# 1938 college football rankings

One human poll comprised the 1938 college 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.

## 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 scheduled final AP Poll was released on November 29, with Notre Dame No. 1, prior to their season-end game against Southern California.
The poll was extended for one week due to the "select quality of last Saturday's games, three of which had a direct bearing on the ranking".
The revised final AP Poll was released on December 6, at the end of the regular season, still weeks before the major bowls. The AP would not release a post-bowl season final poll regularly until 1968.
| | Week 1 Oct 17 | Week 2 Oct 24 | Week 3 Oct 31 | Week 4 Nov 7 | Week 5 Nov 14 | Week 6 Nov 21 | Week 7 (Scheduled final) Nov 28 | Week 8 (Extended final) Dec 6 | |
| 1. | Pittsburgh (4–0) (83) | Pittsburgh (5–0) (90) | Pittsburgh (6–0) (105) | TCU (7–0) (48) | Notre Dame (7–0) (60) | Notre Dame (7–0) (48) | Notre Dame (8–0) (48) | TCU (10–0) (55) | 1. |
| 2. | Minnesota (4–0) (6) | Minnesota (4–0) (1) | TCU (6–0) (8) | Notre Dame (6–0) (41) | TCU (8–0) (19) | TCU (9–0) (28) | TCU (10–0) (23) | Tennessee (10–0) (16) | 2. |
| 3. | California (5–0) (1) | California (6–0) (3) | California (7–0) | Pittsburgh (6–1) (14) | Tennessee (8–0) (5) | Duke (8–0) (3) | Duke (9–0) (15) | Duke (9–0) (11) | 3. |
| 4. | Dartmouth (4–0) (1) | TCU (5–0) (3) | Notre Dame (5–0) | Tennessee (7–0) (6) | Duke (7–0) (5) | Pittsburgh (8–1) (2) т | Tennessee (9–0) (4) | Oklahoma (10–0) | 4. |
| 5. | Notre Dame (3–0) | Santa Clara (4–0) (1) | Dartmouth (6–0) | Dartmouth (7–0) | Pittsburgh (7–1) (2) | Tennessee (8–0) (3) т | Oklahoma (9–0) | Notre Dame (8–1) (4) | 5. |
| 6. | Santa Clara (3–0) | Dartmouth (5–0) | Tennessee (6–0) (1) | Carnegie Tech (5–1) | Carnegie Tech (6–1) | Oklahoma (8–0) | Carnegie Tech (7–1) | Carnegie Tech (7–1) | 6. |
| 7. | TCU (4–0) (3) | Notre Dame (4–0) (1) | Northwestern (4–0–1) | Duke (6–0) | Oklahoma (7–0) (1) | Carnegie Tech (6–1) | Pittsburgh (8–2) | USC (8–2) (1) | 7. |
| 8. | Tennessee (4–0) | Tennessee (5–0) | Santa Clara (5–0) | Santa Clara (6–0) (1) | Cornell (5–1) | Minnesota (6–2) | USC (7–2) | Pittsburgh (8–2) | 8. |
| 9. | Duke (4–0) | Fordham (3–0–1) (1) | Duke (6–0) | USC (6–1) (2) | California (8–1) | California (9–1) | Holy Cross (8–1) | Holy Cross (8–1) | 9. |
| 10. | Syracuse (3–0) | Oklahoma (4–0) | Fordham (3–1–1) | Oklahoma (6–0) (1) | Holy Cross (7–1) | Cornell (5–1) | Minnesota (6–2) | Minnesota (6–2) | 10. |
| 11. | Fordham (2–0–1) | Duke (5–0) | Oklahoma (5–0) | Holy Cross (6–1) | Santa Clara (6–1) | Holy Cross (7–1) | Cornell (5–1–1) | Texas Tech (10–0) | 11. |
| 12. | Michigan (2–1) | Northwestern (3–0–1) | Minnesota (4–1) | Minnesota (5–1) | Wisconsin (5–2) | Michigan (6–1–1) | California (9–1) | Cornell (5–1–1) | 12. |
| 13. | Carnegie Tech (3–0) | Michigan (3–1) | Holy Cross (5–1) т | Fordham (4–1–1) | USC (6–2) | Dartmouth (7–1) | Fordham (6–1–2) | Alabama (7–1–1) | 13. |
| 14. | Oklahoma (3–0) | Holy Cross (4–1) | USC (5–1) т | California (7–1) | Dartmouth (7–1) | USC (6–2) | Texas Tech (10–0) | California (10–1) | 14. |
| 15. | Alabama (3–1) | Villanova (4–0) | Alabama (5–1) | Wisconsin (4–2) | Villanova (6–0–1) | Northwestern (4–2–2) | Villanova (8–0–1) | Fordham (6–1–2) | 15. |
| 16. | Vanderbilt (4–0) | Carnegie Tech (3–1) | Cornell (4–1) т | Alabama (6–1) | Northwestern (4–1–2) | Villanova (7–0–1) | Michigan (6–1–1) | Michigan (6–1–1) | 16. |
| 17. | Baylor (4–0) | Cornell (3–1) | Michigan (4–1) т | Northwestern (4–1–1) | Michigan (5–1–1) | Texas Tech (9–0) | Alabama (7–1–1) | Northwestern (4–2–2) | 17. |
| 18. | Northwestern (2–0–1) | Alabama (4–1) | Iowa State (6–0) | Michigan (5–1) (1) | Fordham (4–1–2) | Fordham (5–1–2) | Tulane (7–2–1) | Villanova (8–0–1) | 18. |
| 19. | North Carolina (3–1) | USC (4–1) | Carnegie Tech (4–1) т | Villanova (5–0–1) | Texas Tech (8–0) | Santa Clara (6–1) | Northwestern (4–2–2) | Tulane (7–2–1) | 19. |
| 20. | Villanova (3–0) | Ohio State (2–1–1) | Texas A&M (3–2–1) т | Cornell (4–1) | Alabama (6–1–1) | Georgetown (8–0) | Dartmouth (7–2) | Dartmouth (7–2) | 20. |
| | Week 1 Oct 17 | Week 2 Oct 24 | Week 3 Oct 31 | Week 4 Nov 7 | Week 5 Nov 14 | Week 6 Nov 21 | Week 7 (Scheduled final) Nov 28 | Week 8 (Extended final) Dec 6 | |
| | | Dropped: BaylorNorth CarolinaSyracuseVanderbilt | Dropped: Ohio StateVillanova | Dropped: Iowa StateTexas A&M | Dropped: Minnesota | Dropped: AlabamaWisconsin | Dropped: GeorgetownSanta Clara | None | |

