1940 college football rankings

none August 2023 December 2025 1940 Minnesotaper AP poll, Boand System, Dickinson System, Houlgate System, Litkenhous Ratings, Berryman QPRS, College Football Researchers Association, DeVold System, National Championship Foundation, Sagarin Ratings Elo chess method, Sagarin Ratings Predictor methodStanfordper Poling System, Billingsley Report, Helms Athletic FoundationTennesseeper Dunkel System and Williamson System Several major systems have determined the 1940 college football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, did not itself bestow a national championship. Champions (by ranking) The AP poll and most other rankings consider Minnesota the season's champion. However, three rankings consider Stanford the champion, and two consider Tennessee the champion.Football Bowl Subdivision Records http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2017/FBS.pdf NCAA 112 2017 July 29, 2025 AP poll: Minnesota Berryman QPRS: Minnesota Billingsley Report: Stanford Boand System: Minnesota College Football Researchers Association: Minnesota DeVold System: Minnesota Dickinson System: Minnesota Dunkel System: Tennessee Helms Athletic Foundation: Stanford Houlgate System: Minnesota Litkenhous Ratings: Minnesota National Championship Foundation: Minnesota Poling System: Stanford Sagarin Ratings Elo chess method: Minnesota Sagarin Ratings Predictor method: Minnesota Williamson System: Tennessee Note: AP Poll, Boand System, Dickinson System, Dunkel System, Houlgate System, Litkenhous Ratings, Poling System, and Williamson System were given contemporarily. All other methods were given retroactively. AP Poll November 2025 Legend   Increase in ranking   Decrease in ranking   Not ranked previous week   National champion (#–#)   Win–loss record (Italics)   Number of first place votes т Tied with team above or below also with this symbol The final AP Poll was released on December 2, at the end of the 1940 regular season, weeks before the major bowls. The AP would not release a post-bowl season final poll regularly until 1968. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 (Final) Oct 14 Oct 21 Oct 28 Nov 4 Nov 11 Nov 18 Nov 25 Dec 2final A Cornell (2–0) (90) Texas A&M (3–0) (25) Michigan (3–0) (26) Northwestern (2–0) (1) Tennessee (3–0) (7) Notre Dame (2–0) (5) Minnesota (2–0) (2) Boston College (3–0) Penn (2–0) Stanford (3–0) Fordham (2–0) Clemson (4–0) Ole Miss (4–0) Texas (3–0) Ohio State (2–1) Washington (2–1) USC (1–0–2) Oregon State (2–0–1) Washington State (2–0–1) Iowa (2–0) Cornell (3–0) (83) Notre Dame (3–0) (30) u Michigan (4–0) (18) Texas A&M (4–0) (15) d Tennessee (4–0) (6) Minnesota (3–0) (8) u Northwestern (3–0) d Penn (3–0) u Stanford (4–0) u Boston College (4–0) d Fordham (3–0) Texas (4–0) u Clemson (4–0) (1) d Ole Miss (5–0) (1) d Georgetown (4–0) npr Washington (3–1) USC (2–0–2) Nebraska (2–1) npr SMU (3–0–1) npr Columbia (3–0) npr Iowa Ohio State Oregon State Washington State Cornell (4–0) (81.5) Notre Dame (4–0) (40.5) Michigan (5–0) (16) Minnesota (4–0) (13) u Texas A&M (5–0) (9) d Stanford (5–0) u Tennessee (5–0) d Northwestern (4–0) (1) d Boston College (5–0) (2) u Clemson (5–0) (2) т tu Georgetown (5–0) (2) т u Nebraska (3–1) u Washington (4–1) u Navy (5–0) npr Penn (3–1) т td SMU (3–0–1) т u Detroit (5–0) npr Duke (3–1) т tnpr Penn State (4–0) т