The 1946 Yale Bulldogs football team represented Yale University in the Ivy League during the 1946 college football season. The Bulldogs were led by fifth-year head coach Howard Odell, finished the season with a 7–1–1 record, and were ranked No. 12 in the final AP Poll (No. 21 in the final Litkenhous Difference by Score System rankings).[1][2]Two Yale players received first-team honors from the Associated Press (AP) or International News Service (INS) on the 1946 All-Eastern football team: halfback Levi Jackson (AP-2, INS-1); and guard Fritz Barzilauskas (AP-1; INS-1).[3] Jackson led Yale and ranked fifth nationally with 806 rushing yards and averaged 6.01 yards per carry.[4]
| 1946 Yale Bulldogs football | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Ivy League |
| Ranking | |
| AP | No. 12 |
| Record | 7–1–1 (4–1–1 Ivy) |
| Head coach |
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| Home stadium | Yale Bowl |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 12 Yale | 4 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 7 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Harvard | 3 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 13 Penn | 3 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cornell | 3 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 5 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Columbia | 2 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Princeton | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Brown | 1 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dartmouth | 1 | – | 6 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rankings from AP Poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 28 | Merchant Marine* | W 33–0 | 21,000 | [5] | ||
| October 5 | Colgate* |
| W 27–6 | 38,000 | [6] | |
| October 12 | No. 11 Columbia | No. 15 |
| L 20–28 | 65,000 | [7] |
| October 19 | at Cornell | T 6–6 | 27,000 | [8] | ||
| October 26 | Coast Guard* |
| W 47–14 | 10,000 | [9] | |
| November 2 | Dartmouth |
| W 33–2 | 66,000 | [10] | |
| November 9 | Brown |
| W 49–0 | 40,000 | [11] | |
| November 16 | Princeton | No. 18 |
| W 30–2 | 70,000 | [12] |
| November 23 | at Harvard | No. 15 | W 27–14 | 57,300 | [13] | |
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Rankings
| Week | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | Final |
| AP | 15 | — | — | — | — | 18 | 15 | 12 | 12 |
After the season
The 1947 NFL Draft was held on December 16, 1946. The following Bulldogs were selected.[14]
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Fritz Barzilauskas | Guard | Boston Yanks |
| 30 | 277 | John Prchlik | Defensive tackle | Boston Yanks |
| 31 | 292 | Bill Schuler | Tackle | New York Giants |