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1941 college football season

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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 teams ranked highest in the final Associated Press poll in December 1941 were:

  1. Minnesota, under head coach Bernie Bierman, compiled a perfect 8–0 record, won the Big Ten championship, and was ranked No. 1. It was Minnesota's fifth national championship in eight years.
  2. Duke compiled a 9–0 record in the regular season, won the Southern Conference championship, and was ranked No. 2.
  3. Notre Dame, led by head coach Frank Leahy, compiled an 8–0–1 record and was ranked No. 3.
  4. Texas, led by head coach Dana X. Bible, compiled an 8–1–1 record and was ranked No. 4. Texas was named by one contemporary major selector, the math-based Williamson System, as its No. 1 team.[2]
  5. Michigan, led by head coach Fritz Crisler, compiled a 6–1–1 record and was ranked No. 5.

Minnesota halfback Bruce Smith won the 1941 Heisman Trophy, and Virginia halfback Bill Dudley won the 1941 Maxwell Award. The season's statistical leaders included Frank Sinkwich of Georgia with 1,103 rushing yards, Bud Schwenk of Washington University in St. Louis with 1,457 passing yards, Hank Stanton of Arizona with 820 receiving yards, and Bill Dudley with 134 points scored.

In the four major bowl games, No. 2 Duke lost to PCC champion Oregon State in the Rose Bowl, No. 6 Fordham defeated No. 7 Missouri in the Sugar Bowl, No. 14 Georgia defeated unranked TCU in the Orange Bowl, and No. 20 Alabama defeated No. 9 Texas A&M Aggies in the Cotton Bowl. The Rose Bowl was moved from Pasadena, California, to Durham, North Carolina, due to security concerns on the West Coast following the December 7 attack on Pearl Harbor.

Conference and program changes

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Conference changes

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School 1940 Conference 1941 Conference
Hardin–Simmons Cowboys Independent Border
Long Island Blackbirds Independent Dropped Program
Sewanee Tigers SEC Independent
Washburn Ichabods Missouri Valley Independent
West Texas State Buffaloes Alamo Border
William & Mary Norfolk Division Braves Independent Dropped Program

September

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September 20 Tennessee beat Furman 32–6 and Boston College beat St. Anselm, 78–0.

September 27 In Seattle, defending champion Minnesota beat Washington 14–6, while in New Orleans, Boston College fell to Tulane, 21–7. Stanford beat Oregon 19–15, Michigan beat Michigan State 19–7, Texas won at Colorado, 34–6 and Duke beat Wake Forest 43–14. Tennessee was idle

October

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October 4 Minnesota was idle. Tennessee lost at Duke, 19–0. In New York, Fordham beat SMU 16–10. Elsewhere, it was Stanford over UCLA 33–0, Michigan over Iowa 6–0, Northwestern beating Kansas State 51–3 and Texas defeating LSU 34–0.

October 11 Minnesota beat Illinois 34–6, Northwestern beat Wisconsin 41–14, and Michigan beat Pittsburgh 40–0. In Baltimore, Duke beat Maryland 50–0, while in Dallas, Texas beat Oklahoma 40–7. Fordham won at North Carolina 27–14. Stanford lost at Oregon State 10–0. In the poll that followed, Minnesota was ranked No. 1, followed by Texas, Duke, Fordham, and Northwestern.

On October 16, the penalty flag was used for the first time in the 1941 Oklahoma City vs. Youngstown football game in Youngstown, Ohio.

October 18 No. 1 Minnesota beat Pittsburgh 39–0. No. 2 Texas defeated Arkansas 48–14. No. 3 Duke beat visiting Colgate 27–14. In Ann Arbor, No. 6 Michigan beat visiting No. 5 Northwestern 14–7. No. 7 Navy beat Cornell 14–0 in Baltimore. The next poll featured No. 1 Minnesota, No. 2 Texas, No. 3 Michigan, No. 4 Duke, and No. 5 Navy. Fordham dropped from No. 4 to No. 6 despite a 27–0 defeat of West Virginia.

October 25 The biggest game of the year[according to whom?] took place in Ann Arbor, Michigan, as No. 1 Minnesota defeated No. 3 Michigan, 7–0. No. 2 Texas beat Rice 40–0. No. 4 Duke won at Pittsburgh 27–7. No. 5 Navy and Harvard played to a 0–0 tie. No. 6 Fordham beat TCU 28–14, while No. 9 Texas A&M won at Baylor 48–0, to reach 5–0–0. In the vote that followed, Minnesota received 60 first place votes, and Texas received 53. When the points were tallied, they both had 1,161 points and were tied for No. 1. Fordham, Duke, and Texas A&M rounded out the top five.

November

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November 1 In Dallas, No. 1 Texas beat No. 20 SMU 34–0, while in Minneapolis, the other No. 1, Minnesota, edged No. 9 Northwestern 8–7. In New York, No. 3 Fordham defeated Purdue 17–0, and in Atlanta, No. 4 Duke won at Georgia Tech 14–0. In Little Rock, No. 5 Texas A&M beat Arkansas 7–0. Texas was alone at No. 1 the following week, followed by Minnesota, Fordham, Duke and Texas A&M, all unbeaten and untied.

