closed its season undefeated (9–0–0) with a 7–0 win at Indiana. No. 4 Michigan closed its season at 8–1–0 with a 45–7 win over Ohio State. No. 5 Navy was idle. No. 6 Duke closed its season at 8–1–0 with a 27–6 win over North Carolina and was raised to No. 5 in the next AP Poll behind Notre Dame, Iowa Pre-Flight, Michigan, and Purdue.

November 27 No. 1 Notre Dame closed its season with a 19–14 loss to Great Lakes NTC, 19–14, but still finished No. 1 in the final rankings. Iowa Pre-Flight, which had stayed at No. 2 after its close loss to Notre Dame, beat Minnesota, 32–0, to finish at 9–1–0. No. 3 Michigan, No. 4 Purdue, and No. 5 Duke had finished their seasons. No. 6 Navy closed its season with a 13–0 win over No. 7 Army in the Army–Navy Game, which took place at West Point. The Midshipmen rose to No. 4 in the final poll, behind Notre Dame, Iowa Pre-Flight, and Michigan. Purdue moved down to No. 5, Great Lakes NTC entered the poll at No. 6 after their upset of Notre Dame, and Duke slipped to No. 7.

Conference standings

Major conference standings

1943 Big Six Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Oklahoma $ 5 –0 –07 –2 –0
Missouri 3 –2 –03 –5 –0
Iowa State 3 –2 –04 –4 –0
Kansas 2 –3 –04 –5 –1
Nebraska 2 –3 –02 –6 –0
Kansas State 0 –5 –01 –7 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
1943 Big Ten Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 5 Purdue + 6 –0 –09 –0 –0
No. 3 Michigan + 6 –0 –08 –1 –0
No. 9 Northwestern 5 –1 –06 –2 –0
Indiana 2 –3 –14 –4 –2
Minnesota 2 –3 –05 –4 –0
Illinois 2 –4 –03 –7 –0
Ohio State 1 –4 –03 –6 –0
Wisconsin 1 –6 –01 –9 –0
Iowa 0 –4 –11 –6 –1
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
1943 Middle Three Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Lafayette + 3 –1 –04 –1 –0
Rutgers + 3 –1 –03 –2 –0
Lehigh 0 –4 –00 –5 –1
  • + – Conference co-champions
1943 Missouri Valley Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 15 Tulsa $ 1 –0 –06 –1 –1
Oklahoma A&M 0 –1 –03 –4 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1943 Mountain States Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Colorado $ 2 –0 –05 –2 –0
Utah 0 –2 –00 –7 –0
Denver 0 –0 –02 –5 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
1943 Pacific Coast Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
USC $ 5 –0 –08 –2 –0
California 2 –2 –04 –6 –0
No. 12 Washington 0 –1 –04 –1 –0
UCLA 0 –4 –01 –8 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1943 Southeastern Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 13 Georgia Tech $ 3 –0 –08 –3 –0
LSU 2 –2 –06 –3 –0
Tulane 1 –1 –03 –3 –0
Georgia 0 –3 –06 –4 –0
Vanderbilt 0 –0 –05 –0 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • Seven other SEC schools did not field a team due to World War II.[2]
Rankings from AP Poll
1943 Southern Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 7 Duke $ 4 –0 –08 –1 –0
Maryland 2 –0 –04 –5 –0
South Carolina 2 –1 –05 –2 –0
Wake Forest 3 –2 –04 –5 –0
North Carolina 2 –2 –06 –3 –0
Richmond 1 –1 –06 –1 –0
Clemson 2 –3 –02 –6 –0
VMI 2 –3 –02 –6 –0
NC State 1 –4 –03 –6 –0
Davidson 0 –3 –00 –5 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1943 Southwest Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 14 Texas $ 5 –0 –07 –1 –1
Texas A&M 4 –1 –07 –2 –1
Rice 2 –3 –03 –7 –0
SMU 2 –3 –02 –7 –0
TCU 1 –4 –02 –6 –0
Arkansas 1 –4 –02 –7 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Independents

