1940 College Football Final Rankings

In 1940, the Minnesota Golden Gophers were declared national champion in the AP Poll, with the Stanford Cardinal #2. Other polls awarded their national championship to the Boston College Eagles or the Tennessee Volunteers. Our analysis puts Minnesota and Stanford at #5 and #8 respectively, while Tennessee and Boston College had the first and second best seasons that year.

Here are the final rankings:

1. Tennessee Volunteers (10-1) - 1.1
2. Boston College Eagles (11-0) - 1.9
3. Mississippi State Bulldogs (10-0-1) - 3.6
4. Michigan Wolverines (7-1) - 4.5
5. Minnesota Golden Gophers (8-0) - 6.1
6. Georgetown Hoyas (8-2) - 6.7
7. Texas A&M Aggies (9-1) - 7.1
8. Stanford Cardinal (10-0) - 8.2
9. Duke Blue Devils (7-2) - 9.0
10. Santa Clara Broncos (6-1-1) - 10.2
11. Northwestern Wildcats (6-2) - 10.9
12. Pennsylvania Relays (6-1-1) - 12.3
13. Hardin-Simmons Cowboys (9-0) - 12.9
14. Cornell Big Red (6-2) - 14.5
15. Texas Longhorns (8-2) - 15.2
16. Nebraska Cornhuskers (8-2) - 15.6
17. Washington Huskies (7-2) - 16.4
18. Alabama Crimson Tide (7-2) - 17.8
(tie) Fordham Rams (7-2) - 17.8
20. Ole Miss Rebels (9-2) - 19.2
21. SMU Mustangs (8-1-1) - 20.6
22. Rice Owls (7-3) - 22.5
23. Auburn Tigers (6-4-1) - 26.5
24. Texas Tech Red Raiders (9-1-1) - 26.6
25. Ohio State Buckeyes (4-4) - 27.2
26. Missouri Tigers (6-3) - 27.6
(tie) Wake Forest Demon Deacons (7-3) - 27.6
28. Duquesne Dukes (7-1) - 28.3
29. LSU Tigers (6-4) - 28.6
30. Clemson Tigers (6-2-1) - 30.8
31. Detroit Mercy Titans (7-2) - 32.5
32. Oklahoma Sooners (6-3) - 33.8
33. Navy Midshipmen (6-2-1) - 34.8
34. Utah Utes (7-2) - 35.1
35. Penn State Nittany Lions (6-1-1) - 35.4
36. Tulsa Golden Hurricane (7-3) - 35.5
37. Notre Dame Fighting Irish (7-2) - 35.7
38. Colgate Raiders (5-3) - 37.2
39. Arizona Wildcats (7-2) - 37.5
40. Tulane Green Wave (5-5) - 38.5
41. North Carolina Tar Heels (6-4) - 40.2
42. Oregon Ducks (4-4-1) - 41.6
43. Pittsburgh Panthers (3-4-1) - 42.6
44. Georgia Bulldogs (5-4-1) - 44.9
45. St. Mary's Gaels (5-3) - 46.3
46. VMI Keydets (7-2-1) - 49.3
47. Michigan State Spartans (3-4-1) - 49.5
(tie) TCU Horned Frogs (3-7) - 49.5
49. Oklahoma State Cowboys (6-3-1) - 49.6
50. Baylor Bears (4-6) - 49.9
51. Columbia Lions (5-2-2) - 50.9
52. Oregon State Beavers (5-3-1) - 51.4
53. Kentucky Wildcats (5-3-2) - 51.6
54. Colorado Buffaloes (5-3-1) - 54.4
55. Wisconsin Badgers (4-4) - 55.5
56. Temple Owls (4-4-1) - 55.8
57. William & Mary Tribe (6-2-1) - 55.9
58. USC Trojans (3-4-2) - 57.4
59. Harvard Crimson (3-2-3) - 57.7
60. Creighton Bluejays (6-2-2) - 58.9
(tie) Indiana Hoosiers (3-5) - 58.9
62. Denver Pioneers (6-2-1) - 59.0
63. Iowa Hawkeyes (4-4) - 59.9
64. Villanova Wildcats (4-5) - 60.2
65. Furman Paladins (5-4) - 65.0
66. California Golden Bears (4-6) - 65.3
67. Syracuse Orange (3-4-1) - 67.1
68. Princeton Tigers (5-2-1) - 70.1
69. Florida Gators (5-5) - 70.5
70. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (3-7) - 71.2
71. Arkansas Razorbacks (4-6) - 71.6
72. Purdue Boilermakers (2-6) - 71.8
73. Washington State Cougars (4-4-2) - 72.2
74. Vanderbilt Commodores (3-6-1) - 73.3
75. Holy Cross Crusaders (4-5-1) - 75.4
76. New Mexico Lobos (5-4) - 75.5
77. Gonzaga Bulldogs (5-4-1) - 75.7
78. NC State Wolfpack (3-6) - 76.9
79. Manhattan Jaspers (3-6) - 80.7
80. George Washington Colonials (5-3-1) - 81.0
81. Richmond Spiders (6-3) - 82.0
82. Dartmouth Big Green (5-4) - 82.5
83. Iowa State Cyclones (4-5) - 82.8
84. Arizona State Sun Devils (7-2-2) - 83.1
85. Marquette Golden Eagles (2-6-1) - 83.2
86. Virginia Cavaliers (4-5) - 85.1
87. Brown Bears (6-3-1) - 87.7
88. West Virginia Mountaineers (4-4-1) - 87.8
89. Davidson Wildcats (5-5) - 88.8
90. San Francisco Dons (1-6-1) - 90.5
91. UCLA Bruins (1-9) - 90.6
92. South Carolina Gamecocks (3-6) - 90.9
93. St. Louis Billikens (3-6-1) - 92.2
94. Carnegie Mellon Tartans (3-5) - 93.7
95. BYU Cougars (2-4-2) - 96.0
96. Illinois Fighting Illini (1-7) - 96.1
97. Virginia Tech Hokies (5-5) - 97.4
98. Drake Bulldogs (4-5) - 98.6
99. Colorado State Rams (3-4-2) - 98.7
100. Kansas State Wildcats (2-7) - 98.8
101. Kansas Jayhawks (2-7) - 99.6
102. Yale Bulldogs (1-7) - 102.2
103. Miami Hurricanes (3-7) - 103.3
104. Citadel Bulldogs (4-5) - 103.7
105. Army Black Knights (1-7-1) - 105.5
106. UTEP Miners (4-4-1) - 105.9
107. Montana Grizzlies (4-4-1) - 107.0
108. Washington (MO) Bears (3-6) - 108.6
109. Sewanee Tigers (3-5) - 110.3
110. Utah State Aggies (2-5-1) - 110.4
111. Centenary Gents (3-7) - 111.5
112. Washington & Lee Generals (2-7-1) - 111.9
113. New York University Violets (2-7) - 112.2
114. Loyola Marymount Lions (3-7) - 113.7
115. Washburn Ichabods (4-6) - 114.7
116. Idaho Vandals (1-7-1) - 115.4
(tie) Maryland Terrapins (2-6-1) - 115.4
118. Hampden-Sydney Tigers (4-5) - 115.9
119. Wyoming Cowboys (1-7-1) - 118.9
120. New Mexico State Aggies (3-6) - 121.0
121. Northern Arizona Lumberjacks (2-6) - 121.8


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