1942 Santa Clara Broncos football team
American college football season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1942 Santa Clara Broncos football team was an American football team that represented Santa Clara University as an independent during the 1942 college football season. In their seventh season under head coach Buck Shaw, the Broncos compiled a 7–2 record, outscored opponents by a total of 101 to 52, and were ranked No. 15 in the final AP poll.[1] They were ranked at No. 44 (out of 590 college and military teams) in the final rankings under the Litkenhous Difference by Score System.[2]
| 1942 Santa Clara Broncos football | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Independent |
| Ranking | |
| AP | No. 15 |
| Record | 7–2 |
| Head coach |
|
| Home stadium | Kezar Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Fresno State | – | 9 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| San Jose State | – | 7 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 17 Santa Clara | – | 7 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Portland | – | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Idaho Southern Branch | – | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Saint Mary's | – | 6 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| San Francisco | – | 6 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Loyola (CA) | – | 5 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nevada | – | 4 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cal Poly | – | 4 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| San Diego State | – | 0 | – | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| San Francisco State | – | 0 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rankings from AP Poll | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
After winning its first four games against Utah, Stanford, California, and Oregon State, Santa Clara was ranked No. 9 in the AP poll. The team lost to No. 14 UCLA, then rebounded with three consecutive victories, including victories over rivals San Francisco and Saint Mary's. In the final game of the season, the Broncos lost to the powerful service team assembled at Saint Mary's Preflight School.
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 26 | at Utah | W 12–0 | 16,000 | [3] | ||||
| October 3 | vs. Stanford | W 14–6 | 30,000 | [4] | ||||
| October 10 | at California | W 7–6 | 30,000 | [5] | ||||
| October 17 | at Oregon State | No. 15 | W 7–0 | 8,000 | [6] | |||
| October 24 | at No. 14 UCLA | No. 9 | L 6–14 | 45,000 | [7] | |||
| November 1 | at San Francisco |
| W 8–6 | 25,000 | [8] | |||
| November 9 | at Loyola (CA) | No. 12 |
| W 21–0 | 12,000 | [9] | ||
| November 14 | vs. Saint Mary's |
| W 20–7 | 36,000 | [10] | |||
| November 22 | vs. Saint Mary's Pre-Flight | No. 14 |
| L 6–13 | 25,000 | [11] | ||
| ||||||||
Rankings
| Week | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Final |
| AP | 15т (1) | 9 (2) | — | 15 | — | 14т | 12т | 15 |
Postseason
Two Santa Clara players were recognized on the 1942 College Football All-America Team: end Al Beals received second-team honors from the Central Press Association; and quarterback Jesse Freitas received third-team honors from the Associated Press.
In March 1943, coach Shaw cancelled spring football practice. At that point, 98% of the school's male students were in the Reserve Officers' Training Corps, and their free time was occupied by Army training. Shaw noted that "fall football looks hopeless," and added that it was "improbable that we could get a football team from among the 4-F boys or those under 18."[12]
On August 18, 1943, the school announced that it was abandoning football for the duration of World War II. Athletic director George Barsi noted that 94% of the prior year's student body was in the armed services, and the shortage of manpower made it "inadvisable to field a team".[13] The Broncos did not field a football team again until 1946.