November 8 No. 1 Texas and Baylor played to a 7–7 tie. No. 2 Minnesota beat Nebraska 9–0. No. 3 Fordham lost at Pittsburgh 13–0. No. 4 Duke won at Davidson 56–0. No. 5 Texas A&M beat SMU 21–10. No. 7 Notre Dame beat No. 6 Navy 20–13 in Baltimore and moved into fifth place behind Minnesota, Texas, Duke, and Texas A&M.

November 15 No. 1 Minnesota won at Iowa 34–13. No. 2 Texas lost to Texas Christian (TCU) 14–7. No. 3 Duke beat North Carolina 20–0. In Houston, No. 4 Texas A&M beat Rice 19–6. No. 5 Notre Dame won at No. 8 Northwestern 7–6. No. 7 Michigan, which beat Columbia 28–0, moved up to No. 5 behind Minnesota, Texas A&M, Duke, and Notre Dame.

November 22 No. 1 Minnesota closed its season with a 41–6 win over Wisconsin in Minneapolis. No. 2 Texas A&M was idle as it prepared for its Thanksgiving game. No. 3 Duke won its season closer at N.C. State 55–6 to get a bid to Pasadena’s Rose Bowl. No. 4 Notre Dame beat USC 20–18. No. 5 Michigan closed its season with a 20–20 tie against No. 14 Ohio State. The top four remained the same, but No. 6 Duquesne (which had finished its season at 8–0–0) replaced Michigan at No. 5.

On Thanksgiving Day No. 2 Texas A&M lost to No. 10 Texas 23–0. The top five in the final AP Poll were No. 1 Minnesota, No. 2 Duke, No. 3 Notre Dame, No. 4 Texas, and No. 5 Michigan.

December 2 the Houlgate System published its "final selections" ranking Minnesota first, Navy second, and Alabama No. 3.[3]

The bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7 called into question whether Southern California would be safe from a Japanese attack on New Year's Day. On December 15, bowl officials and U.S. Army officers met in San Francisco and decided to hold the game at Duke's stadium in Durham, North Carolina.[4]

Conference standings

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For this article, major conferences are defined as those including multiple state flagship public universities.

Major conference standings

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1941 Big Six Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 7 Missouri $ 5 0 0 8 2 0
Nebraska 3 2 0 4 5 0
Oklahoma 3 2 0 6 3 0
Kansas 2 3 0 3 6 0
Kansas State 1 3 1 2 5 2
Iowa State 0 4 1 2 6 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1941 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Minnesota $ 5 0 0 8 0 0
No. 5 Michigan 3 1 1 6 1 1
No. 13 Ohio State 3 1 1 6 1 1
No. 11 Northwestern 4 2 0 5 3 0
Wisconsin 3 3 0 3 5 0
Iowa 2 4 0 3 5 0
Purdue 1 3 0 2 5 1
Indiana 1 3 0 2 6 0
Illinois 0 5 0 2 6 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1941 Border Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Arizona $ 5 0 0 7 3 0
Texas Tech 2 0 0 9 2 0
West Texas State 4 1 0 8 2 0
Hardin–Simmons 3 1 0 7 3 1
New Mexico 3 2 1 5 4 1
Texas Mines 3 4 0 4 5 1
Arizona State 2 4 1 5 1 1
Arizona State–Flagstaff 1 5 0 3 5 0
New Mexico A&M 0 6 0 2 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 Mountain States Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Utah $ 4 0 2 6 0 2
BYU 3 1 2 4 3 2
Denver 3 1 2 4 3 2
Colorado A&M 3 2 1 4 2 1
Colorado 3 2 1 3 4 1
Wyoming 1 5 0 2 7 1
Utah State 0 6 0 0 8 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 New England Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Rhode Island State $ 2 0 0 5 2 1
Maine 2 1 1 3 2 2
New Hampshire 0 0 1 4 3 1
Northeastern 0 1 0 4 3 0
Connecticut 0 2 0 2 6 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 North Central Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Iowa State Teachers $ 5 0 0 5 3 0
South Dakota 4 1 0 6 2 0
North Dakota 3 1 0 4 5 0
Omaha 2 3 0 3 4 1
North Dakota Agricultural 2 4 0 2 7 0
Morningside 1 4 0 3 5 0
South Dakota State 1 5 0 2 5 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 Pacific Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 12 Oregon State $ 7 2 0 8 2 0
Washington 5 3 0 5 4 0
No. 19 Washington State 5 3 0 6 4 0
Stanford 4 3 0 6 3 0
Oregon 4 4 0 5 5 0
UCLA 3 4 1 5 5 1
California 3 4 0 4 5 0
USC 2 4 1 2 6 1
Montana 1 3 0 6 3 0
Idaho 0 4 0 4 5 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1941 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 16 Mississippi State $ 4 0 1 8 1 1
No. 18 Tennessee 3 1 0 8 2 0
No. 20 Alabama 5 2 0 9 2 0
No. 14 Georgia 3 1 1 9 1 1
No. 17 Ole Miss 2 1 1 6 2 1
Vanderbilt 3 2 0 8 2 0
LSU 2 2 2 4 4 2
Tulane 2 3 0 5 4 0
Georgia Tech 2 4 0 3 6 0
Florida 1 3 0 4 6 0
Kentucky 0 4 0 5 4 0
Auburn 0 4 1 4 5 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1941 Southern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Duke $ 5 0 0 9 1 0
South Carolina 4 0 1 4 4 1
Clemson 5 1 0 7 2 0
William & Mary 4 1 0 8 2 0
VMI 4 2 0 4 6 0
VPI 4 2 0 6 4 0
Wake Forest 4 2 1 5 5 1
NC State 3 4 2 4 5 2
Furman 2 3 2 3 4 2
Washington and Lee 1 2 2 1 6 2
North Carolina 2 4 0 3 7 0
Maryland 1 2 0 3 5 1
Davidson 1 5 2 1 6 3
The Citadel 0 2 1 4 3 1
George Washington 0 4 1 1 7 1
Richmond 0 6 0 2 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1941 Southwest Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 9 Texas A&M $ 5 1 0 9 2 0
No. 4 Texas 4 1 1 8 1 1
TCU 4 1 1 7 3 1
Rice 3 2 1 6 3 1
SMU 2 4 0 5 5 0
Baylor 1 4 1 3 6 1
Arkansas 0 6 0 3 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Independents

