# 1940 college football rankings

One human poll comprised the 1940 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 final AP Poll was released on December 2, at the end of the 1940 regular season, weeks before the major bowls. The AP would not release a post-bowl season final poll regularly until 1968.
| | Week 1 Oct 14 | Week 2 Oct 21 | Week 3 Oct 28 | Week 4 Nov 4 | Week 5 Nov 11 | Week 6 Nov 18 | Week 7 Nov 25 | Week 8 (Final) Dec 2 | |
| 1. | Cornell (2–0) (90) | Cornell (3–0) (83) | Cornell (4–0) (81.5) | Cornell (5–0) (119) | Minnesota (6–0) (55.33) | Minnesota (7–0) (68) | Minnesota (8–0) (88) | Minnesota (8–0) (65) | 1. |
| 2. | Texas A&M (3–0) (25) | Notre Dame (3–0) (30) | Notre Dame (4–0) (40.5) | Minnesota (5–0) (18) | Cornell (6–0) (45.33) | Texas A&M (8–0) (59) | Texas A&M (8–0) (41) | Stanford (9–0) (44) | 2. |
| 3. | Michigan (3–0) (26) | Michigan (4–0) (18) | Michigan (5–0) (16) | Michigan (5–0) (11) | Texas A&M (7–0) (31.33) | Stanford (8–0) (24) | Stanford (8–0) (15) | Michigan (7–1) (5) | 3. |
| 4. | Northwestern (2–0) (1) | Texas A&M (4–0) (15) | Minnesota (4–0) (13) | Texas A&M (6–0) (14) | Stanford (7–0) (12) | Boston College (8–0) (12) | Boston College (9–0) (15) | Tennessee (10–0) (10) | 4. |
| 5. | Tennessee (3–0) (7) | Tennessee (4–0) (6) | Texas A&M (5–0) (9) | Tennessee (6–0) (11) | Tennessee (7–0) (2) | Cornell (6–1) (6) | Michigan (7–1) (3) | Boston College (10–0) (7) | 5. |
| 6. | Notre Dame (2–0) (5) | Minnesota (3–0) (8) | Stanford (5–0) | Stanford (6–0) (3) | Michigan (5–1) | Tennessee (8–0) (3) | Tennessee (9–0) (8) | Texas A&M (8–1) (1) | 6. |
| 7. | Minnesota (2–0) (2) | Northwestern (3–0) | Tennessee (5–0) | Notre Dame (5–0) | Notre Dame (6–0) | Michigan (6–1) | Northwestern (6–2) | Nebraska (8–1) | 7. |
| 8. | Boston College (3–0) | Penn (3–0) | Northwestern (4–0) (1) | Boston College (6–0) (2) | Boston College (7–0) | Nebraska (6–1) | Nebraska (7–1) | Northwestern (6–2) | 8. |
| 9. | Penn (2–0) | Stanford (4–0) | Boston College (5–0) (2) | Georgetown (6–0) | Georgetown (7–0) | Georgetown (7–1) | Georgetown (8–1) | Mississippi State (8–0–1) (1) | 9. |
| 10. | Stanford (3–0) | Boston College (4–0) | Clemson (5–0) (2) т | Northwestern (4–1) | Northwestern (5–1) | Northwestern (5–2) | Penn (6–1–1) | Washington (7–2) | 10. |
| 11. | Fordham (2–0) | Fordham (3–0) | Georgetown (5–0) (2) т | Washington (4–1) | Nebraska (5–1) | Ole Miss (8–1) | Mississippi State (8–0–1) | Santa Clara (6–1–1) | 11. |
| 12. | Clemson (4–0) | Texas (4–0) | Nebraska (3–1) | Duke (4–1) т | Duke (5–1) (2) | Penn (5–1–1) | Washington (6–2) | Fordham (7–1) | 12. |
| 13. | Ole Miss (4–0) | Clemson (4–0) (1) | Washington (4–1) | Nebraska (4–1) т | Fordham (5–1) | Washington (5–2) | Cornell (6–2) | Georgetown (8–1) | 13. |
| 14. | Texas (3–0) | Ole Miss (5–0) (1) | Navy (5–0) | SMU (4–0–1) | Alabama (5–1) | Notre Dame (6–1) | Fordham (6–1) | Penn (6–1–1) | 14. |
| 15. | Ohio State (2–1) | Georgetown (4–0) | Penn (3–1) т | Penn (4–1) | Mississippi State (6–0–1) | Fordham (5–1) | Santa Clara (5–1–1) | Cornell (6–2) | 15. |
| 16. | Washington (2–1) | Washington (3–1) | SMU (3–0–1) т | Penn State (5–0) | Santa Clara (3–1–1) | Mississippi State (7–0–1) | SMU (6–1–1) | SMU (7–1–1) | 16. |
| 17. | USC (1–0–2) | USC (2–0–2) | Detroit (5–0) | Fordham (4–1) | Ole Miss (7–1) т | Alabama (6–1) | Alabama (7–1) | Hardin-Simmons (8–0) | 17. |
| 18. | Oregon State (2–0–1) | Nebraska (2–1) | Duke (3–1) т | Lafayette (6–0) | Washington (4–2) т | SMU (5–1–1) | Lafayette (9–0) т | Duke (7–2) | 18. |
| 19. | Washington State (2–0–1) | SMU (3–0–1) | Penn State (4–0) т | Mississippi State (5–0–1) т | Oregon State (5–1–1) | Santa Clara (4–1–1) | Texas Tech (8–0–1) т | Lafayette (9–0) | 19. |
| 20. | Iowa (2–0) | Columbia (3–0) | Mississippi State (4–0–1) тSanta Clara (2–1–1) т | Santa Clara (3–1–1) т | Penn State (5–0–1) тSMU (4–1–1) т | Penn State (6–0–1) тTexas Tech (7–0–1) т | Duke (6–2) тHardin-Simmons (7–0) т | | 20. |
| | Week 1 Oct 14 | Week 2 Oct 21 | Week 3 Oct 28 | Week 4 Nov 4 | Week 5 Nov 11 | Week 6 Nov 18 | Week 7 Nov 25 | Week 8 (Final) Dec 2 | |
| | | Dropped: IowaOhio StateOregon StateWashington State | Dropped: ColumbiaFordhamOle MissTexasUSC | Dropped: ClemsonDetroitNavy | Dropped: LafayettePenn | Dropped: DukeOregon State | Dropped: Ole MissNotre DamePenn State | Dropped: AlabamaTexas Tech | |
    A. ^ Only 19 teams received votes in the final poll.

