1946 South Carolina Gamecocks football team
The 1946 South Carolina Gamecocks football team was an American football team that represented the University of South Carolina as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1946 college football season. In their sixth season under head coach Rex Enright, the Gamecocks compiled an overall record of 5–3 with a mark of 4–2 in conference play, placing fourth in the SoCon. The team was outscored by a total of 133 to 107 on the season.[1]
1946 South Carolina Gamecocks football | |
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Conference | Southern Conference |
Record | 5–3 (4–2 SoCon) |
Head coach |
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Captain | Earl Dunham |
Home stadium | Carolina Municipal Stadium (capacity: 17,600) |
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 9 North Carolina $ | 4 | – | 0 | – | 1 | 8 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
William & Mary | 7 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 18 NC State | 6 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
South Carolina | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Duke | 3 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Richmond | 3 | – | 2 | – | 2 | 6 | – | 2 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
VPI | 3 | – | 3 | – | 2 | 3 | – | 4 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
VMI | 2 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 4 | – | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
George Washington | 1 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Clemson | 2 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Wake Forest | 2 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Maryland | 2 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Furman | 1 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 8 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Washington and Lee | 1 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Citadel | 1 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Davidson | 1 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The team ranked fourth nationally in rushing defense, allowing an average of only 79.6 rushing yards per game.[2] The Gamecocks struggled offensively, ranking 79th out of 120 major-college teams in scoring offense with an average of 13.4 point per game.[1]
Center Bryant Meeks received first-team honors from the Associated Press (AP) and United Press (UP) on the 1946 All-Southern Conference football team.[3][4] He also received second-team honors from the AP on the 1946 All-America college football team.[5] Other Gamecocks receiving all-conference honor were backs Harold Hagan (AP-3, UP-2) and Earl Dunham (UP-3) and tackle Dom Fusci (AP-3, UP-2).[3][4]
Schedule
Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance | Source | ||
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September 28 | Newberry* |
| W 21–0 | 11,000 | [6] | ||
October 5 | Alabama* |
| L 6–14 | 20,000 | [7] | ||
October 11 | at Furman | W 14–7 | [8] | ||||
October 24 | Clemson |
| W 26–14 | [9] | |||
November 1 | vs. The Citadel |
| W 19–7 | 10,000 | [10] | ||
November 9 | at Maryland | W 21–17 | [11] | ||||
November 16 | No. 20 Duke |
| L 0–39 | 18,000 | [12] | ||
November 28 | vs. Wake Forest | L 0–35 | [13] | ||||
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After the season
The 1947 NFL Draft was held on December 16, 1946. The following Gamecocks players were selected.[14]
Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL Club |
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7 | 49 | Bryant Meeks | Center | Pittsburgh Steelers |
9 | 66 | Kale Alexander | Tackle | Detroit Lions |
28 | 263 | Jim Hunnicutt | Guard | Los Angeles Rams |
29 | 274 | Claude Harrison | Back | New York Giants |
31 | 291 | James Atwell | Back | Los Angeles Rams |
References
- "1946 South Carolina Gamecocks Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
- W.J. Bingham, ed. (1947). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1947. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 74.
- "All-Southern Conference". Daily Press. Newport News, Virginia. December 1, 1946. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
- Warren Duffee (November 27, 1946). "Three Duke Men Make All-Conference Team". The Durham Sun. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Davis, Blanchard Earn All-America Positions". The Milwaukee Journal. December 4, 1946. Archived from the original on May 6, 2016. Retrieved May 21, 2022.
- Jake Penland (September 29, 1946). "Carolina Unimpressive in 21-0 Opening Triumph: Newberry Gives Good Performance". The State. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Tide off stride but nips Gamecocks, 14–6". The Tuscaloosa News. October 6, 1946. p. 6. Retrieved August 10, 2021.
- "Carolina defeats Furman at Greenville, 14 to 7". The State. October 12, 1946. Retrieved August 21, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Birds beat Clemson, 26–14". The Greenville News. October 25, 1946. pp. 1, 26. Retrieved August 10, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- Jake Penland (November 2, 1946). "Gamecocks Beat Citadel to Take State Title: Win Hard Fought Battle 19 to 7". The State. pp. 6, 10 – via Newspapers.com.
- Francis X. Whittie (November 10, 1946). "21-17 Defeat To Maryland: South Carolina Stages Late Rally To Win". The Baltimore Sun. p. Sports 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- Del Booth (November 17, 1946). "Duke Wallops Gamecocks: Long Scores Three Times To Spark Duke To 39-0 Victory; Crowd Of 18,000 Sees Blue Devils Take Early Lead; Meeks Shines For Losers". Durham Morning Herald. p. II-1 – via Newspapers.com.
- "Capacity crowd watches contest". The News & Observer. November 29, 1946. p. 13. Retrieved August 10, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
- "1947 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved November 29, 2020.