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1941 Eastern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 8 Duquesne     8 0 0
Thiel     7 0 0
Saint Francis (PA)     6 0 1
No. 6 Fordham     8 1 0
Rochester     6 1 0
Trinity (CT)     6 1 0
Wagner     5 1 0
Franklin & Marshall     5 1 1
Penn State     7 2 0
Temple     7 2 0
Coast Guard     6 2 0
Norwich     6 2 0
Hofstra     5 2 0
Boston College     7 3 0
Syracuse     5 2 1
Bucknell     6 3 0
Drexel     4 2 1
Boston University     5 3 0
La Salle     5 3 0
Tufts     5 3 0
Army     5 3 1
CCNY     4 4 0
Villanova     4 4 0
Manhattan     4 4 1
Holy Cross     4 4 2
Colgate     3 3 2
Providence     3 3 2
Buffalo     3 4 1
Massachusetts State     3 4 1
Pittsburgh     3 6 0
Vermont     2 6 0
NYU     2 7 0
Carnegie Tech     1 7 0
Rankings from AP Poll
1941 Midwestern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Western Michigan     8 0 0
No. 3 Notre Dame     8 0 1
Youngstown     7 0 1
Xavier     9 1 0
Detroit     7 2 0
Ohio     5 2 1
Dayton     7 3 0
Cincinnati     6 3 0
Akron     5 3 1
Michigan State     5 3 1
Central Michigan     4 3 0
Ohio Wesleyan     5 4 0
Marquette     4 5 0
Carthage     1 5 2
Wayne     2 6 0
Miami (OH)     2 7 0
Western Ontario     1 4 0
Wichita     1 6 1
Michigan State Normal     0 5 2
Detroit Tech     0 6 1
1941 Southern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
East Carolina     7 0 0
Delaware     7 0 1
Virginia     8 1 0
Marshall     7 1 0
No. 10 Navy     7 1 1
Georgetown     5 4 0
Western Maryland     3 4 1
West Virginia     4 6 0
Roanoke     3 5 0
Sewanee     2 5 0
Delaware State     1 4 0
Georgia Teachers     2 8 0
Rankings from AP Poll
1941 Western college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Hawaii     8 1 0
Santa Clara     6 3 0
San Francisco     6 4 0
Idaho Southern Branch     5 1 2
Cal Poly     5 3 1
Saint Mary's     5 4 0
Loyola (CA)     5 5 0
Nevada     3 5 1
Portland     3 5 0
Gonzaga     3 7 0
San Francisco State     2 4 1
Humboldt State     2 5 1
La Verne     0 6 0

Minor conferences

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Conference Champion(s) Record
California Collegiate Athletic Association Fresno State
San Jose State
2–0–1
Central Intercollegiate Athletics Association Morgan State College 6–1
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Pittsburg State 3–1
Far Western Conference Pacific (CA) 3–0
Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Luther 4–0–1
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Baker 5–1
Lone Star Conference North Texas State Teachers 4–0
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Alma 4–0–1
Michigan-Ontario Collegiate Conference Lawrence Technological University 3–0
Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference Ripon 5–0–1
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Saint Thomas (MN) 5–0
Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association Missouri School of Mines
Northwest Missouri State Teachers
3–1–1
Nebraska College Athletic Conference Midland Lutheran 4–0
Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Association Nebraska State Teachers (UN–Kearney) 3–0
New Mexico Intercollegiate Conference New Mexico Military Institute 4–0
North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Iowa State Teachers (Northern Iowa) 5–0
North Dakota College Athletic Conference Jamestown College 5–0
Northern Teachers Athletic Conference St. Cloud State Teachers 4–0
Ohio Athletic Conference Case 4–0
Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference Central State College (OK) 6–0
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Millersville State Teachers
West Chester State Teachers
3–0
Pacific Northwest Conference Willamette 5–0
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Colorado College 4–0
South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference Augustana (SD)
Northern State Teachers
3–0
4–0
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Whittier 3–0–1
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Morris Brown 5–0
Texas Collegiate Athletic Conference Howard Payne 6–0
Washington Intercollegiate Conference Pacific Lutheran 4–0–1
Southwestern Athletic Conference No champion
Wisconsin State Teachers College Conference Co-North: La Crosse Teachers
Co-North: Stout State Teachers
Co-South: Milwaukee State Teachers
Co-South: Platteville State Teachers
3–1–0
3–1–0
3–0–1
3–0–1