## Houlgate System

| | Week Final December 6 | |
| 1. | Tennessee (A 35) | 1. |
| 2. | Notre Dame (B 30) | 2. |
| 3. | Duke (A 27) | 3. |
| 4. | Oklahoma (A 25) | 4. |
| 5. | Texas Christian (A 24) | 5. |
| 6. | Southern California (C 23) | 6. |
| 7. | California (B 22) | 7. |
| 8. | Pittsburgh (C 22) | 8. |
| 9. | Holy Cross (B 21) | 9. |
| 10. | Alabama (C 20) | 10. |
| | Week Final December 6 | |

## Litkenhous Ratings

The top teams in the Litkenhous Ratings for 1938 were as follows:
1. Tennessee 2. TCU 3. USC 4. Notre Dame 5. Holy Cross 6. Pittsburgh 7. Cornell 8. Fordham 9. Minnesota 10. Michigan 11. Northwestern 12. California

## Boand/Azzi Ratem

1. Tennessee 2. Notre Dame 3. TCU 4. USC 5. California 6. Oklahoma 7. Duke 8. Pittsburgh 9. Holy Cross 10. Minnesota 11. Villanova 12. Michigan

## Poling

1. Tennessee 2. TCU 3. USC 4. Notre Dame 5. California 6. Oklahoma 7. Duke 8. Holy Cross 9. Pittsburgh 10. Minnesota 11. Alabama 12. Carnegie Tech

## Williamson

1-2. Tennessee 1-2. TCU 3. Notre Dame 4. Carnegie Tech 5. Holy Cross 6. Alabama 7. USC 8. Duke 9. Oklahoma 10. Pittsburgh 11. Minnesota 12. Villanova