1943 Eastern college football independents records
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Boston College   –  4 –0 –1
Franklin & Marshall   –  7 –1 –0
Dartmouth   –  6 –1 –0
Rochester   –  6 –1 –0
No. 11 Army   –  7 –2 –1
Holy Cross   –  6 –2 –0
Tufts   –  6 –2 –0
No. 20 Penn   –  6 –2 –1
Brown   –  5 –3 –0
Villanova   –  5 –3 –0
Colgate   –  5 –3 –1
Penn State   –  5 –3 –1
Bucknell   –  6 –4 –0
Cornell   –  6 –4 –0
Harvard   –  2 –2 –1
Yale   –  4 –5 –0
Pittsburgh   –  3 –5 –0
Temple   –  2 –6 –0
CCNY   –  1 –3 –1
Princeton   –  1 –6 –0
Carnegie Tech   –  0 –4 –1
Columbia   –  0 –8 –0
Rankings from AP Poll
1943 Midwestern college football independents records
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Michigan State Normal   –  2 –0 –0
DePauw   –  5 –0 –1
No. 1 Notre Dame   –  9 –1 –0
Miami (OH)   –  7 –2 –1
Western Michigan   –  4 –2 –0
Bowling Green   –  5 –3 –1
Marquette   –  3 –4 –1
Central Michigan   –  2 –3 –0
Ohio Wesleyan   –  4 –6 –0
Xavier   –  1 –6 –0
Wayne   –  0 –3 –0
Rankings from AP Poll
1943 Southern college football independents records
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 4 Navy   –  8 –1 –0
Miami (FL)   –  5 –1 –0
West Virginia   –  4 –3 –0
North Texas Aggies   –  3 –4 –1
Virginia   –  3 –4 –1
Texas Tech   –  4 –6 –0
Tennessee Tech   –  1 –5 –0
Rankings from AP Poll
1943 Western college football independents records
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 18 Colorado College   –  7 –0 –0
New Mexico A&M   –  4 –0 –0
No. 19 Pacific (CA)   –  7 –2 –0
Nevada   –  4 –1 –1
New Mexico   –  3 –2 –0
Saint Mary's   –  2 –5 –0
San Francisco   –  1 –7 –0
Rankings from AP Poll
1943 military service football records
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 17 Bainbridge   –  7 –0 –0
Bunker Hill NAS   –  6 –0 –0
Greensboro   –  4 –0 –0
Memphis NATTC   –  2 –0 –0
No. 2 Iowa Pre-Flight   –  9 –1 –0
No. 10 March Field   –  9 –1 –0
No. 8 Del Monte Pre-Flight   –  7 –1 –0
Randolph Field   –  9 –1 –1
Georgia Pre-Flight   –  5 –1 –0
No. 6 Great Lakes Navy   –  10 –2 –0
Lubbock AAF   –  5 –1 –0
Ottumwa NAS   –  5 –1 –0
Camp Davis   –  8 –2 –0
Sampson NTS   –  7 –2 –0
San Diego NTS   –  7 –2 –0
Keesler Field   –  3 –1 –0
Wright Field   –  1 –0 –1
Camp Lejeune   –  6 –2 –1
Fort Riley   –  6 –2 –1
Kearns Field   –  5 –2 –0
Fort Knox   –  4 –2 –0
Cherry Point Marines   –  4 –2 –1
Alameda Coast Guard   –  4 –2 –1
Fort Douglas   –  4 –2 –1
300th Infantry   –  5 –3 –0
176th Infantry   –  4 –3 –0
Blackland AAF   –  4 –3 –0
Fort Sheridan   –  4 –3 –0
Fort Warren   –  4 –3 –0
Norman NAS   –  4 –3 –0
Charleston Coast Guard   –  5 –4 –0
Salt Lake AAB   –  4 –3 –2
124th Infantry   –  2 –2 –0
Camp Kilmer   –  2 –2 –0
Camp Lee   –  5 –5 –0
Logan Navy   –  2 –2 –0
Spokane Air Service   –  2 –2 –0
Camp Edwards   –  4 –5 –0
Curtis Bay Coast Guard   –  4 –5 –0
Saint Mary's Pre-Flight   –  3 –4 –1
Jacksonville NATTC   –  3 –4 –0
Richmond AAB   –  4 –6 –1
Atlantic City NAS   –  2 –3 –0
North Carolina Pre-Flight   –  2 –4 –1
Patterson Field   –  2 –4 –1
Bowman Field   –  2 –4 –0
Kirtland Field   –  1 –2 –0
Lakehurst NAS   –  2 –4 –0
Camp Grant   –  2 –6 –2
Lowry Field   –  1 –3 –0
Fort Monroe   –  3 –7 –0
Daniel Field   –  2 –7 –0
Camp Gordon   –  1 –4 –0
South Plains AAF   –  1 –4 –0
Greenville AAB   –  1 –5 –0
Ward Island Marines   –  1 –5 –0
Bryan AAF   –  1 –6 –0
Pocatello AAB   –  0 –3 –0
Norfolk Fleet Marines   –  0 –9 –0
Rankings from AP Poll

