1940 college football season

American college football season August 2023 1940 Kenan Memorial Stadium 1940.jpg 250 Duke v North Carolina game at Kenan Memorial Stadium Cornell 5 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 Tom Harmon, (halfback, Michigan) The 1940 college football season was the 72nd season of intercollegiate football in the United States. Competition included schools from the Big Ten Conference, the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC), the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the Big Six Conference, the Southern Conference, the Southwestern Conference, and numerous smaller conferences and independent programs. The teams ranked highest in the final Associated Press poll in December 1940 were: Minnesota - Led by head coach Bernie Bierman, the Golden Gophers compiled an 8–0 record, won the Big Ten championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 154 to 71. Halfback George Franck was a consensus All-American and placed third in the Heisman Trophy voting. Minnesota did not play in a bowl game and was selected as national champions by the Associated Press (AP) poll at the end of the regular season. Stanford - Led by head coach Clark Shaughnessy, the Indians compiled a perfect 10–0 record, including a victory over No. 7 Nebraska in the 1941 Rose Bowl. Stanford was selected as national champions by the Poling SystemPoling Richard R. Poling System 1941 The 1940 Supplement of the Football Review https://archive.org/details/the_football_review_supplement_1940 Mansfield, Ohio Poling's Football Ratings Top Teams of 1940 We predicted that STANFORD would beat NEBRASKA by from seven to ten points, and this game came home to us right – final score STANFORD 21 NEBRASKA 13. This game bore us out and thus made STANFORD NATIONAL FOOTBALL CHAMPIONS OF 1940. [...] Top Teams of 1940: No. 1 Stanford 45.06, No. 2 Minnesota 43.13, No 3. Boston College 43.0 and Williamson SystemWilliamson Paul B. January 7, 1941 Williamson Votes National Title to Stanford https://www.newspapers.com/clip/115715254/williamson-system-1940/ Nashville Banner January 3, 2023 and retroactively by the Helms Athletic Foundation and Billingsley Report. Michigan - The Wolverines compiled a 7–1 record with its only loss coming against Minnesota by a 7–6 score. Halfback Tom Harmon won the Heisman Trophy. Tennessee - Led by head coach Robert Neyland, the Volunteers compiled a 10–0 regular season record but lost to Boston College in the Sugar Bowl. Tennessee was selected as national champions by the Dunkel System. Boston College - In their final season under head coach Frank Leahy, the Eagles compiled a perfect 11–0 record, including a victory over Tennessee in the Sugar Bowl, to lay claim to a national championship.https://bceagles.com/news/2015/11/10/FB_1110153607.aspx The 1940 Team of Destiny Oslin Reid November 10, 2015 bceagles.com Boston College Athletics June 1, 2022 Boston College, Minnesota and Stanford were all crowned as "National Champions" by various media outlets – and each school has a case for the right to fly the 1940 championship banner. In the East and South, sentiment was strong in favor of the Eagles: the sports editor of the New York Herald Tribune wrote that the victory over Tennessee "entitled Boston College to be the undefeated champions of the United States."[T]he game will come closer than any other that will be played to identifying the national champion. As we were saying The Shreveport Journal 44 285 Otis Harris Shreveport, Louisiana December 2, 1940 14 March 5, 2023 https://www.newspapers.com/image/600459236/?clipping_id=120282591&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjYwMDQ1OTIzNiwiaWF0IjoxNjc4MDg1Nzg2LCJleHAiOjE2NzgxNzIxODZ9.IddhQmF1NdTAx584m19kHG-vjugrnT7l7JY1BujUbs0 Newspapers.comEach will be out to the limit in speed, stamina and spirit to capture the honors in this classic which could rightfully be heralded as for the national football championship. The Game Today Fred Digby 27, 71 Seventh Annual Sugar Bowl Classic Souvenir Program January 1, 1941 March 5, 2023 Digital Public Library of America https://digital.lib.utk.edu/collections/islandora/object/fbpro%3A9849#page/1/mode/2up'The Eagles not only earned the national championship but they proved the greatest team ever to play in the Sugar Bowl,' said Fred Digby of the New Orleans Item. Boston College homebound after joyous celebration in New Orleans following Sugar Bowl win The Shreveport Times New Orleans Shreveport, Louisiana LXVIII 213 January 3, 1941 10 March 5, 2023 https://www.newspapers.com/image/210303152/?clipping_id=120284643&fcfToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJmcmVlLXZpZXctaWQiOjIxMDMwMzE1MiwiaWF0IjoxNjc4MDg1OTM2LCJleHAiOjE2NzgxNzIzMzZ9.Dj-kPz3M3-x6CTOc-nUH8i7rx1ZwGmMUcxNDEUT9Pkg