Minor conference standings

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1941 Alamo Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Texas A&I $ 1 0 0 8 2 0
St. Mary's (TX) 0 1 0 7 4 1
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 California Collegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
San Jose State + 2 0 1 5 3 3
Fresno State + 2 0 1 4 3 2
Santa Barbara State 1 2 0 3 5 1
San Diego State 0 3 0 6 4 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
1941 Central Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Pittsburg State $ 3 1 0 5 2 3
St. Benedict's 2 1 1 5 2 1
Emporia State 2 1 1 4 3 2
Southwestern (KS) 2 2 0 9 3 1
Fort Hays State 0 4 0 1 6 2
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Morgan State $ 6 1 0 6 1 0
Johnson C. Smith 4 1 1 7 1 2
Virginia State 4 2 1 4 2 2
Bluefield State 4 3 0 5 3 0
Hampton 6 2 0 6 2 0
Shaw 5 2 1 5 2 1
Virginia Union 2 4 0 4 4 0
North Carolina College 1 5 1 2 6 1
North Carolina A&T 2 5 0 3 6 0
Saint Paul's (VA) 1 1 0 2 3 1
Lincoln (PA) 2 3 0 4 3 0
Howard 1 3 0 3 3 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 Dixie Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Chattanooga $ 4 0 1 7 1 1
Howard (AL) 2 0 1 4 5 1
Mississippi College 3 1 0 5 3 0
Millsaps 1 1 0 4 5 0
Southwestern (TN) 0 1 0 4 4 1
Mercer 0 3 0 3 6 0
Spring Hill 0 4 0 2 6 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 Far Western Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Pacific (CA) $ 3 0 0 4 7 0
Cal Aggies 2 1 0 2 2 4
Chico State 1 2 0 1 5 2
Humboldt State 0 3 0 2 5 1
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 Illinois College Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Millikin $ 6 0 0 8 0 0
Bradley Tech * 1 0 0 8 1 0
North Central (IL) 3 1 1 5 1 1
Lake Forest 2 1 1 5 1 2
Monmouth (IL) 2 1 0 5 2 1
Knox (IL) 1 2 0 3 4 1
Augustana (IL) 1 4 0 2 6 0
Wheaton (IL) 0 2 1 3 5 2
Illinois Wesleyan 0 2 1 2 5 2
Illinois College 0 3 2 3 4 2
  • $ – Conference champion
  • * ineligible for league title
1941 Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Northern Illinois State + 3 1 0 7 1 1
Illinois State Normal + 3 1 0 3 4 2
Southern Illinois 2 1 1 5 2 1
Western Illinois 1 2 1 3 4 1
Eastern Illinois 0 4 0 0 7 0
Eureka 0 0 0 3 3 1
  • + – Conference co-champions
1941 Indiana Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Rose Poly + 4 0 0 7 0 0
Saint Joseph's (IN) + 3 0 0 8 0 1
Ball State 3 1 1 3 2 2
Butler 3 1 0 5 4 0
Wabash 4 2 0 5 3 1
DePauw 3 2 0 6 2 0
Indiana State 2 1 1 5 2 1
Evansville 2 1 1 3 5 1
Manchester 2 1 1 2 2 2
Franklin (IN) 2 4 1 2 5 1
Hanover 1 3 0 1 7 0
Central Normal 1 4 0 2 5 0
Earlham 0 5 0 2 5 0
Valparaiso 0 5 0 0 8 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
1941 Iowa Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
St. Ambrose * 2 0 0 6 2 0
Luther $ 4 0 1 6 1 1
Dubuque 6 1 1 6 1 1
Central (IA) 6 2 0 6 3 0
Parsons 4 3 0 5 4 0
Iowa Wesleyan 3 3 0 3 5 0
Upper Iowa 3 3 0 3 5 0
Loras 2 3 0 3 6 0
Western Union 1 2 1 3 4 1
Simpson (IA) 2 4 0 3 5 1
Wartburg 1 4 0 2 5 0
Penn (IA) 1 6 0 1 6 0
Buena Vista 0 4 1 0 7 1
  • $ – Conference champion
  • * – did not play enough conference games to be eligible for title
1941 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Baker $ 5 1 0 7 2 0
Bethel (KS) 4 1 1 6 1 1
Ottawa 4 1 1 6 1 1
Kansas Wesleyan 4 2 0 4 3 0
Bethany (KS) 1 5 0 1 7 0
College of Emporia 1 5 0 1 8 0
McPherson 1 5 0 1 8 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 Lone Star Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
North Texas State $ 4 0 0 7 1 0
Southwest Texas State 3 1 0 4 4 0
East Texas State 2 2 0 6 2 1
Sam Houston State 1 3 0 2 7 1
Stephen F. Austin 0 4 0 1 6 1
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 Louisiana Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Louisiana Tech $ 5 0 0 5 4 1
Southwestern Louisiana 3 1 0 6 2 1
Louisiana Normal 2 2 1 4 3 1
Southeastern Louisiana 1 3 0 4 5 0
Centenary 0 1 1 0 8 2
Louisiana College 0 4 0 4 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 Maine Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Bates $ 2 0 0 3 4 0
