1944 College Football Final Rankings

In 1944, many of the colleges that had not sponsored a football team in 1943, due to the war, reinstated their football teams for the 1944 season. However, a large number of teams competing actually represented various military training posts, including some of the best teams in the land. Indicative of wartime, the #1 team in our analysis was Army (just as we found in 1945). Here's the rest of the list:

1. Army Black Knights (9-0) - 1.2
2. Randolph Field Ramblers (12-0) - 1.8
3. Ohio State Buckeyes (9-0) - 3.4
4. Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks (10-1) - 4.2
5. Norman NAS (6-0) - 4.7
6. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (8-2) - 6.6
7. Michigan Wolverines (8-2) - 6.8
8. Second Air Force Superbombers (10-4-1) - 8.6
9. Oklahoma State Cowboys (8-1) - 9.4
10. Tulsa Golden Hurricane (8-2) - 9.5
11. Navy Midshipmen (6-3) - 11.2
12. USC Trojans (8-0-2) - 12.3
13. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (8-3) - 12.8
14. Indiana Hoosiers (7-3) - 13.5
15. Tennessee Volunteers (7-1-1) - 16.5
16. Alabama Crimson Tide (5-2-2) - 17.0
17. Yale Bulldogs (7-0-1) - 19.1
18. Iowa State Cyclones (6-1-1) - 19.7
19. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (8-1) - 20.1
20. Pennsylvania Relays (5-3) - 20.4
21. Amarillo Field Sky Giants (5-3) - 20.6
22. Duke Blue Devils (6-4) - 20.8
23. Great Lakes Navy Bluejackets (9-2-1) - 21.1
24. Illinois Fighting Illini (5-4-1) - 23.8
25. Colorado Buffaloes (6-2) - 24.4
26. Georgia Bulldogs (7-3) - 26.3
27. NC State Wolfpack (7-2) - 26.6
28. Purdue Boilermakers (5-5) - 27.7
29. Texas Longhorns (5-4) - 29.0
30. Coast Guard Bears (6-3) - 29.7
31. Michigan State Spartans (6-1) - 31.1
32. March Field Flyers (7-2-2) - 31.2
33. Minnesota Golden Gophers (5-3-1) - 32.0
34. Oklahoma Sooners (6-3-1) - 33.8
35. Mississippi State Bulldogs (6-2) - 35.2
36. Texas A&M Aggies (7-4) - 35.5
37. LSU Tigers (2-5-1) - 38.1
38. Virginia Cavaliers (6-1-2) - 39.3
39. TCU Horned Frogs (7-3-1) - 39.4
40. Denver Pioneers (4-3-2) - 40.7
41. Utah Utes (5-2-1) - 41.0
(tie) William & Mary Tribe (5-2-1) - 41.0
43. Tulane Green Wave (4-3) - 41.1
44. Kentucky Wildcats (3-6) - 45.1
45. Missouri Tigers (3-5-2) - 47.2
46. Cornell Big Red (5-4) - 47.4
(tie) Pittsburgh Panthers (4-5) - 47.4
48. Washington Huskies (5-3) - 47.7
49. Drake Bulldogs (7-2) - 48.9
50. Clemson Tigers (4-5) - 49.5
(tie) Penn State Nittany Lions (6-3) - 49.5
52. Holy Cross Crusaders (5-2-2) - 52.1
53. Auburn Tigers (4-4) - 54.0
54. Lubbock Field (5-4) - 54.7
55. Arkansas Razorbacks (5-5-1) - 54.9
56. Dartmouth Big Green (2-5-1) - 55.0
57. Bucknell Bison (7-2-1) - 55.1
58. Rice Owls (5-6) - 57.4
59. Brown Bears (3-4-1) - 58.2
60. Fort Warren Broncos (5-4-1) - 60.8
61. Wisconsin Badgers (3-6) - 61.2
62. West Virginia Mountaineers (5-3-1) - 62.2
63. West Texas A&M Buffaloes (4-3) - 62.3
64. Temple Owls (2-4-2) - 64.1
65. SMU Mustangs (5-5) - 65.3
66. UCLA Bruins (4-5-1) - 65.7
67. Kansas Jayhawks (3-6-1) - 66.6
68. Alameda Coast Guard Sea Lions (4-2-2) - 68.0
69. Texas Tech Red Raiders (4-7) - 69.3
70. Ole Miss Rebels (2-6) - 71.1
71. St. Mary's Pre-Flight Air Devils (4-4) - 72.5
72. Colorado College Tigers (3-6) - 73.1
73. Utah State Aggies (3-3) - 73.2
74. South Carolina Gamecocks (3-4-2) - 74.2
75. Florida Gators (4-3) - 76.2
76. Colgate Raiders (2-5) - 76.4
77. Northwestern Wildcats (1-7-1) - 76.8
78. North Carolina Tar Heels (1-7-1) - 77.4
79. Villanova Wildcats (4-4) - 77.8
80. Columbia Lions (2-6) - 80.0
81. Idaho State Bengals (4-5) - 80.5
82. Syracuse Orange (2-4-1) - 81.9
83. Boston College Eagles (4-3) - 82.3
84. Nebraska Cornhuskers (2-6) - 83.4
85. Iowa Hawkeyes (1-7) - 86.6
86. Maryland Terrapins (1-7-1) - 87.0
87. California Golden Bears (3-6-1) - 87.2
88. Richmond Spiders (2-6) - 88.7
89. Kansas State Wildcats (2-5-2) - 89.9
90. Marquette Golden Eagles (1-7) - 90.3
91. New Mexico Lobos (1-7) - 92.2
92. VMI Keydets (1-8) - 92.4
93. Miami Hurricanes (1-7-1) - 94.4
94. Presbyterian Blue Hose (3-6) - 94.9
95. New York University Violets (2-5) - 95.2

Special thanks to James Howell's College Football Scores, which provided the data for our analysis.