npr Mississippi State (4–0–1) т Santa Clara (2–1–1) т npr Columbia Fordham Ole Miss Texas USC Cornell (5–0) (119) Minnesota (5–0) (18) u Michigan (5–0) (11) Texas A&M (6–0) (14) u Tennessee (6–0) (11) u Stanford (6–0) (3) Notre Dame (5–0) d Boston College (6–0) (2) u Georgetown (6–0) u Northwestern (4–1) d Washington (4–1) u Duke (4–1) т tu Nebraska (4–1) т SMU (4–0–1) u Penn (4–1) Penn State (5–0) u Fordham (4–1) npr Lafayette (6–0) npr Mississippi State (5–0–1) т tu Santa Clara (3–1–1) т u Clemson Detroit Navy Minnesota (6–0) (55.33) u Cornell (6–0) (45.33) d Texas A&M (7–0) (31.33) u Stanford (7–0) (12) u Tennessee (7–0) (2) Michigan (5–1) d Notre Dame (6–0) Boston College (7–0) Georgetown (7–0) Northwestern (5–1) Nebraska (5–1) u Duke (5–1) (2) Fordham (5–1) u Alabama (5–1) npr Mississippi State (6–0–1) u Santa Clara (3–1–1) u Ole Miss (7–1) т tnpr Washington (4–2) т d Oregon State (5–1–1) npr Penn State (5–0–1) т SMU (4–1–1) т d Lafayette Penn Minnesota (7–0) (68) Texas A&M (8–0) (59) u Stanford (8–0) (24) u Boston College (8–0) (12) u Cornell (6–1) (6) d Tennessee (8–0) (3) d Michigan (6–1) d Nebraska (6–1) u Georgetown (7–1) Northwestern (5–2) Ole Miss (8–1) u Penn (5–1–1) npr Washington (5–2) u Notre Dame (6–1) d Fordham (5–1) d Mississippi State (7–0–1) d Alabama (6–1) d SMU (5–1–1) u Santa Clara (4–1–1) d Penn State (6–0–1) т Texas Tech (7–0–1) т background-color:#FFFFFF npr Duke Oregon State Minnesota (8–0) (88) Texas A&M (8–0) (41) Stanford (8–0) (15) Boston College (9–0) (15) Michigan (7–1) (3) u Tennessee (9–0) (8) Northwestern (6–2) u Nebraska (7–1) Georgetown (8–1) Penn (6–1–1) u Mississippi State (8–0–1) u Washington (6–2) u Cornell (6–2) d Fordham (6–1) u Santa Clara (5–1–1) u SMU (6–1–1) u Alabama (7–1) Lafayette (9–0) т tnpr Texas Tech (8–0–1) т u Duke (6–2) т Hardin-Simmons (7–0) т npr Ole Miss Notre Dame Penn State Minnesota (8–0) (65) nc Stanford (9–0) (44) u Michigan (7–1) (5) u Tennessee (10–0) (10) u Boston College (10–0) (7) d Texas A&M (8–1) (1) d Nebraska (8–1) u Northwestern (6–2) d Mississippi State (8–0–1) (1) u Washington (7–2) u Santa Clara (6–1–1) u Fordham (7–1) u Georgetown (8–1) d Penn (6–1–1) d Cornell (6–2) d SMU (7–1–1) Hardin-Simmons (8–0) u Duke (7–2) u Lafayette (9–0) d Alabama Texas Tech A. finalOnly 19 teams received votes in the final poll. Boand System The final Boand System rankings (also known as "Azzi Ratem") were released after the bowl games in early January 1941. Boand's final rankings were as follows:Azzi Ratem Puts Huskers 12th in Final Ranking Evening World-Herald January 3, 1941 20 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123291110/azzi-ratem-puts-huskers-12th-in-final/= Newspapers.com 15em 1. Minnesota (86.4) 2. Stanford (83.1) 3. Boston College (83.0) 4. Michigan (81.8) 5. Texas A&M (80.3) 6. Tennessee (80.2) 7. Mississippi State (79.6) 8. SMU (76.9) 9. Northwestern (76.9) 10. Penn (76.2) 11. Texas (76.1) 12. Nebraska (76.0) Dickinson System The final Dickinson System rankings released in December 1940 were as follows:Dickinson Ranks Minnesota Top Football Team of 1940 Winston-Salem Journal December 10, 1940 8 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123280482/dickinson-ranks-minnesota-top-football/ Newspapers.com 15em 1. Minnesota (29.55) 2. Michigan (26.16) 3. Stanford (25.84) 4. Tennessee (25.76) 5. Texas A&M (25.74) 