Colby 1 0 1 4 2 1
Maine 1 1 1 3 2 2
Bowdoin 0 3 0 1 6 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
1941 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
St. Thomas (MN) $ 5 0 0 7 1 0
Macalester 4 2 0 5 3 0
Concordia (MN) 3 2 0 5 2 0
Saint Mary's (MN) 3 2 0 4 3 0
Hamline 2 3 0 4 3 0
St. Olaf 2 3 0 2 4 1
Saint John's (MN) 1 3 0 3 4 0
Augsburg 0 5 0 1 6 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Alma $ 4 0 1 6 0 1
Albion 3 1 1 3 4 1
Hope 2 1 2 3 2 3
Kalamazoo 2 2 1 5 2 1
Hillsdale 1 3 1 3 4 1
Adrian 0 5 0 2 6 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 Middle Three Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Lafayette $ 2 0 0 5 4 0
Rutgers 1 1 0 7 2 0
Lehigh 0 2 0 0 6 3
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 Midwest Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Ripon $ 5 0 1 6 2 1
Monmouth (IL) 4 1 1 5 2 1
Grinnell 4 2 0 5 4 0
Lawrence 3 2 1 4 2 1
Knox 2 3 1 3 4 1
Coe 2 5 0 2 6 0
Beloit 2 5 0 2 5 0
Cornell (IA) 1 5 0 1 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 Missouri College Athletic Union football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Missouri Valley $ 3 0 0 7 2 0
William Jewell 3 1 0 4 4 0
Culver–Stockton 2 2 0 3 5 0
Central (MO) 1 2 0 1 5 2
Tarkio 0 4 0 0 6 1
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Maryville (MO) + 3 1 1 6 2 1
Missouri Mines + 3 1 1 4 3 2
Warrensburg 2 1 2 3 2 3
Springfield (MO) 3 2 0 8 3 0
Kirksville State 1 3 1 4 4 1
Cape Girardeau 0 4 1 4 4 1
  • + – Conference co-champions
  • Tie games did not count in standings.
1941 Missouri Valley Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Tulsa $ 4 0 0 8 2 0
Oklahoma A&M 3 1 0 5 4 0
Creighton 3 2 0 5 5 0
Saint Louis 1 3 1 4 5 1
Washington University 1 3 0 4 5 0
Drake 0 3 1 4 5 1
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 Nebraska College Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Midland $ 4 0 0 9 0 0
Doane 2 1 1 5 2 1
Nebraska Wesleyan 2 2 0 2 6 1
Hastings 1 2 1 1 6 1
York (NE) 0 4 0 1 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Kearney State $ 3 0 0 8 0 0
Wayne State (NE) 1 1 1 4 2 2
Peru State 1 1 1 4 3 1
Chadron State 0 3 0 3 4 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 North Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Jamestown $ 5 0 0 6 2 0
Mayville State 3 2 0 4 3 0
Ellendale 3 2 0 3 3 0
Valley City State 3 3 0 4 3 0
Wahpeton 2 2 0 3 3 0
Dickinson State 2 2 0 2 3 0
Minot State 1 4 0 1 5 0
Bottineau 0 4 0 0 4 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 North State Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Elon $ 6 0 0 8 1 0
Catawba 4 1 0 8 3 0
Lenoir Rhyne 3 3 0 4 6 0
Western Carolina 2 2 0 3 5 0
Appalachian State 2 3 0 4 5 0
High Point 1 5 0 2 7 0
Guilford 0 4 0 0 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 Northern Teachers College Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
St. Cloud State $ 4 0 0 7 0 0
Mankato State 3 1 1 3 4 1
Bemidji State 3 2 0 6 2 0
Winona State 1 2 1 1 4 1
Duluth State 1 4 0 1 6 1
Moorhead State 0 3 0 0 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 Northwest Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Willamette $ 5 0 0 8 2 0
Whitman 4 1 0 5 1 0
Pacific (OR) 2 3 0 4 4 0
Puget Sound 2 3 0 2 6 0
College of Idaho 1 3 0 5 5 0
Linfield 0 4 0 1 6 1
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 Ohio Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Case $ 4 0 0 7 1 0
Ohio Northern 5 0 0 6 1 1
Toledo 2 0 0 7 4 0
Bowling Green 4 0 1 5 2 0
Kenyon 4 1 0 5 2 0
Wooster 4 1 1 5 1 1
Heidelberg 5 2 0 6 2 0
Otterbein 4 2 0 5 3 0
Wittenberg 3 3 0 4 4 0
Muskingum 2 3 0 3 5 0
John Carroll 1 2 1 2 5 1
Kent State 1 3 0 2 5 1
Marietta 1 3 0 1 6 0
Capital 1 4 0 2 4 1
Baldwin–Wallace 0 2 1 3 4 1
Findlay 0 4 0 3 5 0
Mount Union 0 5 0 1 7 0
Ashland 0 3 0 0 5 0
Oberlin 0 3 0 0 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 Oklahoma Collegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Central State (OK) $ 6 0 0 6 2 0
SW Oklahoma State 5 1 0 9 2 0
Northeastern State 3 3 0 5 3 1
Oklahoma City 2 3 0 5 7 0
East Central 2 3 0 4 6 0