Minor conferences

Conference Champion(s) Record
Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association No champion —
California Collegiate Athletic Association No champion —
Central Intercollegiate Athletics Association Morgan State College 5–1–1
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference No champion —
Far Western Conference No champion —
Indiana Intercollegiate Conference DePauw
Earlham		 2–0
Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference No champion —
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference No champion —
Lone Star Conference No champion —
Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference No champion —
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference No champion —
Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association No champion —
Nebraska College Athletic Conference No champion —
New Mexico Intercollegiate Conference No champion —
North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference No champion —
North Dakota College Athletic Conference No champion —
Ohio Athletic Conference No champion —
Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference No champion —
Pacific Northwest Conference No champion —
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference No champion —
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference No champion —
South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference No champion —
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference No champion —
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tuskegee 5–1–1
Southwestern Athletic Conference No champion —
State Teacher's College Conference of Minnesota No champion —
Texas Collegiate Athletic Conference No champion —
Washington Intercollegiate Conference No champion —
Wisconsin State Teachers College Conference No champion —

Minor conference standings

1943 Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Morgan State $ 2 –0 –05 –0 –0
North Carolina A&T 2 –0 –04 –0 –0
Virginia State 2 –2 –05 –2 –0
Hampton 2 –2 –02 –4 –0
Johnson C. Smith 1 –3 –05 –4 –0
West Virginia State 0 –2 –00 –2 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
1943 Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Northern Illinois State 1 –0 –04 –1 –1
Illinois State Normal 1 –0 –06 –2 –1
Western Illinois 0 –2 –01 –6 –0
Eastern Illinois 0 –0 –00 –0 –0
Southern Illinois 0 –0 –00 –0 –0
1943 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
  • No champion

Rankings

Heisman Trophy voting

The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player

PlayerSchoolPositionTotal
Angelo BertelliNotre DameQB648
Bob OdellPennHB177
Otto GrahamNorthwesternHB140
Creighton MillerNotre DameHB134
Eddie ProkopGeorgia TechHB85
Hal HamburgNavyHB73
Bill DaleyMichiganFB71
Tony ButkovichPurdueFB65
Jim WhiteNotre DameOT52

Bowl games

Bowl game Winning team Losing team
Rose Bowl USC 29 No. 12 Washington 0
Sugar Bowl No. 13 Georgia Tech 20 No. 15 Tulsa 18
Orange Bowl LSU 19 Texas A&M 14
Cotton Bowl Classic No. 14 Texas 7 Randolph Field 7
Sun Bowl Southwestern (TX) 7 New Mexico 0

