# 1936 college football rankings

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.

## Legend

| | 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 |

## AP Poll

The final AP Poll was released on November 30, at the end of the 1936 regular season, weeks before the major bowls. The AP would not release a post-bowl season final poll regularly until 1968.
| | Week 1 Oct 19 | Week 2 Oct 26 | Week 3 Nov 2 | Week 4 Nov 9 | Week 5 Nov 16 | Week 6 Nov 23 | Week 7 (Final) Nov 30 | |
| 1. | Minnesota (3–0) (32) | Minnesota (4–0) (44) | Northwestern (5–0) (31) | Northwestern (6–0) (31) | Northwestern (7–0) (17) | Minnesota (7–1) (30) | Minnesota (7–1) (25) | 1. |
| 2. | Duke (5–0) (1) | Pittsburgh (4–1) | Minnesota (4–1) (10) | Minnesota (5–1) (12) | Minnesota (6–1) (12) | LSU (8–0–1) (10) | LSU (9–0–1) (9) | 2. |
| 3. | Army (3–0) (1) | Northwestern (4–0) | Fordham (4–0–1) (2) | Fordham (5–0–1) (3) | Fordham (5–0–1) (4) | Alabama (7–0–1) | Pittsburgh (7–1–1) | 3. |
| 4. | Northwestern (3–0) | Washington (4–1) | Marquette (5–0) | Alabama (6–0–1) (1) | Pittsburgh (6–1–1) | Pittsburgh (6–1–1) | Alabama (8–0–1) | 4. |
| 5. | Purdue (3–0) | Fordham (4–0) | Pittsburgh (4–1–1) | Pittsburgh (5–1–1) | LSU (7–0–1) (2) | Santa Clara (7–0) (1) | Washington (7–1–1) | 5. |
| 6. | USC (3–0–1) (1) | Army (4–0) | Washington (5–1) | Nebraska (5–1) | Washington (6–1–1) (2) | Washington (6–1–1) | Santa Clara (7–0) (1) | 6. |
| 7. | Notre Dame (3–0) | USC (4–0–1) | LSU (5–0–1) | LSU (6–0–1) | Marquette (7–0) | Northwestern (7–1) | Northwestern (7–1) | 7. |
| 8. | Washington (3–1) | LSU (4–0–1) | Nebraska (4–1) | Marquette (6–0) | Alabama (7–0–1) | Fordham (5–0–2) | Notre Dame (6–2) | 8. |
| 9. | Pittsburgh (3–1) | Tulane (4–0–1) | Santa Clara (5–0) | Santa Clara (5–0) | Santa Clara (6–0) | Notre Dame (6–2) (1) | Nebraska (7–2) | 9. |
| 10. | Yale (3–0) | Marquette (4–0) | Tulane (5–0–1) | Washington (5–1–1) | Penn (6–1) | Nebraska (6–2) | Penn (7–1) | 10. |
| 11. | Duquesne (4–0) | Nebraska (3–1) | USC (4–0–1) | Penn (5–1) | Notre Dame (5–2) | Duke (8–1) | Duke (9–1) | 11. |
| 12. | St. Mary's (3–0–1) | Yale (4–0) | SMU (4–1) | Dartmouth (6–1) | Dartmouth (7–1) | Duquesne (7–2) | Yale (7–1) | 12. |
| 13. | LSU (3–0–1) | Duke (5–1) т | Notre Dame (4–1) | Duke (7–1) | Nebraska (5–2) | Penn (6–1) | Dartmouth (7–1–1) | 13. |
| 14. | Texas A&M (4–0) | Holy Cross (5–0) т | Alabama (5–0–1) | Washington State (5–1–1) | Texas A&M (7–1–1) | Dartmouth (7–1–1) | Duquesne (7–2) | 14. |
| 15. | Nebraska (2–1) | SMU (3–1) | Duke (6–1) т | Texas A&M (6–1–1) т | Washington State (6–1–1) | Marquette (7–1) | Fordham (5–1–2) | 15. |
| 16. | Fordham (3–0) | Auburn (4–0–1) | Penn (4–1) т | USC (4–1–1) т | Duke (8–1) | Yale (7–1) | TCU (7–2–2) | 16. |
| 17. | Holy Cross (4–0) | Princeton (3–1) т | Washington State (5–0–1) | Holy Cross (6–1) | Holy Cross (7–1) | Tennessee (5–2–1) | Tennessee (6–2–1) | 17. |
| 18. | Tulane (3–0–1) | Purdue (3–1) т | Dartmouth (5–1) т | TCU (5–2–1) | Ohio State (4–3) | TCU (7–2–1) | Arkansas (6–3) т | 18. |
| 19. | SMU (3–1) | Santa Clara (4–0) | Tennessee (3–2–1) т | SMU (4–2) т | Tennessee (5–2–1) | Tulane (6–2–1) | Navy (6–3) т | 19. |
| 20. | Marquette (3–0) | Penn (3–1) тSt. Mary's (3–1–1) т | Auburn (4–1–1) | Temple (5–1–1) т | Duquesne (6–2) тTemple (6–1–1) т | Washington State (6–1–1) | Marquette (7–1) | 20. |
| | Week 1 Oct 19 | Week 2 Oct 26 | Week 3 Nov 2 | Week 4 Nov 9 | Week 5 Nov 16 | Week 6 Nov 23 | Week 7 (Final) Nov 30 | |
| | | Dropped: DuquesneNotre DameTexas A&M | Dropped: ArmyHoly CrossPrincetonPurdueSt. Mary'sYale | Dropped: AuburnNotre DameTennesseeTulane | Dropped: SMUTCUUSC | Dropped: Holy CrossOhio StateTempleTexas A&M | Dropped: TulaneWashington State | |

