1945 Michigan State Spartans football team

American college football season

1945 Michigan State Spartans football
Conference	Independent
Record	5–3–1
Head coach	Charlie Bachman (12th season)
Offensive scheme	Notre Dame Box
MVP	Steve Contos
Captain	Jack Breslin
Home stadium	Macklin Field
Seasons← 1944 1946 →

1945 Midwestern college football independents records
v t e	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
Michigan State Normal		–		5	–	0	–	1
Central Michigan		–		6	–	1	–	0
Miami (OH)		–		7	–	2	–	0
No. 9 Notre Dame		–		7	–	2	–	1
Detroit		–		6	–	3	–	0
Great Lakes Navy		–		6	–	4	–	1
Michigan State		–		5	–	3	–	1
Akron		–		5	–	4	–	0
Marquette		–		5	–	4	–	1
Bowling Green		–		4	–	3	–	0
Western Michigan		–		4	–	3	–	0
Cincinnati		–		4	–	4	–	0
Ohio		–		3	–	4	–	0
Ohio Wesleyan		–		3	–	4	–	0
Carthage		–		2	–	3	–	0
Wayne		–		2	–	5	–	1

Rankings from AP Poll

The 1945 Michigan State Spartans football team represented Michigan State College as an independent during the 1945 college football season. In their 12th season under head coach Charlie Bachman, the Spartans compiled a 5–3–1 record. The Spartans lost their annual rivalry game with Michigan by a 40 to 0 score. In intersectional play, the Spartans beat Kentucky (7–6), Pittsburgh (12–7), and Penn State (33–0), but lost to the Miami Hurricanes (21-7).

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance
September 29	at Michigan	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	L 0–40	26,076
October 6	Kentucky	Macklin Field East Lansing, MI	W 7–6	9,300
October 13	at Pittsburgh	Pitt Stadium Pittsburgh, PA	W 12–7
October 20	Wayne	Macklin Field East Lansing, MI	W 27–7
October 27	Marquette	Macklin Field East Lansing, MI	T 13–13	12,000
November 3	Missouri	Macklin Field East Lansing, MI	W 14–7
November 10	Great Lakes Navy	Macklin Field East Lansing, MI	L 7–27
November 17	No. 12 Penn State	Macklin Field East Lansing, MI (rivalry)	W 33–0
November 23	at Miami (FL)	Burdine Stadium Miami, FL	L 7–21
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

Michigan

Week 3: Michigan State at Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
Michigan State	0	0	0	0	0
• Michigan	7	13	7	13	40

Date: September 29, 1945
Location: Michigan Stadium
Ann Arbor, MI
Game attendance: 35,200
Referee: Mike Layden (Notre Dame)

On September 29, 1945, Michigan State lost to Michigan by a 40 to 0 score. Michigan's six touchdowns were scored by Dan Dworsky (one-yard run in first quarter), Donovan Hershberger (touchdown pass from Joe Ponsetto), Bob Nussbaumer (three-yard run in second quarter), Wally Teninga (three-yard run in third quarter and another touchdown run in the fourth quarter), and Wesley Muelder (10-yard interception return for touchdown). Ponsetto kicked four points after touchdown and completed three of four passes for 89 yards, including the touchdown throw to Hershberger. Michigan gained 274 rushing yards and 128 yards passing, outpacing the Spartans who were limited to 37 rushing yards and 48 passing yards. Michigan's rushing leaders were Dworsky (16 carries for 64 yards) and Nussbaumer (8 carries for 60 yards).

References

"2016 Football Media Guide" (PDF). Michigan State University. pp. 146, 153. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 17, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
^ "1945 Michigan State Spartans Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
^ Harry Warren (September 30, 1945). "Michigan Powerhouse Rolls Over Michigan State, 40 to 0". Chicago Tribune. p. 2-1.
"Rally wins for State". Detroit Free Press. October 7, 1945. Retrieved October 2, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
Bob Latshaw (October 21, 1945). "Wayne Surprises but State Wins". Detroit Free Press. pp. 4-1 to 4-2 – via Newspapers.com.
Lad Slingerlend (October 21, 1945). "Spartans Turn Back Sturdy Wayne, 27-7". Lansing State Journal. p. 17 – via Newspapers.com.
George S. Alderton (October 28, 1945). "State Battles Marquette to 13-13 Tie: Wild Final Period Sees Rivals Grab Scoring Chances". Lansing State Journal. p. 21 – via Newspapers.com.

v t e Michigan State Spartans football
Venues	Old College Field (1902–1922) Spartan Stadium (1923–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Indiana Michigan Notre Dame Penn State
Culture & lore	Sparty "Victory for MSU" Marching band Zeke the Wonder Dog 1966 "Game of the Century" 2001 Michigan game 2006 Northwestern game Trouble With the Snap
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders
Seasons	1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

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