Statistical leaders

Team leaders

Total offense

Rank Team Games played Total plays Yards gained Yards per game
1Notre Dame107344180418.0
2Iowa-Pre-Flight105833929392.9
3Washington42501499374.8
4Duke95663299366.6
5Michigan95823269363.2
6Army106393545354.5
7Texas84982814351.8
8Tulsa74252379339.9
9Georgia9*5932969329.9
10Holy Cross85872628323.5

[3]

(*) One game not reported

Total defense

Rank Team Games played Total plays Yards gained Yards per game
1Duke94051095121.7
2Tulsa7383881125.9
3Penn State94391176130.7
4Texas A&M94881178130.9
5Holy Cross83711104138.0
6Texas83571110138.8
7Army105211525152.5
8Navy94991451161.2
9USC84131299162.4
10Michigan8*4601313164.1

[3]

(*) One game not reported

Rushing offense

Rank Team Games Rushes Yards gained Yards per game
1Iowa Pre-Flight104813244324.4
2Notre Dame106253137313.7
3Duke94872660295.6
4Michigan95082648294.2
5Washington1170292.5
6Army2568256.8
7Texas2016252.0
8Minnesota2202244.7
9Navy2165240.6
10Holy Cross1876234.5

[4]

Scoring

1. Duke - 37.2 points per game
2. Notre Dame - 34.0 points per game
3. Tulsa - 33.6 points points per game
4. Michigan - 33.6 points per game
5. Del Monte Pre-Flight - 31.5 points per game
6. Texas - 30.8 points per game
7. Army - 29.9 points per game
8. March Field - 29.2 points per game
9. Colorado College - 28.4 points per game
10. Richmond - 27.9 points per game
11. Iowa Pre-Flight - 27.7 points per game
12. Penn - 27.6 points per game

Individual leaders

Total offense

Rank Player Team Games Plays Total Yds
1Robert HoernschemeyerIndiana103551648
2Eddie ProkopGeorgia Tech102691440
3Johnny CookGeorgia103071368
4Stan KozlowskiHoly Cross82521226
5James HallmarkTexas A&M92651080
6Jim LucasTCU82581031
7Glenn DavisArmy101441028
8Steve Van BurenLSU81861007
9Derald LebowOklahoma9192951
10Bill MaceykoCornell-Sampson10181930

[5]

Rushing

Rank Player Team Games Rushes Net Yds Avg Gain
per Play
1Creighton MillerNotre Dame101519116.03
2Steve Van BurenLSU81508475.65
3Tony ButkovichPurdue91428335.87
4Bill DaleyMichigan91208176.81
5Stan KozlowskiHoly Cross81617844.87
6Eddie BrayIllinois101177386.31
7Jim MelloNotre Dame101377045.14
8Ernie ParksOhio State91616934.30
9Dean SensanbaugherOhio State91506774.51
10Joe KanePenn91046716.45

[5]

Passing

Rank Player Team Games Att. Compl. Int. Pct. Compl. Yds.
1Paul RickardsPittsburgh91788420.472997
2Frank DancewiczNotre Dame101536812.444989
3CashionTexas A&M111135912.522852
4Bob WaterfieldUCLA101365519.404901
5Al DekdebrunCornell91215313.438648

[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "October 4, 1943 AP Football Poll". CollegePollArchive.com. Archived from the original on March 27, 2017. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  2. ↑ Scott, Richard (2008). SEC Football: 75 Years of Pride and Passion. MVP Books. p. 58. ISBN 1616731338. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
  3. 1 2 W.J. Bingham, ed. (1944). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1944. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 69.
  4. ↑ W.J. Bingham, ed. (1944). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1944. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 70.
  5. 1 2 W.J. Bingham, ed. (1944). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1944. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 72.
  6. ↑ W.J. Bingham, ed. (1944). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1944. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 73.
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