The 1946 Indiana Hoosiers football team was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

team that represented the

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the Nationa ...

in the 1946 Big Nine Conference football season. In their 13th year under head coach

Bo McMillin Alvin Nugent "Bo" McMillin (January 12, 1895 – March 31, 1952) was an American football player and coach at the collegiate and professional level. He played college football at Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, where he was a three-tim ...

, the Hoosiers compiled a 6–3 record (4–2 against Big Nine opponents), outscored opponents by a total of 129 to 95, finished in third place in the Big Nine, and were ranked No. 20 in the final

AP Poll The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and broadca ...

(No. 19 in the final Litkenhous Difference by Score System rankings). On defense, the Hoosiers led the Big Nine and ranked 14th nationally, allowing an average of only 179.9 yards per game. In passing defense, they ranked fourth nationally, giving up only 59.8 yards per game. The Hoosiers also fielded the second best passing offense in the Big Nine, and ranked seventh nationally, with an average of 140.4 passing yards per game. The team's pass offense was led by quarterback

Ben Raimondi Benjamin Louis "Ben" Raimondi (January 23, 1925 – April 16, 2020) was a professional American football player for the All-America Football Conference's New York Yankees. He played quarterback in seven games during the 1947 season. Raimond ...

who ranked third nationally with 956 passing yards. End

Lou Mihajlovich Louis Mihajlovich (February 19, 1925 – December 11, 1994) was a defensive end in the National Football League. Biography Mihajlovich was born on February 19, 1925, in Detroit, Michigan. Career Mihajlovich's first professional experience was w ...

was the team's leading receiver with 25 receptions for 300 yards. Fullback

Pete Pihos Peter Louis Pihos (; October 22, 1923August 16, 2011) was an American football player and coach. Pihos played college football, principally as an end and fullback, for Indiana University from 1942 to 1943 and 1945 to 1946. He was selected as a ...

was named the team's most valuable player. Two Hoosiers received second-team honors on the 1946 All-America college football team: Raimondi (

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

) and center

John Cannady John Hanley Cannady (September 5, 1923 – September 28, 2002) was an American football linebacker in the National Football League for the New York Giants. He played college football at Indiana University and was drafted in the third roun ...

(Central Press). Four Hoosiers also received honors from the

(AP) or

United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20t ...

(UP) on the

1946 All-Big Nine Conference football team The 1946 All-Big Nine Conference football team consists of American football players selected to the All-Big Ten Conference teams selected by the Associated Press (AP) and United Press (UP) for the 1946 Big Nine Conference football season. The top ...

: Raimondi (AP-1, UP-1); tackle Russ Deal (AP-1, UP-1); Cannady (AP-1, UP-2); and Pihos (UP-2). The Hoosiers played their home games at Memorial Stadium in

Bloomington, Indiana Bloomington is a city in and the county seat of Monroe County, Indiana, Monroe County in the central region of the U.S. state of Indiana. It is the List of municipalities in Indiana, seventh-largest city in Indiana and the fourth-largest outside ...

Schedule

After the season

The 1947 NFL Draft was held on December 16, 1946. The following Hoosiers were selected.

References

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

Indiana Hoosiers football seasons

Indiana Hoosiers football The Indiana Hoosiers football program represents Indiana University Bloomington in NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision college football and in the Big Ten Conference. The Hoosiers have played their home games at Memorial Stadium since 1960 ...

{{Collegefootball-1940s-season-stub