1945 Virginia Cavaliers football team
{{short description|American college football season}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}
{{Infobox college sports team season
| year = 1945
| team = Virginia Cavaliers
| sport = football
| image =
| image_size =
| conference = Independent
| record = 7–2
| head_coach = Frank Murray
| hc_year = 9th
| captain = James Walker
| stadium = Scott Stadium
}}
{{1945 Southern college football independents records}}
The 1945 Virginia Cavaliers football team represented the University of Virginia during the 1945 college football season. The Cavaliers were led by ninth-year head coach Frank Murray and played their home games at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia. They competed as independents, finishing with a record of 7–2. On October 8, 1945, Virginia made their first appearance in the AP Poll in school history when they were ranked 20th in the year's first poll. They dropped from the poll the following week, but reentered November 5 as they continued a seven-game win-streak. The Cavaliers did not finish ranked, however, being knocked from the polls after season-ending losses to rivals Maryland and North Carolina. Their first ranked finish would come in 1951. Murray left the team following the season to return to coaching at Marquette, where he had coached from 1927 to 1936.{{cite news |title=Murray Returns As Coach At Marquette: Resumes Old Football Job On March 15 |newspaper=Chicago Daily Tribune |date=March 3, 1946 |page=A1}} He ended his career at Virginia as the school's longest-serving and winningest coach.{{cite web |url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/schools/virginia/coaches.html |title=Virginia Cavaliers Coaches |website=Sports-Reference.com |access-date=June 18, 2018}}
Schedule
{{CFB schedule
| rankyear = 1945
| poll = AP
|{{CFB schedule entry
| date = September 22
| w/l = w
| opponent = {{cfb link|year=1945|team=Coast Guard Bears|title=Coast Guard}}
| site_stadium = Scott Stadium
| site_cityst = Charlottesville, VA
| score = 39–0
| attend = 4,500
| source = {{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-roanoke-times-coast-guard-easy-saili/150523406/|work=The Roanoke Times|title=Coast Guard easy sailing for Virginia|date=September 23, 1945|accessdate=May 2, 2024|via=Newspapers.com}}
}}
|{{CFB schedule entry
| date = September 29
| w/l = w
| neutral = y
| opponent = NC State
| site_stadium = Foreman Field
| site_cityst = Norfolk, VA
| score = 26–6
| attend = 20,000
| source = {{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/news-and-record-state-loses-cavaliers-t/137256414/|work=Greensboro Daily News|title=State loses; Cavaliers topples Wolfpack|date=September 30, 1945|accessdate=December 22, 2023|via=Newspapers.com}}
}}
|{{CFB schedule entry
| date = October 6
| w/l = w
| neutral = y
| opponent = VMI
| site_stadium = City Stadium
| site_cityst = Lynchburg, VA
| score = 40–7
| attend = 8,000
| source = {{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91775566/cavaliers-score-another-victory/|work=The News and Observer|title=Cavaliers score another victory|date=October 7, 1945|accessdate=January 3, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}
}}
|{{CFB schedule entry
| date = October 27
| w/l = w
| neutral = y
| opponent = VPI
| site_stadium = Victory Stadium
| site_cityst = Roanoke, VA
| gamename = rivalry
| score = 31–13
| attend = 12,000
| source = {{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/richmond-times-dispatch-cavaliers-defeat/137256891/|work=Richmond Times-Dispatch|title=Cavaliers defeat Virginia Tech, 31–13|date=October 28, 1945|accessdate=December 22, 2023|via=Newspapers.com}}
}}
|{{CFB schedule entry
| date = November 3
| w/l = w
| neutral = y
| opponent = West Virginia
| site_stadium = Laidley Field
| site_cityst = Charleston, WV
| score = 13–7
| attend = 9,000
| source = {{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-herald-sun-virginia-gains-137-win-o/150523296/|work=Durham Morning Herald|title=Virginia gains 13–7 win over West Virginia|date=November 4, 1945|accessdate=May 2, 2024|via=Newspapers.com}}
}}
|{{CFB schedule entry
| date = November 10
| w/l = w
| homecoming = y
| rank = 15
| opponent = Richmond
| site_stadium = Scott Stadium
| site_cityst = Charlottesville, VA
| score = 45–0
| attend = 7,000
| source = {{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/112741050/brown-scores-4-touchdowns-for-cavaliers/|work=Norfolk Virginian-Pilot|title=Brown scores 4 touchdowns for Cavaliers|date=November 11, 1945|accessdate=November 8, 2022|via=Newspapers.com}}
}}
|{{CFB schedule entry
| date = November 17
| w/l = w
| rank = 13
| opponent = Oceana NAS
| site_stadium = Scott Stadium
| site_cityst = Charlottesville, VA
| score = 40–0
| attend = 6,500
| source = {{cite news |author= |title=Va. Cavaliers Beat Oceana By 40 To 0 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-press/122325734/ |newspaper=Daily Press |location=Newport News, Virginia |agency=Associated Press |date=November 18, 1945 |page=14 |access-date=April 5, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com {{Open access}} }}
}}
|{{CFB schedule entry
| date = November 24
| w/l = l
| neutral = y
| rank = 13
| opponent = Maryland
| site_stadium = Griffith Stadium
| site_cityst = Washington, DC
| gamename = rivalry
| score = 13–19
| attend = 15,000
| source = {{cite news|title=Maryland Hands Virginia First Defeat Of Season, 19-13: Cavaliers Beaten By Long Pass|newspaper=The Baltimore Sun|author=Craig E. Taylor|date=November 25, 1945|pages=1, 23|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/30177747/maryland_hands_virginia_first_defeat_of/|via=Newspapers.com}}
}}
|{{CFB schedule entry
| date = December 1
| w/l = l
| away = y
| rank = 20
| opponent = North Carolina
| site_stadium = Kenan Memorial Stadium
| site_cityst = Chapel Hill, NC
| gamename = South's Oldest Rivalry
| score = 18–27
| attend = 12,000–15,000
| source = {{cite news |last=Leonard |first=Lawrence |title=Tarheels Get Jump on Cavaliers to Register 27-18 Triumph |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/richmond-times-dispatch/133066831/ |newspaper=Richmond Times-Dispatch |location=Richmond, Virginia |date=December 2, 1945 |page=10B |access-date=October 7, 2023 |via=Newspapers.com {{Open access}} }}
}}
}}
Rankings
{{see also|1945 college football rankings}}
{{Ranking movements
| poll1title = AP
| poll1firstweek = 1
| poll1lastweek = 9
| poll1_1=20т
| poll1_2=NR
| poll1_3=NR
| poll1_4=NR
| poll1_5=15
| poll1_6=13
| poll1_7=13
| poll1_8=20
| poll1_9=NR
}}