The season followed the end of World War II in August 1945, though many college players remained in military service.
1 choice by all 116 voters in the final AP poll and was rated as national champion by all nine contemporary title selectors.
[2] The undefeated 1945 Army team was one of the strongest of all time, as during World War II, loose player transfer rules allowed service academies to assemble many of the nation's best players.
[3] In 2016 a committee of former Baylor coach Grant Teaff, Georgia's Vince Dooley, and Texas A&M's R. C. Slocum awarded Oklahoma A&M an American Football Coaches Association championship title for 1945, upon OSU's application for the recognition.
The Associated Press did not poll the writers until the third week of the season.
Among the teams that had been ranked in the top six at the end of 1944, only the two service academies (Army and Navy) as well as Ohio State, were still playing a regular schedule.
Among the service teams that had ranked high in 1944, Randolph Field, Bainbridge Naval, and Iowa Pre-Flight no longer played against college teams.
Some service teams still remained in place, even after the end of World War II.
On September 15, Michigan beat Great Lakes Navy, 27–2.
In a Friday night game in Los Angeles, USC beat UCLA 13–6.
2 Navy stayed unscored upon with a 28–0 win over Penn State.
5 ranking behind Army, Notre Dame, Navy, and Alabama.
5 Indiana beat Cornell College of Iowa, 46–6, but dropped to sixth in the next poll.
6 USC 26–0 and moved up to fifth place behind Army, Notre Dame, Alabama, and Navy.
2 Notre Dame (5–0–1) met for a showdown at Yankee Stadium, and it was no contest, with the Cadets winning 48–0.
7 Notre Dame won at Northwestern 34–7 and moved back up to No.
3 Alabama beat the Pensacola Naval Air Station, 55–6.
2 Navy (7–0–1) met at the Army–Navy Game in Philadelphia, with Army winning 32–13 to close a perfect season and a wire-to-wire No.
5 Notre Dame lost to the Great Lakes Navy team, 39–7.
6 Oklahoma A&M, which had finished the season 9–0–0 and accepted an invitation to the Sugar Bowl, rose to fifth in the final poll.
The teams ranked highest in the final Associated Press poll in December 1945 were: The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player [7] [8] [8] [8] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [10] [13] Longest punts (including roll) 1.
Pass, Johnson C. Smith vs. North Carolina College - 75 yards Longest rushing plays 1.
Fleming, Montana State vs. Faragut Navy - 95 yards 1.
Aschenbrenner, Great Lakes vs. Michigan State - 90 yards 4.
Faunce, Minot Teachers vs. Winnipeg Bombers - 90 yards Longest forward-pass plays 1.
Corlett to Fisher, Johnson C. Smith vs. Shaw - 85 yards 4.
Bowling Green - 82 yards Longest interception runbacks 1.
Pfohl, Merchant Marine vs. Ursinus - 100 yards Longest punt runbacks 1.
Robinson, Pittsburgh vs. Penn State - 84 yards Longest kickoff runbacks 1.
McCandless, Marin JC vs. Santa Rosa - 100 yards 2.