NW Oklahoma State 0 3 0 5 5 1
SE Oklahoma State 0 5 0 1 8 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 Pennsylvania State Teachers College Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
West Chester + 3 0 0 5 1 2
Millersville + 3 0 0 4 2 0
Shippensburg 6 1 0 6 2 0
Indiana (PA) 4 2 0 4 2 0
Clarion 2 1 1 3 2 1
East Stroudsburg 3 2 0 5 2 0
Lock Haven 2 2 1 2 3 2
Edinboro 1 2 1 2 2 1
Mansfield 1 3 1 2 4 1
Slippery Rock 1 3 0 2 4 1
Bloomsburg 1 4 0 1 4 0
California (PA) 0 2 0 0 4 0
Kutztown 0 5 0 0 6 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
1941 Rocky Mountain Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Colorado College $ 4 0 0 6 2 0
Colorado State–Greeley 3 1 0 3 5 0
Colorado Mines 1 2 1 2 4 2
Montana State 1 2 1 1 4 2
Western State (CO) 0 4 0 0 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 Smoky Mountain Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
King $ 1 0 1 5 3 1
Milligan 2 1 0 5 2 0
Carson–Newman 2 1 1 3 5 1
East Tennessee State Teachers 0 3 0 2 5 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Black Hills 2 1 0 6 2 0
South Dakota Mines 2 1 0 4 2 1
Southern Normal 1 2 0 2 4 0
Eastern Normal 1 2 0 1 4 0
1941 Southern California Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Whittier $ 3 0 1 4 3 1
Occidental 3 1 0 5 2 1
Redlands 2 1 1 3 4 1
Caltech 1 3 0 2 5 0
Pomona 0 4 0 2 5 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Presbyterian $ 5 0 0 6 3 0
Miami (FL) 2 0 0 8 2 0
Centre 2 0 0 3 4 0
Mississippi Southern 6 0 1 9 0 1
Louisiana Tech 5 1 0 5 4 1
Eastern Kentucky 3 1 0 7 1 0
SW Louisiana 3 1 1 6 2 1
Union (TN) 3 1 1 5 3 1
Tennessee Tech 3 1 0 5 4 0
Western Kentucky State Teachers 3 1 1 4 5 1
Georgetown (KY) 2 1 0 7 2 0
Wofford 2 1 0 4 6 0
Memphis State 3 2 0 6 3 0
Rollins 2 2 0 5 2 1
Louisiana Normal 3 3 1 4 3 1
Murray State 3 3 2 4 3 2
Tampa 2 2 0 5 4 0
Louisville 1 1 0 4 4 0
Middle Tennessee State Teachers 2 3 1 4 3 1
Newberry 2 3 0 5 6 0
Mississippi College 1 2 0 5 3 0
SE Louisiana 2 4 0 3 6 0
Oglethorpe 1 3 0 4 4 0
Transylvania 1 3 0 3 5 0
Troy State 1 4 0 5 4 0
Louisiana College 1 5 0 4 7 0
Delta State 1 7 1 1 8 1
Union (KY) 0 1 0 0 5 0
Centenary 0 2 1 0 8 2
Morehead State 0 3 0 3 4 0
Erskine 0 4 0 2 5 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Prairie View 4 0 2 7 1 2
Langston 4 1 1 9 1 1
Southern 4 2 0 5 3 1
Texas College 3 2 1 4 2 1
Bishop 3 3 0 3 4 0
Arkansas AM&N 0 5 1 1 7 1
Wiley 0 5 1 0 6 1
  • Prairie View's conference title was forfeited after the SWAC ruled at its winter meeting, on December 13, that the Panthers had used an ineligible player, Whiteside.
1941 Washington Intercollegiate Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Pacific Lutheran $ 4 0 0 8 1 0
Eastern Washington 2 1 1 5 2 1
Western Washington 2 2 0 5 2 1
Saint Martin's 0 2 2 1 4 2
Central Washington 0 3 1 1 5 1
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 Texas Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Howard Payne $ 6 0 0 8 1 1
Abilene Christian 5 1 0 6 3 0
Texas Wesleyan 5 1 0 5 3 0
Southwestern (TX) 3 3 1 4 3 1
McMurry 2 4 1 4 4 1
Austin 2 4 0 2 6 0
Trinity (TX) 1 5 0 1 7 0
Daniel Baker 0 6 0 0 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
West Liberty State $ 6 1 0 7 1 1
Morris Harvey 3 0 1 5 3 1
Fairmont State 4 2 0 5 2 0
Glenville State 5 3 0 5 3 0
Concord 3 2 0 4 4 0
West Virginia Tech 3 2 0 0 4 2
Potomac State 2 3 0 3 5 0
Salem 0 5 1 0 5 1
Shepherd 0 5 0 0 5 0
West Virginia Wesleyan * 2 0 1 3 4 1
Bethany (WV) * 0 2 1 0 6 1
Davis & Elkins * 0 3 0 1 10 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • * – Did not qualify for conference standings
    Ties did not count in conference standings.
1941 Wisconsin State Teachers College Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Northern Division
La Crosse State x 3 1 0 5 1 0
Stout Institute x 3 1 0 5 2 0
Superior State 2 2 0 4 3 0
River Falls State 1 2 1 2 3 2
Eau Claire State 0 3 1 0 5 2
Southern Division
Platteville State x 3 0 1 3 0 2
Whitewater State x 3 0 1 3 2 1
Stevens Point State 2 2 0 3 4 0
Milwaukee State 1 3 0 1 6 0
Oshkosh State 0 4 0 0 6 0
  • x – Division champion/co-champions

