| 1941 college football rankings | |
|---|---|
| Season | 1941 |
| Bowl season | 1941–42 bowl games |
| End of season champions | Minnesota |
One human poll comprised the 1941 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll. The Coaches' Poll began operation in 1950; in addition, the AP Poll did not begin conducting preseason polls until that same year.
| Increase in ranking | ||
| Decrease in ranking | ||
| Not ranked previous week | ||
| National champion | ||
(#–#) | Win–loss record | |
(Italics) | Number of first place votes | |
т | Tied with team above or below also with this symbol |
The final AP Poll was released on December 1, at the end of the 1941 regular season, weeks before the major bowls. The AP would not release a post-bowl season final poll regularly until 1968.
| Week 1 Oct 13 [1] | Week 2 Oct 20 [2] | Week 3 Oct 27 [3] | Week 4 Nov 3 [4] | Week 5 Nov 10 [5] | Week 6 Nov 17 [6] | Week 7 Nov 24 [7] | Week 8 (Final) Dec 1 [8] | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Minnesota (2–0) (66) | Minnesota (3–0) (69) | Minnesota (4–0) (60) т | Texas (6–0) (73.5) | Minnesota (6–0) (99) | Minnesota (7–0) (112) | Minnesota (8–0) (95) | Minnesota (8–0) (84.5) | 1. |
| 2. | Texas (3–0) (30) | Texas (4–0) (33) | Texas (5–0) (53) т | Minnesota (5–0) (34.5) | Texas (6–0–1) (4) | Texas A&M (8–0) (5) | Texas A&M (8–0) (2) | Duke (9–0) (9.5) | 2. |
| 3. | Duke (3–0) (14) | Michigan (4–0) (7) | Fordham (4–0) (7) | Fordham (5–0) (6) | Duke (7–0) (11) | Duke (8–0) (12) | Duke (9–0) (15) | Notre Dame (8–0–1) | 3. |
| 4. | Fordham (2–0) | Duke (4–0) (7) | Duke (5–0) (5) | Duke (6–0) (7) | Texas A&M (7–0) (6) | Notre Dame (7–0–1) | Notre Dame (8–0–1) (2) | Texas (7–1–1) (1) | 4. |
| 5. | Northwestern (2–0) (1) | Navy (4–0) (3) | Texas A&M (5–0) | Texas A&M (6–0) | Notre Dame (6–0–1) | Michigan (6–1) | Duquesne (8–0) | Michigan (6–1–1) | 5. |
| 6. | Michigan (3–0) (1) | Fordham (3–0) | Notre Dame (5–0) | Navy (5–0–1) | Stanford (6–1) (1) | Duquesne (8–0) | Michigan (6–1–1) | Fordham (7–1) | 6. |
| 7. | Navy (3–0) (3) | Notre Dame (4–0) | Michigan (4–1) | Notre Dame (5–0–1) | Michigan (5–1) | Alabama (7–1) | Missouri (8–1) (1) | Missouri (8–1) (1) | 7. |
| 8. | Notre Dame (3–0) | Santa Clara (4–0) | Penn (4–0) (1) | Michigan (5–1) | Northwestern (4–2) | Missouri (7–1) | Fordham (6–1) | Duquesne (8–0) | 8. |
| 9. | Santa Clara (3–0) (1) | Texas A&M (4–0) | Northwestern (3–1) | Stanford (5–1) | Alabama (6–1) | Texas (6–1–1) | Northwestern (5–3) | Texas A&M (8–1) | 9. |
| 10. | Ohio State (2–0) (1) | Tulane (3–1) (1) | Vanderbilt (5–0) | Northwestern (3–2) | Duquesne (7–0) | Northwestern (4–3) | Texas (6–1–1) | Navy (7–1–1) | 10. |
