1946 South Carolina Gamecocks football team

1946 South Carolina Gamecocks football
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Record5–3 (4–2 SoCon)
Head coach
CaptainEarl Dunham
Home stadiumCarolina Municipal Stadium
Seasons
← 1945
1947 →
1946 Southern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 9 North Carolina $ 4 – 0 – 1 8 – 2 – 1
William & Mary 7 – 1 – 0 8 – 2 – 0
No. 18 NC State 6 – 1 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
South Carolina 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0
Duke 3 – 2 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Richmond 3 – 2 – 2 6 – 2 – 2
VPI 3 – 3 – 2 3 – 4 – 3
VMI 2 – 3 – 1 4 – 5 – 1
George Washington 1 – 1 – 0 4 – 3 – 0
Clemson 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Wake Forest 2 – 3 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Maryland 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Furman 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
Washington and Lee 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 0
The Citadel 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 5 – 0
Davidson 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1946 South Carolina Gamecocks football team was an American football team that represented the University of South Carolina as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1946 college football season. In their sixth season under head coach Rex Enright, the Gamecocks finished the season with an overall record of 5–3, including a mark of 4–2 in conference play, placing fourth in the SoCon. Throughout the season, the team was outscored by a total of 133 to 107.[1]

The team ranked fourth nationally in rushing defense, allowing an average of only 79.6 rushing yards per game.[2] The Gamecocks struggled offensively, ranking 79th out of 120 major-college teams in scoring offense with an average of 13.4 point per game.[1]

Center Bryant Meeks received first-team honors from the Associated Press (AP) and United Press (UP) on the 1946 All-Southern Conference football team.[3][4] He also received second-team honors from the AP on the 1946 All-America college football team.[5] Other Gamecocks receiving all-conference honor were backs Harold Hagan (AP-3, UP-2) and Earl Dunham (UP-3) and tackle Dom Fusci (AP-3, UP-2).[3][4]

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 28Newberry*
W 21–011,000[6]
October 5Alabama*
  • Carolina Stadium
  • Columbia, SC
L 6–1420,000[7]
October 11at Furman
W 14–7[8]
October 24Clemson
  • Carolina Stadium
  • Columbia, SC (rivalry)
W 26–14[9]
November 1vs. The Citadel
W 19–710,000[10]
November 9at Maryland
W 21–17[11]
November 16 No. 20 Duke
  • Carolina Stadium
  • Columbia, SC
L 0–3918,000[12]
November 28vs. Wake Forest
L 0–35[13]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

After the season

Main article: 1947 NFL draft

The 1947 NFL Draft was held on December 16, 1946. The following Gamecocks players were selected.[14]

Round Pick Player Position NFL Club
7 49 Bryant Meeks Center Pittsburgh Steelers
9 66 Kale Alexander Tackle Detroit Lions
28 263 Jim Hunnicutt Guard Los Angeles Rams
29 274 Claude Harrison Back New York Giants
31 291 James Atwell Back Los Angeles Rams

References

  1. ^ a b "1946 South Carolina Gamecocks Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  2. ^ W.J. Bingham, ed. (1947). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1947. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 74.
  3. ^ a b "All-Southern Conference". Daily Press. Newport News, Virginia. December 1, 1946. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b Warren Duffee (November 27, 1946). "Three Duke Men Make All-Conference Team". The Durham Sun. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Davis, Blanchard Earn All-America Positions". The Milwaukee Journal. December 4, 1946. Archived from the original on May 6, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
  6. ^ Jake Penland (September 29, 1946). "Carolina Unimpressive in 21-0 Opening Triumph: Newberry Gives Good Performance". The State. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Tide off stride but nips Gamecocks, 14–6". The Tuscaloosa News. October 6, 1946. p. 6. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
  8. ^ "Carolina defeats Furman at Greenville, 14 to 7". The State. October 12, 1946. Retrieved August 21, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Birds beat Clemson, 26–14". The Greenville News. October 25, 1946. pp. 1, 26. Retrieved August 10, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Jake Penland (November 2, 1946). "Gamecocks Beat Citadel to Take State Title: Win Hard Fought Battle 19 to 7". The State. pp. 6, 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Francis X. Whittie (November 10, 1946). "21-17 Defeat To Maryland: South Carolina Stages Late Rally To Win". The Baltimore Sun. p. Sports 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ Del Booth (November 17, 1946). "Duke Wallops Gamecocks: Long Scores Three Times To Spark Duke To 39-0 Victory; Crowd Of 18,000 Sees Blue Devils Take Early Lead; Meeks Shines For Losers". Durham Morning Herald. p. II-1 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Capacity crowd watches contest". The News & Observer. November 29, 1946. p. 13. Retrieved August 10, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "1947 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.


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