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1944 Duke Blue Devils football team

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1944 Duke Blue Devils football
SoCon champion
Sugar Bowl champion
Sugar Bowl, W 29–26 vs. Alabama
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Ranking
APNo. 11
Record6–4 (4–0 SoCon)
Head coach
MVPTom Davis
CaptainGordon Carver
Home stadiumDuke Stadium
Seasons
← 1943
1945 →
1944 Southern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 11 Duke $ 4 0 0 6 4 0
Wake Forest 6 1 0 8 1 0
Clemson 3 1 0 4 5 0
NC State 3 1 0 7 2 0
William & Mary 2 1 1 5 2 1
Maryland 1 1 0 1 7 1
South Carolina 1 3 0 3 4 2
VMI 1 5 0 1 8 0
North Carolina 0 3 1 1 7 1
Richmond 0 4 0 2 6 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1944 Duke Blue Devils football team was an American football team that represented Duke University as a member of the Southern Conference during the 1944 college football season. In its third season under head coach Eddie Cameron, the team compiled a 6–4 record (4–0 against conference opponents), won the conference championship, was ranked No. 11 in the final AP Poll, and defeated Alabama in the 1945 Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day. The Blue Devils outscored opponents by a total of 230 to 118.[1][2]

Schedule

[edit]
DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 23 Richmond W 61–78,250[3]
September 30 at Penn* L 7–1840,000[4]
October 7 North Carolina Pre-Flight*
  • Duke Stadium
  • Durham, NC
L 6–1319,000[5]
October 14 vs. No. 6 Navy* L 0–725,000[6]
October 28 vs. No. 2 Army* L 7–2745,000[7]
November 4 No. 5 Georgia Tech*dagger
  • Duke Stadium
  • Durham, NC
W 19–1330,000[8]
November 11 No. 12 Wake Forest No. 20
  • Duke Stadium
  • Durham, NC
W 34–035,000[9]
November 18 at South Carolina No. 10W 34–712,000[10]
November 25 at North Carolina No. 11W 33–025,000[11]
January 1, 1945 vs. No. 16 Alabama* No. 11W 29–26 66,822 [12]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

[edit]
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked ( ) = First-place votes
Week
Poll12345678Final
AP201011 (1)1111

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "1944 Duke Blue Devils Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  2. ^ "Duke Football 2016 Media Guide" (PDF). Duke University. 2016. p. 96. Retrieved March 8, 2019.
  3. ^ "Blue Devils show power in romp against Spiders". The News and Observer. September 24, 1944. Retrieved November 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Morrow, Art (October 1, 1944). "Penn Upsets Duke, 18-7, Before 40,000". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pa. p. S1 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Preflight defeats Duke, 13–6". Winston-Salem Journal. October 8, 1944. Retrieved December 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Duke beaten, Blue Devils miss scoring chances". The News and Observer. October 15, 1944. Retrieved December 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Jack Smith (October 29, 1944). "Army Crushes Duke, 27-7; All Backs Star". New York Daily News. p. 76 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Duke hands Tech first loss, 19–13". The Atlanta Constitution. November 5, 1944. Retrieved December 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Spoilers of Southland: Duke Ends Another Perfect Record". The Pittsburgh Press. November 12, 1944. p. 32.
  10. ^ "Duke rips Carolina". The Greenville News. November 19, 1944. Retrieved December 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Duke wins, accepts game with 'Bama in Sugar Bowl". Atlantic City Press. November 26, 1944. Retrieved December 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Duke edges past Alabama, 29–26". The Birmingham News. January 2, 1945. Retrieved December 22, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.