1946 Orange Bowl

1946 Orange Bowl
Holy Cross Crusaders Miami Hurricanes (8–1) (8–1–1) 6 13 Head coach:  John DaGrosa Head coach:  Jack Harding AP 16
1 2 3 4 Total Holy Cross 6 0 0 0 6 Miami 0 6 0 7 13
Date	January 1, 1946
Season	1945
Stadium	Miami Orange Bowl
Location	Miami, Florida
Attendance	35,709

The 1946 Orange Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game between the Miami Hurricanes and the Holy Cross Crusaders

Background

Holy Cross was led by rookie head coach John "Ox" DaGrosa, a lawyer working for the federal government. Jack Harding had returned to the Hurricanes after serving in the war, in Miami's first bowl game since 1935. This was their third 8-win season under Harding, the first two in 1938 and 1941.

Game summary

Joe Krull gave Miami the lead on his 1-yard run for a touchdown, but the kick failed, leaving it at 6-0. Holy Cross' Brennan caught a touchdown pass from Koslowski to counter, but the kick failed, leaving it tied at 6. The Crusaders were driving towards the end zone, tied at 6-6. With less than 15 seconds remaining, Holy Cross was at the Miami 26. Unwilling to settle for the tie, DaGrosa sent in Gene DeFilippo to go for the win. DeFilippo threw a pass for receiver Bob Conway, but the ball fell off his fingertips at the 11-yard line, and Al Hudson retrieved the ball and dashed 89 yards for the touchdown as time expired.

Aftermath

The Crusaders went 9-8 before DaGrosa left the program in 1947. He died in 1953, after a short illness. This remains the only bowl appearance for Holy Cross. Miami returned to the Orange Bowl five years later in 1951. Conway returned to Holy Cross for a 50th Orange Bowl reunion, where he met up with Hudson once again. The two became friends and them and their families have dinner when they vacation in Florida.

Statistics

Statistics	Miami	Holy Cross
First Downs	7	13
Rushing Yards	193	181
Passing Yards	0	59
Total Yards	193	181
Interceptions	3	4
Punts/Avg.	10-36.4	9-38.5
Fumbles/Lost	0-0	1-1
Penalties/Yards	7-41	1-5