Rankings

[edit]

Heisman Trophy voting

[edit]

The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player

Player School Position Total
Bruce Smith Minnesota HB 554
Angelo Bertelli Notre Dame QB 345
Frankie Albert Stanford QB 336
Frank Sinkwich Georgia HB 249
Bill Dudley Virginia HB 237
Endicott Peabody Harvard G 153
Edgar Jones Pittsburgh RB 151
Bob Westfall Michigan FB 147
Steve Lach Duke HB 126
Jack Crain Texas HB 102

Bowl games

[edit]
Bowl game Winning team Losing team
Rose Bowl No. 12 Oregon State 20 No. 2 Duke 16
Sugar Bowl No. 6 Fordham 2 No. 7 Missouri 0
Orange Bowl No. 14 Georgia 40 TCU 26
Cotton Bowl Classic No. 20 Alabama 29 No. 9 Texas A&M 21
Sun Bowl Tulsa 6 Texas Tech 0

Statistical leaders

[edit]

Team leaders

[edit]

Total offense

[edit]
Rank Team Games played Net yards gained Avg. gain per game First downs
1 Duke 9 3350 372.2 147
2 Arizona 10 3573 357.3 152
3 Georgia 10 3504 350.4 156
4 Utah 8 2803 350.4 112
5 Texas 10 3500 350.0 130
6 Missouri 9 3102 344.7 128
7 Tulane 9 2951 327.9 146
8 Fordham 8 2616 327.0 106
9 Detroit 9 2881 320.1 130
10 Clemson 9 2879 319.9 111

[5]

Total defense

[edit]
Rank Team Games played Net Ops. Gained Opps. Av. per Game Oppon. 1st Downs
1 Duquesne 9 885 110.6 50
2 Navy 10 1258 139.8 67
3 Detroit 8 1282 142.4 76
4 Notre Dame 10 1283 142.6 79
5 Georgia 10 1429 142.9 85
6 Texas Tech 9 1432 143.2 82
7 Duke 10 537 145.7 74
8 San Jose 10 1465 146.5 62
9 Virginia 9 1362 151.3 59
10 Rutgers 10 1211 151.4 56

[5]

Rushing offense

[edit]
Rank Team Games Rushes Yards gained Yards per game
1 Missouri 9 488 2769 307.7
2 Duke 9 498 2392 265.8
3 Minnesota 8 476 2062 257.8
4 Utah 8 398 2054 256.8
5 Syracuse 8 395 2007 250.9
6 Navy 9 494 2249 249.9
7 Georgia 10 511 2397 239.7
8 Texas 10 460 2372 237.2
9 Clemson 9 437 2132 236.9
10 Michigan 8 420 1871 233.9

[6]

Rushing defense

[edit]
Rank Team Games Rushes Net yards gained Yards per game
1 Duquesne 10 235 448 56.0
2 Georgia 10 323 596 59.6
3 Texas Tech 9 328 617 61.7
4 Navy 8 311 560 62.2
5 Texas 9 323 659 65.9
6 Tulane 10 311 597 66.3
7 Santa Clara 10 302 598 66.4
8 Notre Dame 9 340 611 67.9
9 Utah 8 268 602 75.3
10 Rice 9 357 812 81.2

[6]

Passing offense

[edit]
Rank Team Games Att. Compl. Int. Pct.
Compl.
Yards Yds/Game Yds/Attempt
1 Arizona 10 231 106 18 .459 1777 177.7 7.69
2 Texas A&M 10 294 126 30 .429 1657 165.7 5.64
3 Washington University (MO) 9 238 116 20 .487 1472 163.6 6.18
4 Detroit 9 185 94 11 .508 1307 145.2 7.06
5 Notre Dame 9 148 81 14 .547 1223 135.9 8.26
6 Texas Mines 9 261 112 27 .429 1219 135.4 4.67
7 Wake Forest 10 197 88 24 .447 1335 133.5 6.78
8 San Francisco 6 102 41 10 .402 756 126.0 7.41
9 Saint Mary's 9 165 69 23 .418 1116 124.0 6.76
10 SMU 10 200 68 17 .340 1201 120.1 6.01

[7]

Passing defense

[edit]
Rank Team Games Att. Compl. Pct.
Compl.
Yards Yds/Game
1 Purdue 8 74 21 .284 217 27.1
2 Boston University 8 85 23 .271 280 35.0
3 Denver 9 98 34 .347 357 39.7
4 Idaho 9 105 30 .286 371 41.2
5 Lafayette 9 104 39 .471 418 46.4
6 Harvard 8 97 27 .278 376 47.0
7 Florida 8 98 23 .235 381 47.6
8 Mississippi State 7 95 28 .295 336 48.0
9 San Jose 10 122 48 .328 490 49.0
10 Villanova 7 89 30 .337 343 49.0
11 Iowa 8 84 24 .286 403 50.4

[8]

Individual leaders

[edit]

