2 in the final AP poll and against an Illinois team that won the Big Nine championship and was ranked No.

Michigan won its last four games by a combined score of 162 to 19, starting a 25-game winning streak that continued for nearly three years until October 8, 1949.

Chappuis also rushed for 548 yards, received second-team All-American and first-team All-Big Nine honors, and was selected as Michigan's Most Valuable Player for the 1946 season.

[1] The only Michigan player to receive first-team All-American honors in 1946 was end Elmer Madar.

[3] Although World War II ended in August 1945, three of the starters from the 1945 squad were inducted into the military in early 1946.

[6][7][8] Bob Ballau, a tackle from New York, was awarded the Chicago Alumni Club trophy as the team'smost improved player during spring practice.

The returnees included: The 1946 pre-season was also marked by the loss of Fielding H. Yost, head football coach at Michigan from 1901 to 1926 and athletic director from 1921 to 1940.

He was buried at Forest Hill Cemetery near the campus, with pallbearers including Bennie Oosterbaan, Robert J.

[12] After one week of fall practice in late August 1946, coach Crisler opined "we're not quite as good as we're cracked up to be.

"[10] A week later, Crisler hedged on his team's prospects, stating that the 1946 squad might be he greatest, but then adding that, on the other hand, "we may lose all of our games.

The game was played at Michigan Stadium on a warm, sunshiny day and attracted 74,600 spectators, the largest crowd to that time for a Michigan season opener and the largest crowd ever to watch an Indiana football game.

[17] Michigan opened the scoring with a 54-yard drive in the first quarter, capped by a 13-yard touchdown pass from Gene Derricotte to Paul White.

In the fourth quarter, the Wolverines scored twice, on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Pete Elliott to Len Ford, and later on Derricotte's 51-yard sprint down the sideline.

Glenn Davis, the 1946 Heisman Trophy winner, played all 60 minutes for Army and was so dominant that the Chicago Tribune wrote that he may have earned All-American honors in one game.

On the opening kickoff in the third quarter, Michigan drove 83 yards, and Paul White scored on a reverse from Bob Wiese.

Michigan had a chance to take the lead, but Brieske's kick for the extra point was partially blocked and fell short.

With a short touchdown run by Doc Blanchard in the fourth quarter, Army regained the lead.

On the kickoff following Michigan's touchdown, Illinois drove 95 yards and scored on a 16-yard run by Paul Patterson.

In the third quarter, Illinois end Sam Zatkoff intercepted a pass thrown by Bob Chappuis and ran 53 yards for a touchdown.

In the fourth quarter, Gene Derricotte threw a pass to Bob Mann that was good for 42 yards and a touchdown.

With attendance at 77,134, the game drew the largest crowd to that date in the history of the Michigan–Michigan State football rivalry.

Michigan State's touchdown came on a pass from Horace Smith to Frank Waters covering 77 yards in the third quarter.

The 52-point spread was Ohio State's worst margin of defeat since joining the Big Ten Conference in 1913.

The game was viewed by 78,634 spectators, the fourth largest crowd in Ohio Stadium history to that point.

A writer covering the game for the Chicago Tribune opined "few teams ever have been so impotent as Ohio State was this afternoon.

Undefeated Army was ranked #2 with 48 voters picking them as the #1 team, narrowly missing its third consecutive national championship with 1,659-1/2 points.