6. Penn (24.78) 7. Mississippi State (24.28) 8. SMU (23.82) 9. Texas (23.33) 10. Nebraska (23.12) 11. Northwestern (22.51) 12. Boston College (22.14) Dunkel System The final Dunkel System rankings released in December 1940 were as follows:Sittin' In The Des Moines Register December 5, 1940 15 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123291912/dunkel/ Newspapers.com 15em 1. Tennessee 2. Minnesota 3. Michigan 4. Boston College 5. Stanford 6. Washington 7. Mississippi State 8. Northwestern 9. Texas A&M 10. Georgetown 11. SMU 12. Texas 13. LSU 14. Penn 15. Santa Clara 16. Cornell 17. Duke 18. Fordham 19. Nebraska 20. Oregon Litkenhous Ratings The final Litkenhous Ratings released in December 1940 provided numerical rankings to 697 college football programs. The top 100 ranked teams were:Final 1940 Litkenhous Ratings The Boston Globe Dr. E. E. Litkenhous December 19, 1940 22 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123126338/final-1940-litkenhous-ratings/ Newspapers.com 15em 1. Minnesota 2. Tennessee 3. Michigan 4. Northwestern 5. Penn 6. Stanford 7. Cornell 8. Boston College 9. Texas A&M 10. Washington 11. Duke 12. Georgetown 13. Texas 14. Santa Clara 15. Nebraska 16. Mississippi State 17. Fordham 18. Ohio State 19. SMU 20. Notre Dame 21. Rice 22. Michigan State 23. Ole Miss 24. Alabama 25. Iowa 26. Indiana 27. Wisconsin 28. Tulane 29. Purdue 30. Pittsburgh 31. Auburn 32. Oregon 33. LSU 34. Marshall 35. Temple 36. Oregon State 37. Missouri 38. Detroit 39. Baylor 40. California 41. USC 42. TCU 43. Colgate 44. Kentucky 45. Oklahoma 46. Navy 47. North Carolina 48. Duquesne 49. Saint Mary's 50. Tulsa 51. Harvard 52. Penn State 53. Georgia 54. Clemson 55. Hardin–Simmons 56. Villanova 57. Wake Forest 58. Princeton 59. Georgia Tech 60. UCLA 61. Columbia 62. Illinois 63. Vanderbilt 64. Florida 65. Syracuse 66. Utah 67. Arkansas 68. Colorado 69. Lafayette 70. Texas Tech 71. Washington State 72. Dartmouth 73. Manhattan 74. San Jose State 75. Holy Cross 76. Arizona 77. Denver 78. Chattanooga 79. Mississippi College 80. Oklahoma A&M 81. Furman 82. Marquette 83. NC State 84. San Diego Marines 85. VMI 86. North Texas State Teachers 87. William & Mary 88. Boston University 89. San Francisco 90. Dayton 91. Creighton 92. Southwest Missouri State 93. George Washington 94. Gonzaga 95. West Virginia 96. Rollins 97. Virginia 98. VPI 99. Eastern Kentucky 100. Rutgers Williamson System The final Williamson System rankings for 1940 were as follows:Stanford Gets Top Grid Rating: Eagles Given Second Berth; Gophers Next The Shreveport Times Paul Williamson January 5, 1941 26 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/123290537/stanford-gets-top-grid-rating/ Newspapers.com 15em 1. Stanford 2. Boston College 3. Minnesota 4. Michigan 5. Mississippi State 6. Tennessee 7. Texas A&M 8. Santa Clara 9. Fordham 10. Nebraska 11. SMU 12. Washington 13. Penn 14. Northwestern 15. Georgetown 16. Alabama 17. Ole Miss 18. Duke 19. Duquesne 20. Saint Mary's (CA) 21. Cornell 22. Rice 23. Notre Dame 24. Texas 25. Navy 26. Oklahoma 27. LSU 28. Syracuse 29. Columbia 30. Auburn 31. Ohio State 32. Colgate 33. Pittsburgh 34. Hardin-Simmons 35. Missouri 36. Wisconsin 37. Penn State 38. Tulane 39. Indiana 40. Arizona State See also 1940 College Football All-America Team Notes References * Category:College football rankings