| 11. | Penn (2–0) | Ohio State (3–0) (1) | Navy (4–0–1) | Army (4–0–1) | Fordham (5–1) | Fordham (5–1) | Navy (6–1–1) | Northwestern (5–3) | 11. |
| 12. | Rice (2–0) | Penn (3–0) | Stanford (4–1) | Duquesne (6–0) | Navy (5–1–1) | Navy (5–1–1) | Vanderbilt (8–1) | Oregon State (7–2) | 12. |
| 13. | Clemson (4–0) (1) | Northwestern (2–1) | Temple (5–0) | Alabama (5–1) | Mississippi State (5–0–1) (0.5) | Penn (6–1) | Penn (7–1) | Ohio State (6–1–1) | 13. |
| 14. | Texas A&M (3–0) | Clemson (4–0) (3) | Army (4–0) | Tulane (4–2) | Penn (5–1) | Ohio State (6–1) | Ole Miss (6–1–1) | Georgia (8–1–1) | 14. |
| 15. | Nebraska (2–0) | Vanderbilt (4–0) | Alabama (4–1) | Mississippi State (4–0–1) | Ole Miss (5–1–1) (0.5) | Ole Miss (5–1–1) | Ohio State (6–1–1) | Penn (7–1) | 15. |
| 16. | Oregon State (3–0) | Oregon (3–1) | Duquesne (5–0) | Ole Miss (4–1–1) | Missouri (6–1) | Oregon State (5–2) | Clemson (7–1) | Mississippi State (7–1–1) | 16. |
| 17. | Tulane (2–1) (1) | Temple (4–0) | Ole Miss (3–1–1) т | Missouri (5–1) | Harvard (3–2–1) | Stanford (6–2) | Oregon State (6–2) | Ole Miss (6–2–1) | 17. |
| 18. | Vanderbilt (3–0) | Oregon State (3–1) | Mississippi State (3–0–1) т | Syracuse (5–1) | Boston College (5–2) | Clemson (6–1) | Alabama (7–2) | Tennessee (8–2) | 18. |
| 19. | Mississippi State (2–0–1) | Stanford (3–1) т | Missouri (4–1) | Penn (4–1) | Army (4–1–1) | TCU (6–2) | Harvard (5–2–1) | Washington State (6–3) | 19. |
| 20. | Columbia (2–0) | Villanova (3–0) т | SMU (3–1) | Ohio State (4–1) | Ohio State (5–1) |
| Georgia (7–1–1) | Alabama (8–2) | 20. |
| Week 1 Oct 13 [9] | Week 2 Oct 20 [10] | Week 3 Oct 27 [11] | Week 4 Nov 3 [12] | Week 5 Nov 10 [13] | Week 6 Nov 17 [14] | Week 7 Nov 24 [15] | Week 8 (Final) Dec 1 [16] | ||
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The Boand System rankings (also known as "Azzi Ratem") released after games played on November 29 were as follows: [17]
1. Minnesota (81.6)
2. Navy (80.3)
3. Notre Dame (79.4)
4. Texas (78.9)
5. Penn (77.6)
6. Duke (77.5)
7. Duquesne (77.4)
8. Michigan (78.8)
9. Missouri (76.4)
10. Texas A&M (76.3)
11. Ohio State (75.6)
12. Alabama (74.6)
13. Georgia (74.5)
14. Fordham (73.7)
15. TCU (73.4)
16. Tennessee (73.3)
17. Mississippi State (73.2)
18. Oregon State (72.7)
19. Northwestern (72.6)
20. Harvard (72.0)
The final Dunkel System rankings released in December 1941 were as follows: [18]
1. Minnesota (100.7)
2. Duke (98.5)
3. Texas (94.5)
4. Georgia (93.4)
5. Tennessee (92.6)
6. Michigan (92.4)
7. Northwestern (92.2)
8. Missouri (92.1)
9. Texas A&M (92.1)
10. Duquesne (91)
11. Notre Dame (90.2)
12. Alabama (89.5)
13. Penn (89.1)
14. Navy (88.9)
15. TCU (88.9)
16. Washington State (88.5)
17. Oregon State (88.2)
18. SMU (88.2)
19. Rice (88.1)
20. Vanderbilt (88.1)
21.