## Toledo Cup

For the third consecutive year, Minnesota won the Toledo Cup as college football's national champion. The Toledo Cup award was based on input from a judge's committee of 250 sports editors of leading newspapers. By winning the cup for the third consecutive years, Minnesota received permanent possession of the cup. The results of preliminary balloting were as follows:
1. Minnesota - 582 points 2. Northwestern - 525 points 3. Fordham - 135 points 4. LSU - 95 points 5. Pittsburgh - 94 points 6. Alabama - 61 points 7. Santa Clara - 60 points 8. Marquette - 38 points 9. Washington - 29 points 10. (tie) Dartmouth - 5 points 10. (tie) Duke - 5 points 12. Penn - 3 points 13. Nebraska - 2 points
The vote tally in the final round was as follows:
1. Minnesota - 230 votes 2. LSU - 7 votes 3. Northwestern - 6 votes 4. Fordham - 2 votes

## Litkenhous Ratings

The post-bowl final Litkenhous Ratings for 1936 ranked 618 college football teams. The top 125 teams were as follows:
1. Minnesota 2. Pittsburgh 3. LSU 4. Ohio State 5. Duke 6. Notre Dame 7. Alabama 8. Nebraska 9. Washington 10. Duquesne 11. Mississippi State 12. Army 13. Northwestern 14. Georgia Tech 15. Auburn 16. Tennessee 17. Arkansas 18. Baldwin–Wallace 19. Santa Clara 20. Marquette 21. Dartmouth 22. Purdue 23. Indiana 24. Penn 25. TCU 26. Michigan State 27. Detroit 28. USC 29. Colgate 30. North Carolina 31. Harvard 32. Holy Cross 33. Princeton 34. Hardin–Simmons 35. Temple 36. Yale 37. Ole Miss 38. Carnegie Tech 39. Tulane 40. Villanova 41. Texas A&M 42. Kentucky 43. SMU 44. Navy 45. George Washington 46. California 47. Vanderbilt 48. Manhattan 49. Tulsa 50. Western Reserve 51. Rice 52. Iowa 53. Georgetown 54. Clemson 55. Michigan 56. Illinois 57. UCLA 58. Baylor 59. Georgia 60. West Virginia 61. Washington State 62. Stanford 63. NYU 64. Boston College 65. Missouri 66. Penn State 67. Canisius 68. Wake Forest 69. Kansas State 70. Oregon State 71. Wisconsin 72. Catholic University 73. DePaul 74. Kearney State 75. Texas 76. Saint Anselm 77. Oklahoma 78. Arkansas Tech 79. West Virginia Wesleyan 80. Davidson 81. NC State 82. Arizona 83. Louisiana Tech 84. Connecticut State 85. Saint Mary's 86. Waynesburg 87. Butler 88. Creighton 89. Marshall 90. Miami (FL) 91. Washington University 92. Cornell 93. Humboldt State 94. Maryland 95. Bucknell 96. Centenary 97. Albright 98. Drake 99. Florida 100. La Salle 101. Loyola (Los Angeles) 102. Colorado 103. Syracuse 104. Chattanooga 105. St. Benedict 106. Utah State 107. Franklin & Marshall 108. North Dakota 109. Saint Louis 110. St. Bonaventure 111. Western Maryland 112. South Carolina 113. Texas Tech 114. Utah 115. Gonzaga 116. St. Thomas (PA) 117. Boston University 118. Howard 119. Denver 120. Augustana (SD) 121. Connecticut State 122. Furman 123. Iowa State 124. Hobart 125. Oregon