Total offense

[edit]
Rank Player Team Games Plays Rush Yds Pass Yds Total Yds Avg Gain
per Play
1 Bud Schwenk Washington University (MO) 9 354 471 1457 1928 5.45
2 Bill Dudley Virginia 9 262 968 1824 6.96
3 Frank Sinkwich Georgia 10 324 1103 856 1816 5.60
4 Elmer Madarik Detroit 9 302 667 713 1541 5.10
5 Owen Price Texas Mines 9 347 475 874 1472 4.24
6 Red Cochran Wake Forest 10 248 162 1125 1287 5.19
7 Paul Governali Columbia 8 305 477 810 1287 4.23
8 Derace Moser Texas A&M 10 273 338 912 1250 4.58
9 Steve Filipowicz Fordham 8 218 495 724 1219 5.59
10 Johnny Podesto Saint Mary's 9 220 136 1000 1136 5.16

[9]

Rushing

[edit]
Rank Player Team Games Rushes Yds Gained Yds Lost Net Yds Avg Gain
per Play
1 Frank Sinkwich Georgia 10 209 1159 56 1103 5.28
2 Bill Dudley Virginia 9 155 1069 101 968 6.25
3 Bob Steuber Missouri 9 113 941 86 855 7.57
4 John Grigas Holy Cross 10 179 872 46 826 4.61
5 Pat Harder Wisconsin 8 142 755 24 731 5.15
6 Bob Westfall Michigan 8 156 718 30 688 4.41
7 Bill Daley Minnesota 9 158 707 22 685 4.34
8 Maurice "Red" Wade Missouri 9 105 681 13 855 6.49
9 Andy Tomasic Temple 9 173 818 141 677 3.91
10 Dick Fisher Ohio State 8 134 711 37 674 5.03

[9]

Passing

[edit]
Rank Player Team Games Att. Compl. Int. Pct. Compl. Yds. TDs
1 Bud Schwenk Washington University (MO) 9 234 114 19 .487 1457 6.23
2 Owen Price Texas Mines 9 208 94 19 .452 997 4.79
3 Angelo Bertelli Notre Dame 9 124 70 11 .565 1037 8.36
4 Paul Governali Columbia 8 167 70 10 .419 810 4.85
5 Derace Moser Texas A&M 19 166 67 19 .404 912 5.49
6 Elmer Madarik Detroit 9 128 64 7 .500 874 6.83
7 Johnny Podesto Saint Mary's 9 142 61 20 .430 1000 7.04
8 Red Cochran Wake Forest 10 139 59 20 .424 1125 8.09
9 Jimmy Richardson Marquette 9 91 58 7 .637 536 5.89
10 Bill Dudley Virginia 9 107 57 8 .533 856 8,00

[9]

Receiving

[edit]
Rank Player Team Games Receptions Receiving
Yards
Avg. Gain
per Pass
1 Hank Stanton Arizona 10 50 820 16.40
2 Red Lindow Washington University 9 39 472 12.10
3 Len Krause Penn State 9 32 536 16.75
4 Pufalt Washington University 9 29 405 3.97
5 Walt McDonald Tulane 9 27 437 16.19
6 Crain Baylor 10 26 152 5.85
7 Marshall Spivey Texas A&M 10 25 363 14.52
8 Turley Washington University 9 25 363 14.52
9 Henderson Texas A&M 10 25 229 9.16

[10]

Scoring

[edit]

The following were the scoring leaders for 1941.[11]

Rank Player Team TD PAT FG Pts
1 Bill Dudley Virginia 18 23 1 134
2 Ben Collins West Texas State 18 24 0 132
3 Curt Sandig St. Mary's (TX) 18 10 0 118
4 Toshio "Tosh" Asano Citrus J.C. 16 14 0 110
5 Johnny Thompson Coast Guard 14 22 1 109
6 Ed McGovern Rose Poly 16 7 0 103
7 Andrew Victor The Citadel 13 21 0 99
8 Chet Mutryn Xavier 93
9 Jack Crain Texas 11 23 1 92
10 (tie) Jack Jenkins Vanderbilt 12 15 1 90
10 (tie) Waddel Visalia J.C. 15 0 0 90
12 Gant Florida A&M 14 5 0 89
13 Jones Union (TN) 14 2 0 86
14 Winston Siegfried Duke 13 2 0 80
15 Randel Newberry 13 1 0 79

Rules Committee

[edit]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "October 13, 1941 AP Football Poll". CollegePollArchive.com. Archived from the original on April 3, 2015. Retrieved November 7, 2021.
  2. ^ 2020 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. July 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 1, 2020. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
  3. ^ Written at Los Angeles. "Houlgate Ranks Gophers First, Navy Second". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California. United Press. December 2, 1941. Retrieved November 2, 2022. Holgate [sic], making his final selections, nominated the Navy for second place and Alabama for third.
  4. ^ "Rose Bowl Grid Game is Transferred To Durham, N.C. By Duke, Beavers," Fresno Bee, Dec. 15, 1941, p2-B
  5. ^ a b Walter R. Okesson, ed. (1942). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1942. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 55.
  6. ^ a b Walter R. Okesson, ed. (1942). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1942. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 56.
  7. ^ Walter R. Okesson, ed. (1942). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1942. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 57.
  8. ^ Walter R. Okesson, ed. (1942). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1942. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 58.
  9. ^ a b c Walter R. Okesson, ed. (1942). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1942. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 62.
  10. ^ Walter R. Okesson, ed. (1942). The Official National Collegiate Athletic Association Football Guide including the Official Rules 1942. A.S. Barnes and Company. p. 63.
  11. ^ NCAA Football Guide, p. 67.