22. Ohio State (87.4)
23. Mississippi State (87)
24.
25.
26.
27. Ole Miss (86)
The Houlgate System's final selections [19] released in early December 1941 were as follows:
1. Minnesota
2. Navy
3. Alabama
4. Duquesne
5. Notre Dame
6. Michigan
Mississippi State
Texas
9. Duke
10. Pennsylvania
11. Tennessee
12. TCU
13. Georgia
14. Ohio State
Oregon State
Temple
17. Missouri
Texas A&M
Texas Tech
20. Vanderbilt
21. Fordham
22. Boston College
Harvard
24. Virginia
25. Penn State
The final Litkenhous Ratings released in December 1941 provided numerical rankings for 681 college football programs. The top 100 ranked teams were: [20]
1. Minnesota
2. Texas
3. Duke
4. Michigan
5. Texas A&M
6. Alabama
7. Notre Dame
8. Navy
9. Northwestern
10. Georgia
11. Tulane
12. Penn
13. Tennessee
14. Vanderbilt
15. Ohio State
16. Missouri
17. Fordham
18. Duquesne
19. Mississippi State
20. Oklahoma
21. Cornell
22. LSU
23. TCU
24. SMU
25. Oregon State
26. Washington State
27. Boston College
28. Stanford
29. Ole Miss
30. Rice
31. Washington
32. Harvard
33. California
34. Syracuse
35. Virginia
36. Santa Clara
37. Colgate
38. Auburn
39. Clemson
40. Georgia Tech
41. Penn State
42. Columbia
43. Michigan State
44. Detroit
45. Army
46. Texas Tech
47. Dartmouth
48. Indiana
49. Arkansas
50. Purdue
51. Iowa
52. Xavier
53. Marshall
54. Oregon
55. Baylor
56. Kentucky
57. Wisconsin
58. Nebraska
59. Villanova
60. Marquette
61. Texas A&I
62. Utah
63. Miami (FL)
64. USC
65. William & Mary
66. Tulsa
67. Florida
68. Temple
69. Hawaii
70. Georgetown
71. Illinois
72. Wake Forest
73. Holy Cross
74. Pittsburgh
75. South Carolina
76. Princeton
77. UCLA
78. Yale
79. Manhattan
80. Dayton
81. Saint Mary's (CA)
82. San Francisco
83. Rollins
84. Chattanooga
85. Western Michigan
86. Denver
87. Arizona
88. Panzer
89. Oklahoma A&M
90. West Virginia
91. West Texas State
92. Cincinnati
93. Hardin–Simmons
94. S.W. Tennessee
95. Lafayette
96. Western Reserve
97. Bradley
98. Brown
99. Willamette
100. North Carolina
The final Williamson System rankings for 1940 were issued in January 1942, after the bowl games. [21]
1. Texas (99.2)
2. Minnesota (97.9)
3. Notre Dame (96.2)
4. Fordham (95.8)
5. Navy (95.6)
6. Missouri (95.4)
7. Michigan (95.1)
8. Penn (94.9)
9. Duquesne (94.7)
10. Mississippi State (94.2)
11. Oregon State (94.1)
12. Alabama (94.0)
13. Duke (93.8)
14. Texas A&M (93.7)
15. Tennessee (93.6)
16. Vanderbilt (93.5)
17. Georgia (93.4)
18. Northwestern (93.2)
19. TCU (93.1)
20. Ohio State (93.0)
21. Ole Miss (92.6)
22. Cornell (92.4)
23. Harvard (92.2)
24. Washington State (91.9)
25. Oklahoma (91.5)
26. LSU (91.2)
27. Rice (91.1)
28. Stanford (91.0)
29. Tulane (90.9)
30. SMU (90.8)
31. Oregon (90.8)
32. Santa Clara (90.7)
33. Auburn (90.6)
34. Washington (90.4)
35. Army (90.1)
36. California (90.0)
37. William & Mary (89.8)
38. Dartmouth (89.7)
39. Clemson (89.6)
40. Tulsa (89.5)
41. Colgate (89.4)
42. Boston College (89.3)
43. Michigan State (89.1)
44. Temple (89.0)
45. Columbia (88.9)
46. Penn State (88.6)
47. Syracuse (88.3)
48. Manhattan (88.2)
The 1936 college football season was the first in which the Associated Press writers' poll selected a national champion. The first AP poll, taken of 35 writers, was released on October 20, 1936. Each writer listed his choice for the top ten teams, and points were tallied based on 10 for first place, 9 for second, etc., and the AP then ranked the twenty teams with the highest number of points. In the first poll, Minnesota received 32 first place votes, and 3 votes for an additional 25 points, for a total of 345 altogether. Of the seven contemporary math system selectors, two chose Pittsburgh as the top team.
