1949 Santa Clara Broncos football team

1949 Santa Clara Broncos football
Orange Bowl champion
Orange Bowl, W 21–13 vs. Kentucky
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
APNo. 15
Record8–2–1
Head coach
Home stadiumKezar Stadium
Seasons
← 1948
1950 →
1949 Western college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 10 Pacific (CA)   –   11 – 0 – 0
Oregon College   –   9 – 0 – 0
No. 15 Santa Clara   –   8 – 2 – 1
San Francisco   –   7 – 3 – 0
Idaho State   –   6 – 2 – 1
Hawaii   –   6 – 3 – 0
La Verne   –   5 – 3 – 2
Loyola (CA)   –   6 – 4 – 0
Nevada   –   5 – 5 – 0
Pepperdine   –   4 – 5 – 0
Saint Mary's   –   3 – 6 – 1
Portland   –   3 – 5 – 0
Cal Poly San Dimas   –   2 – 8 – 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1949 Santa Clara Broncos football team was an American football team that represented Santa Clara University as an independent during the 1949 college football season. In their fourth season under head coach Len Casanova, the Broncos compiled an 8–2–1 record, were ranked No. 15 in the final AP Poll, and outscored all opponents by a combined total of 222 to 114.[1][2]

The Broncos' victories included a 14–0 besting of UCLA, a 19–6 victory over Saint Mary's, and a 21–13 victory over Bear Bryant's Kentucky Wildcats in the 1950 Orange Bowl. The team's two losses came against Pacific Coast Conference champion California (ranked No. 3 in the final AP Poll) and undefeated Oklahoma (ranked No. 2 in the AP Poll).[1][2]

Guard Vern Sterling was selected by both the Associated Press and International News Service as a first-team player on the 1949 All-Pacific Coast football team.[3][4]

After the 1949 season, coach Casanova left Santa Clara to become head coach at Pittsburgh. He also served as head coach at Oregon from 1951 to 1966.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 18at California
L 7–2162,000[5]
September 24at San Jose State
W 14–1313,500[6]
October 1at Fresno State
W 53–010,324[7]
October 9Portland
W 26–13 [8]
October 15at No. 13 UCLA
W 14–028,911[9]
October 23at Loyola (CA) Sacramento, CAW 27–199,500[10]
October 29at Stanford
T 7–745,000[11]
November 5San Francisco
W 13–740,000[12]
November 13at Saint Mary'sNo. 20
  • Kezar Stadium
  • San Francisco, CA
W 19–637,640[13]
November 19at No. 2 OklahomaNo. 19
L 21–2859,000[14]
January 2vs. No. 20 KentuckyNo. 14
W 21–1364,816[15]
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

See also: 1949 NCAA football rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below
Week
Poll12345678Final
AP—————2019т1415

After the season

The following Broncos were selected in the 1950 NFL draft after the season.[16]

Round Pick Player Position NFL club
2 19 Hall Haynes Back Washington Redskins
8 99 John Hock Tackle Chicago Cardinals
8 101 Ellery Williams End San Francisco 49ers
13 165 Jerry Hennessy End Chicago Cardinals
14 179 Tom Payne End San Francisco 49ers
22 286 Jim Dowling Guard Cleveland Browns

References

  1. ^ a b "Santa Clara Yearly Results (1935–1939)". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Archived from the original on December 22, 2015. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  2. ^ a b "1949 Santa Clara Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  3. ^ "Carpenter Draws Most Votes in Winning Position ON Associated Press' 25th All-Coast Selection". The Corvalis Gazette-Times. November 25, 1949. p. 7.
  4. ^ Joe St. Amant (November 22, 1949). "Bears Pace All-Pacific Coast Football Eleven". El Paso Herald-Post. p. 10.
  5. ^ "Bears Smash Broncos, 21-7: California Team Impresses 62,000". San Bernardino Sun-Telegram. September 18, 1949. p. 31 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Santa Clara Nips San Jose, 14 to 13". San Bernardino Sun-Telegram. September 25, 1949. p. 33 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Santa Clara Beats Fresno State 53-0". Santa Cruz Sentinel-News. October 2, 1949. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Santa Clara Beats Portland, 26-13". Honolulu Advertiser. October 10, 1949. p. 12.
  9. ^ Paul Zimmerman (October 16, 1949). "Broncs Bop UCLA: Santa Clara Stages Last Period Rally". Los Angeles Times. p. II-1, II-11 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Jack Geyer (October 24, 1949). "Loyola Scares Santa Clara Before Going Down, 27 to 19". Los Angeles Times. pp. 4=1, 4–3 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Ray Haywood (October 30, 1949). "Broncos Battle Stanford to 7 to 7 Deadlock: Santa Clara Checks Tribe Bowl Hopes". Oakland Tribune. p. 1B, 5B – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Santa Clara Beats USF, 13-7: Hall Haynes Is Hero For Bronco Team". The Honolulu Advertiser. November 7, 1949. p. 12.
  13. ^ "Santa Clara Dominates All Way as Gaels Yield, 19-6". San Bernardino Daily Sun. November 14, 1940. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Saul Feldman (November 20, 1949). "Sooners Beat Off Santa Clara, 28 to 21". Miami (OK) Daily News-Record. pp. 1–2 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Spectacular Show Enthralls Bowl Throng". Miami Daily News. January 3, 1950. pp. 1–3, 9 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "1950 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football Reference. Retrieved February 24, 2024.