Newspapers.comhttps://bceagles.com/documents/2021/7/21/2021_Media_Guide.pdf Boston College Football 2021 Record Book Boston College Athletics Department 2021 March 10, 2022 September 5, 2021 https://web.archive.org/web/20210905125726/https://bceagles.com/documents/2021/7/21/2021_Media_Guide.pdf live 1940 — An undefeated (11–0) season, capped by the Sugar Bowl championship and the claim of a national championship made this arguably the greatest season in Eagle football annals. [...] On Jan. 1, the Eagles would lay claim to the national championship with a 19–13 victory over Tennessee in the Sugar Bowl. The year's statistical leaders included Al Ghesquiere of Detroit with 958 rushing yards,ESPN College Football Encyclopedia 1182 ESPN Books 2005 1401337031(1940 NCAA Major College Statistical Leaders) Johnny Knolla of Creighton with 1,420 yards of total offense,Johnny Knolla Ground-Gaining Champ of 1940 Gail Fowler The Decatur Review December 5, 1940 11 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3558478/johnny_knolla_groundgaining_champ_of/ Newspapers.com Johnny Supulski of Manhattan with 1,190 passing yards,ESPN College Football Encyclopedia, p. 1182. Hank Stanton of Arizona with 820 receiving yards, and Tom Harmon with 117 points scored.ESPN College Football Encyclopedia (2005), p. 1182.West Texas State College Back Ranks 4th In Scoring Pampa Daily News (Texas) December 2, 1940 8 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/3522430/west_texas_state_college_back_ranks_4th/ Newspapers.com (Some contemporaneous sources list Jackie Hunt of Marshall College as the 1949 scoring champion. Hunt scored 162 points on 27 touchdowns in 1940. The ESPN College Football Encyclopedia excludes Madden, as Marshall College was not considered a major college in 1940. Accordingly, Hunt was selected for the Little All-America team in 1940.) Conference and program changes Conference changes One conference began play during 1940: New Mexico Intercollegiate Conference – an NCAA College Division and NAIA conference active through the 1962 season; later known as the Frontier Conference One conference played its final season in 1940: Alamo Conference – conference active since the 1936 season Membership changes School 1939 Conference 1940 Conference Chicago Maroons Big Ten Dropped Program Loyola (LA) Wolf Pack Dixie Dropped Program St. Joseph's (PA) Hawks Independent Dropped Program September September 28 Defending champion Texas A&M beat Texas A&I (later the university's Kingsville campus), 26–0. Tennessee beat Mercer 49–0. USC and Washington State played to a 14–14 tie. Tulane lost to Boston College 27–7. Michigan won at California 41–0. Minnesota defeated Washington 19–14 in Minneapolis. October October 5 In San Antonio, Texas A&M beat Tulsa 41–6. Tennessee beat Duke 13–0. Cornell beat Colgate 34–0. Northwestern won at Syracuse, 40–0. Minnesota beat Nebraska 13–7. Michigan beat Michigan State 21–14. October 12 Cornell won at Army 45–0. In Los Angeles, Texas A&M beat UCLA 7–0. Tennessee beat Chattanooga 53–0. Northwestern beat Ohio State 6–3. Michigan won at Harvard 26–0. The top five in the year's first AP Poll were No. 1 Cornell, No. 2 Texas A&M, No. 3 Michigan, No. 4 Northwestern, and No. 5 Tennessee. October 19 No. 1 Cornell beat Syracuse 33–6. No. 2 Texas A&M beat TCU 21–7. No. 3 Michigan beat Illinois 28–0. In Birmingham, No. 5 Tennessee beat Alabama, 27–12. No. 6 Notre Dame beat Carnegie Tech 61–0. The resulting AP Poll was No. 1 Cornell, No. 2 Notre Dame, No. 3 Michigan, No. 4 Texas A&M, and No. 5 Tennessee. Despite a 27–7 win at Wisconsin, Northwestern fell from 4th to 7th; previous No. 7 Minnesota moved up one spot with a 13-7 win over No. 15 Ohio State in Columbus. October 26 No. 1 Cornell beat Ohio State 21–7. No. 2 Notre Dame won at Illinois 26–0. No. 3 Michigan beat Pennsylvania 14–0. No. 4 Texas A&M won at Baylor 14–7. No. 5 Tennessee beat Florida 14–0. No. 6 Minnesota beat Iowa 34–6. Cornell, Notre Dame, and Michigan remained as the top three, followed by Minnesota and Texas A&M. November November 2 No. 1 Cornell beat Columbia 27–0. No. 2 Notre Dame beat Army 7–0 at Yankee Stadium. No. 3 Michigan was idle. No. 4 Minnesota narrowly won at No. 8 Northwestern, 13–12. No. 5 Texas A&M beat Arkansas 17–0. No. 7 Tennessee beat LSU 28–0. The next AP Poll ranked Cornell, Minnesota, Michigan, Texas A&M, and Tennessee as the top five. Notre Dame fell from No. 2 to No. 7 after their close win over a weak Army team (the Cadets would finish 1-7-1). November 9 No. 1 Cornell beat Yale 21–0, but dropped to second in the next poll. No. 2 Minnesota and No. 3 Michigan, both unbeaten (5–0–0), met in Minneapolis, with the Gophers winning by one point, 7–6. No. 4 Texas A&M won at