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1945 Oklahoma A&M Cowboys football
1945 Oklahoma A&M Cowboys football
National champion (AFCA); MVC champion; Sugar Bowl champion
Sugar Bowl, W 33–13 vs. Saint Mary's
Conference	Missouri Valley Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 5
Record	9–0 (1–0 MVC)
Head coach	Jim Lookabaugh (7th season);
Home stadium	Lewis Field
	Seasons ← 1944 1946 →

1945 Missouri Valley Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 5 Oklahoma A&M $	1	–	0	–	0	9	–	0	–	0
No. 17 Tulsa	2	–	1	–	0	8	–	3	–	0
Wichita	1	–	1	–	0	6	–	4	–	0
Drake	1	–	2	–	0	5	–	4	–	1
Saint Louis	0	–	1	–	0	5	–	4	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1945 Oklahoma A&M Cowboys football team represented Oklahoma Agricultural and Mechanical College (later renamed Oklahoma State University–Stillwater) in the Missouri Valley Conference during the 1945 college football season. The team was led by seventh-year head coach Jim Lookabaugh and played its home games at Lewis Field in Stillwater, Oklahoma. Oklahoma A&M was awarded a retroactive national championship and The Coaches' Trophy^[1] by the AFCA after compiling a 9–0 record, winning the Missouri Valley championship, defeating Saint Mary's in the 1946 Sugar Bowl, and being ranked No. 5 in the final AP Poll.^[2] In addition, the Aggies also outscored all opponents by a combined total of 285 to 76. The 1945 season remains the only undefeated season in school history.^[3]^[4]

On offense, the 1945 team averaged 31.7 points, 286.9 rushing yards, and 133.5 passing yards per game.^[5] On defense, the team allowed an average of 8.4 points, 108.6 rushing yards and 79.6 passing yards per game.^[6]

Halfback Bob Fenimore led the nation with 1,048 rushing yards.^[7] He also led the team with 593 passing yards, 72 points scored, and seven interceptions. Fenimore was selected as a consensus first-team halfback on the 1945 All-America college football team.^[8] He was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

Three Oklahoma A&M players received first-team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors in 1945: Bob Fenimore, end Neill Armstrong, and lineman J. C. Colhouer.^[9]

In 2016, the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), the organization responsible for the Coaches Poll, awarded Oklahoma A&M the 1945 national championship and The Coaches' Trophy.^[10] The AFCA tasked a blue ribbon commission, consisting of former Baylor coach Grant Teaff, Georgia's Vince Dooley, and Texas A&M's R. C. Slocum, to award retroactive national titles for the years spanning 1922 to 1949 and invited schools to nominate their teams.^[11]^[12]^[13]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 29	at Arkansas*		Razorback Stadium Fayetteville, AR	W 19–14
October 6	at Denver*		Hilltop Stadium Denver, CO	W 31–7	20,000 (17,311 paid)	^[14]
October 12	vs. SMU*	No. 15	Taft Stadium Oklahoma City, OK	W 26–12
October 20	at Utah*	No. 15	Ute Stadium Salt Lake City, UT	W 46–6
October 27	at TCU*	No. 17	Amon G. Carter Stadium Fort Worth, TX	W 25–12
November 10	No. 19 Tulsa	No. 11	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK (rivalry)	W 12–6	18,000
November 17	Texas Tech*	No. 8	Lewis Field Stillwater, OK	W 46–6
November 24	at Oklahoma*	No. 6	Memorial Stadium Norman, OK (Bedlam Series)	W 47–0
January 1, 1946	vs. No. 7 Saint Mary's*	No. 5	Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl)	W 33–13	75,000	^[15]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
	Week
Poll	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Final
AP	14	15	17	9	11	8	6	6	5

After the season

The 1946 NFL Draft was held on January 14, 1946. The following Cowboys were selected.^[16]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL Team
8	66	Bert Cole	Tackle	Green Bay Packers
9	71	Jake Colhouer	Guard	Chicago Cardinals
32	297	Otis Schellstede	Guard	Detroit Lions

References

^ The Coaches' Trophy — 1945 Oklahoma A&M (Trophy). Heritage Hall, Gallagher-Iba Arena: American Football Coaches Association. March 10, 2017. Archived from the original on April 9, 2023. The American Football Coaches Association Honors The National Football Champion — Oklahoma A&M — 1945
^ "Oklahoma State Cowboy Football 2016 Guide" (PDF). Oklahoma State University. p. 172. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 21, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
^ "1945 Oklahoma State Cowboys Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
^ 2016 Football Guide, p. 144.
^ 2016 Football Guide, p. 138.
^ 2016 Football Guide, p. 140.
^ W.J. Bingham, ed. (1946). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1946. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 34.
^ "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 8. Retrieved March 17, 2017.
^ 2016 Football Guide, p. 154.
^ Culpepper, Chuck (October 13, 2016). "Oklahoma State just won the 1945 college football national championship". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
^ Tramel, Berry (August 23, 2017). "Why is Oklahoma State on an island with the retroactive titles?". The Daily Oklahoman. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
^ Marshall, Kendrick (October 18, 2016). Written at Stillwater, Oklahoma. "AFCA member explains why OSU awarded 1945 national championship". Tulsa World. Tulsa, Oklahoma. Archived from the original on December 30, 2021. Retrieved March 24, 2023. (Gary) Darnell, who played football at Oklahoma State in the late 1960s and was an assistant football coach from 1971-72, explained Oklahoma State got the nod over Army in part due to the AFCA using the Billingsley Encyclopedia of College Football.… One played in a bowl game, the other didn't.
^ Fornelli, Tom (October 13, 2016). "Why Oklahoma State has been named college football's 1945 national champion". CBS Sports. Retrieved December 4, 2018.
^ Wally Wallis (October 7, 1945). "Puncher Reserves Sparkle in 31-7 Lacing of Denver". The Daily Oklahoman. p. 4B – via Newspapers.com.
^ "Gaels Lose, 33-13: Phelan Clan Makes Hit In Defeat". Oakland Tribune. January 2, 1946. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "1946 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 13, 2021.