1946 Kentucky Wildcats football team

1946 Kentucky Wildcats football
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Record7–3 (2–3 SEC)
Head coach
CaptainPhil Cutchin
Home stadiumMcLean Stadium
Seasons
← 1945
1947 →
1946 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 Georgia + 5 0 0 11 0 0
No. 7 Tennessee + 5 0 0 9 2 0
No. 8 LSU 5 1 0 9 1 1
No. 11 Georgia Tech 4 2 0 9 2 0
Mississippi State 3 2 0 8 2 0
Alabama 4 3 0 7 4 0
Vanderbilt 3 4 0 5 4 0
Kentucky 2 3 0 7 3 0
Tulane 2 4 0 3 7 0
Auburn 1 5 0 4 6 0
Ole Miss 1 6 0 2 7 0
Florida 0 5 0 0 9 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1946 Kentucky Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented the University of Kentucky in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1946 college football season. In their first season under head coach Bear Bryant, the Wildcats compiled a 7–3 record (2–3 against SEC opponents) and outscored opponents by a total of 233 to 90.[1]

Bryant was hired as Kentucky's head football coach in January 1946. He had been the head coach at Maryland in 1945. At age 32, he was one of the youngest head coaches at a major university.[2] Bryant took over a program that had compiled losing records of 2–8 in 1945, 3–6 in 1944, and 3–6–1 in 1942 – while winning only one game against an SEC opponent during the three years. Bryant promptly turned the program around, eventually leading the Wildcats to SEC and Sugar Bowl championships in 1950.

Two Kentucky players received honors from the Associated Press (AP) or United Press (UP) on the 1946 All-SEC football team: Wallace Jones at end (AP-1, UP-3); and Dan Phelps at halfback (UP-2).[3][4]

Kentucky was ranked at No. 14 in the final Litkenhous Difference by Score System rankings for 1946.[5]

The team played its home games at McLean Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky.

  1. ^ "1946 Kentucky Wildcats Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 25, 2022.
  2. ^ Laurence Shrophire (January 15, 1946). "Bryan To Have Four Full-Time Assistants In Effort To Lift U. K. Football Fortunes". Lexington Herald-Leader. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Eight Teams Place Men On AP All-Southeastern Conference Eleven". Freeport Journal-Standard. November 30, 1946. p. 8. Retrieved June 6, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  4. ^ William Tucker (November 21, 1946). "Travis Tidwell, Auburn Back, On 2nd Team". The Anniston Star. p. 16. Retrieved May 30, 2015 – via Newspapers.com. Open access icon
  5. ^ Dr. E. E. Litkenhous (December 15, 1946). "Rice Rated Fifth Best, Tennessee 12th by Lit". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. p. B4 – via Newspapers.com.