1939 College Football Final Rankings

In 1939, going into the bowls, the Tennessee Volunteers were not only unbeaten and untied, no one had even scored on them. The Volunteers lost 14-0 in the Rose Bowl to USC, but the AP poll awarded its national championship prior to any bowl games in those days. Surprisingly, it would seem, Tennessee was not declared national champions. Instead, the voters awarded the title to the undefeated Texas A&M Aggies. Our analysis includes the bowl games, and we agree with the voters on this one. Although Tennessee is our national champion for both 1938 (as you will see in our next posting) AND 1940, they did not show enough offensive firepower - scoring - to go with that stout defense and claim the title in 1939. Still, a three-year run where a team finishes ranked #1-#3-#1 is pretty impressive.

Here are the final rankings for 1939:

1. Texas A&M Aggies (11-0) - 1.0
2. Cornell Big Red (8-0) - 2.7
3. Tennessee Volunteers (10-1) - 3.2
4. Tulane Green Wave (8-1-1) - 4.1
5. USC Trojans (8-0-2) - 5.4
6. North Carolina Tar Heels (8-1-1) - 6.1
7. Duke Blue Devils (8-1) - 6.6
8. Clemson Tigers (9-1) - 7.6
9. Ohio State Buckeyes (6-2) - 9.3
10. Boston College Eagles (9-2) - 11.4
11. Missouri Tigers (8-2) - 12.7
(tie) Oklahoma Sooners (6-2-1) - 12.7
13. Mississippi State Bulldogs (8-2) - 13.5
14. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (8-2) - 14.2
15. Nebraska Cornhuskers (7-1-1) - 14.7
16. Duquesne Dukes (8-0-1) - 17.9
17. Fordham Rams (6-2) - 18.0
18. Princeton Tigers (7-1) - 18.8
19. Utah Utes (6-1-2) - 19.9
20. Ole Miss Rebels (7-2) - 20.2
21. Holy Cross Crusaders (7-2) - 21.3
22. Alabama Crimson Tide (5-3-1) - 21.4
23. Michigan Wolverines (6-2) - 22.0
24. Wake Forest Demon Deacons (7-3) - 22.9
25. UCLA Bruins (6-0-4) - 25.5
26. Georgetown Hoyas (7-0-1) - 25.7
27. Oregon State Beavers (9-1-1) - 26.4
28. SMU Mustangs (6-3-1) - 27.3
29. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-2) - 27.8
30. Santa Clara Broncos (5-1-3) - 29.9
31. Kentucky Wildcats (6-2-1) - 30.1
32. Pittsburgh Panthers (5-4) - 31.5
33. Villanova Wildcats (6-2) - 34.5
34. Minnesota Golden Gophers (3-4-1) - 34.7
35. Auburn Tigers (5-5-1) - 34.9
36. Baylor Bears (7-3) - 35.9
37. Richmond Spiders (7-1-2) - 37.0
38. Penn State Nittany Lions (5-1-2) - 38.2
39. Iowa Hawkeyes (6-1-1) - 40.1
40. LSU Tigers (4-5) - 41.2
41. Dartmouth Big Green (5-3-1) - 41.3
42. Purdue Boilermakers (3-3-2) - 44.3
43. Hardin-Simmons Cowboys (7-1-1) - 45.5
(tie) Oregon Ducks (3-4-1) - 45.5
45. Kansas State Wildcats (4-5) - 46.6
46. Virginia Cavaliers (5-4) - 46.8
47. Arizona State Sun Devils (8-2-1) - 48.1
48. Columbia Lions (2-4-2) - 49.3
49. Navy Midshipmen (3-5-1) - 49.8
50. New York University Violets (5-4) - 49.9
51. Detroit Mercy Titans (5-3-1) - 50.4
