1941 College Football Final Rankings

The 1941 season was interrupted near its close by the bombing of Pearl Harbor. As a result, some teams were unable to participate in bowl games that might otherwise have played and the Rose Bowl game was actually played in Durham, North Carolina. The Minnesota Golden Gophers were declared national champions in the AP Poll for the 5th time in eight years. However, our analysis shows that, despite being undefeated, the Golden Gophers only had the third-best season of top-division schools. Our national championship goes to the surprise hosts of the Rose Bowl - the Duke Blue Devils.

1. Duke Blue Devils (9-1) - 1.4
2. Texas Longhorns (8-1-1) - 1.7
3. Minnesota Golden Gophers (8-0) - 3.4
4. Navy Midshipmen (7-1-1) - 4.9
5. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8-0-1) - 6.0
6. Alabama Crimson Tide (9-2) - 6.8
7. Duquesne Dukes (8-0) - 6.9
8. Missouri Tigers (8-2) - 7.3
9. Georgia Bulldogs (9-1-1) - 8.5
10. Texas A&M Aggies (9-2) - 10.8
11. Tennessee Volunteers (8-2) - 12.2
12. Michigan Wolverines (6-1-1) - 12.6
13. Mississippi State Bulldogs (8-1-1) - 13.4
14. Pennsylvania Relays (7-1) - 13.9
15. Fordham Rams (8-1) - 15.8
16. Oregon State Beavers (8-2) - 16.7
17. Texas Tech Red Raiders (9-2) - 16.9
18. Utah Utes (6-0-2) - 18.6
19. Virginia Cavaliers (8-1) - 19.1
20. Ohio State Buckeyes (6-1-1) - 19.4
21. Northwestern Wildcats (5-3) - 19.7
22. Ole Miss Rebels (6-2-1) - 22.2
23. TCU Horned Frogs (7-3-1) - 24.3
24. Santa Clara Broncos (6-3) - 24.4
25. Tulane Green Wave (5-4) - 25.3
26. Oklahoma Sooners (6-3) - 25.5
27. Stanford Cardinal (6-3) - 26.8
28. Clemson Tigers (7-2) - 26.9
29. Vanderbilt Commodores (8-2) - 28.1
30. Washington Huskies (5-4) - 31.0
31. Boston College Eagles (7-3) - 31.2
32. Tulsa Golden Hurricane (8-2) - 31.6
33. LSU Tigers (4-4-2) - 33.2
34. Temple Owls (7-2) - 34.2
35. Miami Hurricanes (8-2) - 35.3
36. Washington State Cougars (6-4) - 37.0
37. California Golden Bears (4-5) - 37.4
38. Rice Owls (6-3-1) - 38.4
39. Penn State Nittany Lions (7-2) - 39.2
40. Michigan State Spartans (5-3-1) - 41.7
41. Detroit Mercy Titans (7-2) - 42.0
42. William & Mary Tribe (8-2) - 42.9
43. Cornell Big Red (5-3) - 43.1
(tie) Harvard Crimson (5-2-1) - 43.1
45. Army Black Knights (5-3-1) - 43.4
(tie) Oregon Ducks (5-5) - 43.4
47. SMU Mustangs (5-5) - 45.0
48. Arizona Wildcats (7-3) - 48.0
49. Syracuse Orange (5-2-1) - 48.1
50. Auburn Tigers (4-5-1) - 49.5
51. Oklahoma State Cowboys (5-4) - 50.2
52. Baylor Bears (3-6-1) - 50.9
53. Villanova Wildcats (4-4) - 52.7
54. Marquette Golden Eagles (4-5) - 53.9
55. Dartmouth Big Green (5-4) - 57.4
56. South Carolina Gamecocks (4-4-1) - 58.1
57. Colgate Raiders (3-3-2) - 58.4
58. Arkansas Razorbacks (3-7) - 59.2
59. Georgetown Hoyas (5-4) - 59.9
60. Kentucky Wildcats (5-4) - 61.3
61. UCLA Bruins (5-5-1) - 62.6
62. USC Trojans (2-6-1) - 63.3
63. Columbia Lions (3-5) - 64.0
64. Nebraska Cornhuskers (4-5) - 64.5
65. Holy Cross Crusaders (4-4-2) - 66.0
66. Florida Gators (4-6) - 67.3
67. West Texas A&M Buffaloes (8-2) - 68.1
68. Colorado State Rams (4-2-1) - 68.2
69. Indiana Hoosiers (2-6) - 69.2
70. Pittsburgh Panthers (3-6) - 69.3
71. St. Mary's Gaels (5-4) - 69.8
72. Denver Pioneers (4-3-2) - 71.5
73. Montana Grizzlies (6-3) - 71.9
74. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (3-6) - 72.8
75. Loyola Marymount Lions (5-5) - 73.7
76. San Francisco Dons (6-4) - 76.0
77. Iowa Hawkeyes (3-5) - 76.2
78. Manhattan Jaspers (4-4-1) - 76.9
79. Wisconsin Badgers (3-5) - 78.2
80. BYU Cougars (4-3-2) - 79.9
(tie) Purdue Boilermakers (2-5-1) - 79.9
82. Virginia Tech Hokies (6-4) - 82.1
83. NC State Wolfpack (4-5-2) - 83.7
(tie) VMI Keydets (4-6) - 83.7
85. West Virginia Mountaineers (4-6) - 85.5
86. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (5-5-1) - 85.8
87. Hardin-Simmons Cowboys (7-3-1) - 85.9
88. Colorado Buffaloes (3-4-1) - 86.0
89. New Mexico Lobos (5-4-1) - 89.5
90. Idaho Vandals (4-5) - 90.1
91. Citadel Bulldogs (4-3-1) - 91.2
92. Furman Paladins (3-4-2) - 92.1
93. Creighton Bluejays (5-5) - 93.5
94. Illinois Fighting Illini (2-6) - 93.8
95. North Carolina Tar Heels (3-7) - 94.0
96. Yale Bulldogs (1-7) - 95.3
97. Kansas State Wildcats (2-5-2) - 95.9
98. Iowa State Cyclones (2-6-1) - 97.8
99. Princeton Tigers (2-6) - 98.0
100. Brown Bears (5-4) - 99.4
101. Kansas Jayhawks (3-6) - 100.8
102. St. Louis Billikens (4-5-1) - 101.2
103. UTEP Miners (4-5-1) - 102.8
104. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (3-5) - 103.4
105. Arizona State Sun Devils (5-5-1) - 105.5
106. Drake Bulldogs (4-5-1) - 106.4
107. Washington & Lee Generals (1-6-2) - 106.7
108. Washington (MO) Bears (4-5) - 106.9
109. Maryland Terrapins (3-5-1) - 110.2
110. Davidson Wildcats (1-6-3) - 110.3
111. New York University Violets (2-7) - 111.1
112. George Washington Colonials (1-7-1) - 111.9
113. Wyoming Cowboys (2-7-1) - 113.3
114. Utah State Aggies (0-8) - 113.9
115. New Mexico State Aggies (2-7) - 115.7
116. Gonzaga Bulldogs (3-7) - 116.1
117. Richmond Spiders (2-7) - 117.0
118. Sewanee Tigers (2-5) - 117.9
119. Centenary Gents (0-8-2) - 120.0
 
Special thanks to James Howell's College Football Scores, which provided the data for our analysis.