No. 14 SMU 19–7. No. 5 Tennessee won at Rhodes College 41–0. No. 6 Stanford beat No. 11 Washington 20–10 to advance its record to 7–0–0. The resulting AP Poll was No. 1 Minnesota, No. 2 Cornell, No. 3 Texas A&M, No. 4 Stanford, and No. 5 Tennessee. November 16 No. 1 Minnesota beat Purdue 33–6. No. 2 Cornell lost at Dartmouth 3–0 in the famous "Fifth Down" game.Littlefield Bill November 14, 2015 Remembering The 'Fifth Down Game' Of 1940 https://www.wbur.org/onlyagame/2015/11/14/fifth-down-game-dartmouth-cornell WBUR January 15, 2022 No. 3 Texas A&M beat Rice 25–0. No. 4 Stanford beat No. 19 Oregon State 28–14. No. 8 Boston College beat No. 9 Georgetown 19–18 to extend its record to 8–0–0. The next AP Poll featured No. 1 Minnesota, No. 2 Texas A&M, No. 3 Stanford, No. 4 Boston College, and No. 5 Cornell. Previous No. 5 Tennessee fell to No. 6 despite an 8-0-0 record and a 41–14 win over Virginia. November 23 No. 1 Minnesota closed its season with a 22–13 win at Wisconsin. No. 2 Texas A&M and No. 3 Stanford were idle. No. 4 Boston College beat Auburn 33–7. No. 5 Cornell lost 22-20 to Pennsylvania. No. 7 Michigan won at Ohio State to close its season at 7–1–0 and moved into fifth place behind Minnesota, Texas A&M, Stanford, and Boston College. On Thanksgiving Day No. 2 Texas A&M lost at Texas 7–0. On November 30 No. 3 Stanford closed its season with a 13–7 win at California, No. 4 Boston College defeated Holy Cross 7–0, and No. 6 Tennessee beat Vanderbilt 20–0. The top five of the final AP Poll were No. 1 Minnesota, No. 2 Stanford, No. 3 Michigan, No. 4 Tennessee, and No. 5 Boston College. Conference standings Major conference standings Independents Minor conferences ConferenceChampion(s)Record Alamo Conference West Texas State Teachers 2–0California Collegiate Athletic AssociationSan Jose State 3–0 Central Intercollegiate Athletics Association Morgan State College 6–0–1 Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference St. Benedict's (KS) 4–0 Far Western Conference Pacific (OR) 2–0 Indiana Intercollegiate Conference ButlerManchester College 4–0 Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Dubuque 7–0 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Kansas Wesleyan 5–1 Lone Star Conference North Texas State Teachers 4–0 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Albion 5–0 Michigan-Ontario Collegiate Conference 1940 Assumption Purple Warriors Assumption (ON)1940 DeSales Sailors DeSales (OH)Lawrence Tech 3–13–13–1 Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference Beloit 5–1–1 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Gustavus Adolphus 5–0 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association Southwest Missouri State Teachers 5–0 Nebraska College Athletic Conference DoaneHastings 3–1 Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Association Nebraska State Teachers 2–0–1 New Mexico Intercollegiate ConferenceWestern New Mexico 3–0 North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Iowa State Teachers 5–0 North Dakota College Athletic Conference Mayville State 6–0 Northern Teachers Athletic Conference St. Cloud State Teachers 4–0 Ohio Athletic Conference Wittenberg 6–0 Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference Oklahoma Baptist 5–0–1 Pacific Northwest Conference Willamette 4–0 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Indiana State TeachersMillersville State Teachers 7–14–0 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Colorado College 2–0–1 South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference Northern State Teachers 3–0 Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Redlands 3–0–1 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Morris Brown 6–1 Southwestern Athletic Conference LangstonSouthern 5–1 Texas Collegiate Athletic Conference Abilene ChristianHoward PayneTexas Western 5–1 Washington Intercollegiate Conference Pacific Lutheran 4–0–1 Wisconsin State Teachers College Conference North: La Crosse TeachersSouth: Whitewater State Teachers 4–04–0 Minor conference standings Rankings 1940 college football rankings Heisman Trophy voting The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player Player School Position Total Tom Harmon Michigan HB 1,303 John Kimbrough Texas A&M FB 841 George Franck Minnesota HB 102 Frankie Albert Stanford QB 90 Paul Christman Missouri QB 66 Bowl games 1940–41 NCAA football bowl games Bowl game Winning team Losing team Rose Bowl No. 2 Stanford 21 No. 7 Nebraska 13 Sugar Bowl No. 5 Boston College 19 No. 4 Tennessee 13 Orange Bowl No. 9 Mississippi State 14 No. 13 Georgetown 7 Cotton Bowl Classic No. 6 Texas A&M 20 No. 12 Fordham 12 Sun Bowl Western Reserve 26 Arizona State 13 See also 1940 College Football All-America Team Notes References