## Boand System

The final Boand System rankings (also known as "Azzi Ratem") were released after the bowl games in early January 1941. Boand's final rankings were as follows:
1. Minnesota (86.4) 2. Stanford (83.1) 3. Boston College (83.0) 4. Michigan (81.8) 5. Texas A&M (80.3) 6. Tennessee (80.2) 7. Mississippi State (79.6) 8. SMU (76.9) 9. Northwestern (76.9) 10. Penn (76.2) 11. Texas (76.1) 12. Nebraska (76.0)

## Dickinson System

The final Dickinson System rankings released in December 1940 were as follows:
1. Minnesota (29.55)
2. Michigan (26.16)
3. Stanford (25.84)
4. Tennessee (25.76)
5. Texas A&M (25.74)
6. Penn (24.78) 7. Mississippi State (24.28) 8. SMU (23.82) 9. Texas (23.33) 10. Nebraska (23.12) 11. Northwestern (22.51) 12. Boston College (22.14)

## Dunkel System

The final Dunkel System rankings released in December 1940 were as follows:
1. Tennessee 2. Minnesota 3. Michigan 4. Boston College
5. Stanford
6. Washington 7. Mississippi State 8. Northwestern 9. Texas A&M
10. Georgetown 11. SMU
12. Texas
13. LSU 14. Penn 15. Santa Clara 16. Cornell 17. Duke 18. Fordham 19. Nebraska
20. Oregon

## Litkenhous Ratings

The final Litkenhous Ratings released in December 1940 provided numerical rankings to 697 college football programs. The top 100 ranked teams were:
1. Minnesota 2. Tennessee 3. Michigan 4. Northwestern 5. Penn 6. Stanford 7. Cornell 8. Boston College 9. Texas A&M 10. Washington 11. Duke 12. Georgetown 13. Texas 14. Santa Clara 15. Nebraska 16. Mississippi State 17. Fordham 18. Ohio State 19. SMU 20. Notre Dame 21. Rice 22. Michigan State 23. Ole Miss 24. Alabama 25. Iowa 26. Indiana 27. Wisconsin 28. Tulane 29. Purdue 30. Pittsburgh 31. Auburn 32. Oregon 33. LSU 34. Marshall 35. Temple 36. Oregon State 37. Missouri 38. Detroit 39. Baylor 40. California 41. USC 42. TCU 43. Colgate 44. Kentucky 45. Oklahoma 46. Navy 47. North Carolina 48. Duquesne 49. Saint Mary's 50. Tulsa 51. Harvard 52. Penn State 53. Georgia 54. Clemson 55. Hardin–Simmons 56. Villanova 57. Wake Forest 58. Princeton 59. Georgia Tech 60. UCLA 61. Columbia 62. Illinois 63. Vanderbilt 64. Florida 65. Syracuse 66. Utah 67. Arkansas 68. Colorado 69. Lafayette 70. Texas Tech 71. Washington State 72. Dartmouth 73. Manhattan 74. San Jose State 75. Holy Cross 76. Arizona 77. Denver 78. Chattanooga 79. Mississippi College 80. Oklahoma A&M 81. Furman 82. Marquette 83. NC State 84. San Diego Marines 85. VMI 86. North Texas State Teachers 87. William & Mary 88. Boston University 89. San Francisco 90. Dayton 91. Creighton 92. Southwest Missouri State 93. George Washington 94. Gonzaga 95. West Virginia 96. Rollins 97. Virginia 98. VPI 99. Eastern Kentucky 100. Rutgers

## Williamson System

The final Williamson System rankings for 1940 were as follows:
1. Stanford 2. Boston College 3. Minnesota 4. Michigan 5. Mississippi State 6. Tennessee 7. Texas A&M 8. Santa Clara 9. Fordham 10. Nebraska 11. SMU 12. Washington 13. Penn 14. Northwestern 15. Georgetown 16. Alabama 17. Ole Miss 18. Duke 19. Duquesne 20. Saint Mary's (CA) 21. Cornell 22. Rice 23. Notre Dame 24. Texas 25. Navy 26. Oklahoma 27. LSU 28. Syracuse 29. Columbia 30. Auburn 31. Ohio State 32. Colgate 33. Pittsburgh 34. Hardin-Simmons 35. Missouri 36. Wisconsin 37. Penn State 38. Tulane 39. Indiana 40. Arizona State