1947 Kansas Jayhawks football team
American college football season
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The 1947 Kansas Jayhawks football team was an American football team that represented the University of Kansas in the Big Six Conference during the 1947 college football season. In its second and final season under head coach George Sauer, the team compiled an 8–1–2 record (4–0–1 against conference opponents). They conference co-champions. The Jayhawks received their first ever AP Poll ranking in program history during the season. The team was undefeated in the regular season before losing to Georgia Tech in the 1948 Orange Bowl.[1][2]
| 1947 Kansas Jayhawks football | |
|---|---|
Big 6 co-champion | |
Orange Bowl, L 14–20 vs. Georgia Tech | |
| Conference | Big Six Conference |
| Ranking | |
| AP | No. 12 |
| Record | 8–1–2 (4–0–1 Big 6) |
| Head coach |
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| Home stadium | Memorial Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 12 Kansas + | 4 | – | 0 | – | 1 | 8 | – | 1 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 16 Oklahoma + | 4 | – | 0 | – | 1 | 7 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Missouri | 3 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nebraska | 2 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 2 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Iowa State | 1 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kansas State | 0 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 0 | – | 10 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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On October 11, 1947, the Jayhawks scored 86 points against South Dakota State which remains the highest point total in the history of the program.[3]
Halfback Ray Evans was selected by the Associated Press and Grantland Rice as a first-team player on the 1947 All-America team.[4][5] He was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Four Kansas players received first-team honors from the United Press on the 1947 All-Big Six Conference football team: Evans; end Otto Schnellbacher; guard Don Fambrough; and halfback Forrest Griffith.[6]
Kansas was ranked at No. 21 (out of 500 college football teams) in the final Litkenhous Ratings for 1947.[7]
The team played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Lawrence, Kansas.
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 20 | vs. TCU* | T 0–0 | 15,000 | [8] | ||
| September 26 | at Denver* | W 9–0 | 28,000 | [9] | ||
| October 4 | Iowa State | W 27–7 | 17,500 | [10] | ||
| October 11 | South Dakota State* |
| W 86–6 | 14,000 | [3] | |
| October 18 | at Oklahoma | T 13–13 | 34,700 | [11] | ||
| November 1 | Kansas State |
| W 55–0 | 20,033 | [12] | |
| November 8 | at Nebraska | W 13–7 | 37,000 | [13] | ||
| November 15 | at Oklahoma A&M* | W 13–7 | 15,000 | [14] | ||
| November 22 | Missouri | No. 17 |
| W 20–14 | 40,043 | [15] |
| November 29 | at Arizona* | No. 13 | W 54–28 | 14,000 | [16] | |
| January 1, 1948 | vs. No. 10 Georgia Tech | No. 12 | L 14–20 | 59,578 | [17] | |
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Rankings
| Week | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | — | — | — | 17 | 13 | 13т | 12 |
After the season
NFL draft
The following Jayhawks were selected in the 1948 NFL draft following the season.[18]
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | NFL club |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | 166 | Don Ettinger | Guard | New York Giants |
| 20 | 185 | Dick Monroe | Center | Chicago Cardinals |