The 1938 college football season ended with the Horned Frogs of Texas Christian University (TCU) being named the nation's No. 1 team by 55 of the 77 voters in the final Associated Press writers' poll in early December. Tennessee was also chosen by six contemporary math system selectors as a national champion; both teams won every game. Notre Dame was chosen by the Dickinson System and won the Knute Rockne Memorial Trophy.
The 1941 college football regular season was the 73rd 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 college football rankings for the 1936 college football season included the first AP Poll, the Toledo Cup rankings based on input from a judge's committee of 250 sports editors, and the Litkenhous Ratings. The 1936 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team was ranked as the national champion in all three rankings.
One human poll comprised the 1939 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll. The Coaches' Poll began operation in 1950; in addition, the AP Poll did not begin conducting preseason polls until that same year.
One human poll comprised the 1940 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll. The Coaches' Poll began operation in 1950; in addition, the AP Poll did not begin conducting preseason polls until that same year.
One human poll comprised the 1942 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll. The Coaches' Poll began operation in 1950; in addition, the AP Poll did not begin conducting preseason polls until that same year.
One human poll comprised the 1943 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll. The Coaches' Poll began operation in 1950; in addition, the AP Poll did not begin conducting preseason polls until that same year.
One human poll comprised the 1944 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll. The Coaches' Poll began operation in 1950; in addition, the AP Poll did not begin conducting preseason polls until that same year.
One human poll comprised the 1945 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll. The Coaches' Poll began operation in 1950; in addition, the AP Poll did not begin conducting preseason polls until that same year.
One human poll comprised the 1946 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll. The Coaches' Poll began operation in 1950; in addition, the AP Poll did not begin conducting preseason polls until that same year.
One human poll comprised the 1947 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies.
One human poll comprised the 1948 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll. The Coaches' Poll began operation in 1950; in addition, the AP Poll did not begin conducting preseason polls until that same year.
One human poll comprised the 1949 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll. The Coaches' Poll began operation in 1950; in addition, the AP Poll did not begin conducting preseason polls until that same year.
Two human polls and several math systems comprised the 1950 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll.
Two human polls comprised the 1951 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll.
Two human polls comprised the 1952 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches Poll.
The 1956 college football rankings were an effort to rank the American football teams participating in the 1956 college football season. College football's governing body, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), did not issue rankings or conduct a championship game or playoffs to determine a national champion. The most widely-reported rankings were published by two of the major news agencies based on polling conducted on a weekly basis during the season.
The 1957 college football rankings were an effort to rank the American football teams participating in the 1957 college football season. College football's governing body, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), did not issue rankings or conduct a championship game or playoffs to determine a national champion. The most widely-reported rankings were published by two of the major news agencies based on weekly polling conducted during the season and at the end of the regular season.
The 1932 college football season rankings were attempt to rank the best American football teams participating in the 1932 college football season. They included mathematical systems operated by William F. Boand, Frank G. Dickinson, and Dick Dunkel.
The Deke Houlgate system of rating football teams today placed the Golden Gophers of Minnesota in the top spot in national standings. Houlgate, making his final selections, nominated the Navy for second place and Alabama for third.