52. William & Mary Tribe (6-2-1) - 53.6
53. Northwestern Wildcats (3-4-1) - 54.2
54. George Washington Colonials (5-3) - 55.8
55. Arkansas Razorbacks (4-5-1) - 56.2
(tie) Colorado Buffaloes (5-3) - 56.2
57. Texas Longhorns (5-4) - 56.4
58. Gonzaga Bulldogs (6-2) - 59.7
59. New Mexico Lobos (8-2) - 60.5
60. VMI Keydets (6-3-1) - 61.1
61. Pennsylvania Relays (4-4) - 61.3
62. Indiana Hoosiers (2-4-2) - 61.9
63. Denver Pioneers (5-3-1) - 62.0
64. Michigan State Spartans (4-4-1) - 62.3
65. Marquette Golden Eagles (4-4) - 63.5
66. Florida Gators (5-5-1) - 64.9
67. Washington (MO) Bears (6-3-1) - 65.0
68. Georgia Bulldogs (5-6) - 66.2
69. Brown Bears (5-3-1) - 66.9
70. Syracuse Orange (3-3-2) - 67.0
71. Furman Paladins (5-4) - 67.6
72. Carnegie Mellon Tartans (3-5) - 70.2
73. Colgate Raiders (2-5-1) - 73.1
74. Yale Bulldogs (3-4-1) - 75.2
75. Illinois Fighting Illini (3-4-1) - 76.0
76. TCU Horned Frogs (3-7) - 77.0
77. Washington Huskies (4-5) - 77.9
78. Manhattan Jaspers (4-4) - 78.1
79. Harvard Crimson (4-4) - 78.8
80. Virginia Tech Hokies (4-5-1) - 79.6
81. Army Black Knights (3-4-2) - 79.7
82. BYU Cougars (5-2-2) - 80.3
83. Oklahoma State Cowboys (5-4-1) - 80.8
84. Washington & Lee Generals (3-4-1) - 82.2
85. Arizona Wildcats (6-4) - 85.0
86. Temple Owls (2-7) - 85.2
87. Washington State Cougars (4-5) - 85.8
88. Texas Tech Red Raiders (5-5-1) - 86.7
89. Miami Hurricanes (5-5) - 89.4
90. UTEP Miners (5-4) - 92.6
91. St. Mary's Gaels (3-4-1) - 93.5
92. Washburn Ichabods (6-4) - 93.8
93. Utah State Aggies (3-4-1) - 94.7
94. Wisconsin Badgers (1-6-1) - 95.0
95. Kansas Jayhawks (2-6) - 96.5
96. Bucknell Bison (3-5) - 96.8
97. West Virginia Mountaineers (2-6-1) - 96.9
98. Stanford Cardinal (1-7-1) - 97.5
99. St. Louis Billikens (5-3-2) - 97.7
100. Vanderbilt Commodores (2-7-1) - 101.2
101. Tulsa Golden Hurricane (4-5-1) - 101.7
102. Creighton Bluejays (4-5) - 102.6
103. California Golden Bears (3-7) - 102.7
104. Iowa State Cyclones (2-7) - 104.0
105. Rice Owls (1-9-1) - 104.7
106. Hampden-Sydney Tigers (4-5) - 105.5
107. San Francisco Dons (4-3-3) - 105.8
108. Drake Bulldogs (5-5) - 106.2
109. Colorado State Rams (2-7) - 106.7
110. Montana Grizzlies (3-6) - 109.4
111. Rhodes Lynx (3-5-1) - 110.0
112. NC State Wolfpack (2-8) - 110.4
113. Citadel Bulldogs (3-8) - 110.9
114. Sewanee Tigers (3-5) - 113.7
115. South Carolina Gamecocks (3-6-1) - 115.3
116. Idaho Vandals (2-6) - 115.7
117. Maryland Terrapins (2-7) - 116.4
118. Davidson Wildcats (2-7) - 117.2
119. New Mexico State Aggies (3-6) - 117.3
120. Centenary Gents (2-9-1) - 118.9
121. Loyola Marymount Lions (2-6-1) - 120.8
122. Wyoming Cowboys (0-7-1) - 123.0
123. Chicago Maroons (2-6) - 123.8
124. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (1-6-1) - 124.8


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