1946 Kentucky Wildcats football team

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]

1946 Kentucky Wildcats football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	7–3 (2–3 SEC)
Head coach	Bear Bryant (1st season)
Captain	Phil Cutchin
Home stadium	McLean Stadium
Seasons ← 1945 1947 →

1946 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	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

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.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 21	Ole Miss		McLean Stadium Lexington, KY	W 20–7	19,600	[6]
September 28	at Cincinnati*		Nippert Stadium Cincinnati, OH	W 26–7	27,000	[7]
October 5	Xavier*		McLean Stadium Lexington, KY	W 70–0	20,200	[8]
October 11	at No. 8 Georgia	No. 19	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA	L 13–28	25,000	[9]
October 19	Vanderbilt		McLean Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry)	W 10–7	21,000	[10]
October 26	at No. 11 Alabama		Cramton Bowl Montgomery, AL	L 7–21	22,500	[11]
November 2	Michigan State*		McLean Stadium Lexington, KY	W 39–14	19,700	[12]
November 9	at Marquette*		Marquette Stadium Milwaukee, WI	W 35–0	12,000	[13]
November 16	West Virginia*		McLean Stadium Lexington, KY	W 13–0	20,000	[14]
November 23	at No. 7 Tennessee		Shields-Watkins Field Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	L 0–7	35,000	[15]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^[16]

Rankings

See also: 1946 college football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked т = Tied with team above or below

	Week
Poll	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Final
AP	19т	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

1947 NFL draft

The 1947 NFL draft was held on December 16, 1946. The following Wildcats were selected.^[17]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	NFL club
3	18	Ermal Allen	Quarterback	Chicago Cardinals
27	151	Phil Cutchin	Back	Philadelphia Eagles