🏈 The 1941 college football season
The champion and its path, the poll race week by week, the honours, the best games and every conference table.
Jump to any season1869–2026
1941 national champion
Named by the selectors, with the road it took.
The path, Minnesota8-0
- Sep 27atWashingtonW14-6
- Oct 11vsIllinoisW34-6
- Oct 18vsPittsburghW39-0
- Oct 25at#3MichiganW7-0
- Nov 1vs#9NorthwesternW8-7
- Nov 8vsNebraskaW9-0
- Nov 15atIowaW34-13
- Nov 22vsWisconsinW41-6
The 1941 major bowls
No title game this year. The big bowls of the season, by date.
The 1941 poll race
Rank by poll week, 1 at the top, or Elo by week. A poll line breaks where a team was unranked.
How this is measured
Tap or drag on the chart to read a team's rank in any week.
AP rank, team by week
| Team | Oct13 | 20 | 27 | Nov3 | 10 | 17 | 24 | Dec1final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Duke | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Notre Dame | 8 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 |
| Texas | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 9 | 10 | 4 |
| Michigan | 6 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 5 |
| Fordham | 4 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 6 |
| Missouri | 19 | 17 | 16 | 8 | 7 | 7 | ||
| Duquesne | 16 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 5 | 8 | ||
| Texas A&M | 14 | 9 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
| Navy | 7 | 5 | 11 | 6 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 |
| Northwestern | 5 | 13 | 9 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 11 |
| Oregon State | 16 | 18 | 16 | 17 | 12 | |||
| Ohio State | 10 | 11 | 20 | 20 | 14 | 15 | 13 | |
| Georgia | 20 | 20 | 14 | |||||
| Pennsylvania | 11 | 12 | 8 | 19 | 14 | 13 | 13 | 15 |
| Mississippi State | 19 | 17 | 15 | 13 | 16 | |||
| Mississippi | 17 | 16 | 15 | 15 | 14 | 17 | ||
| Tennessee | 18 | |||||||
| Washington State | 19 | |||||||
| Alabama | 15 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 18 | 20 | ||
| Vanderbilt | 18 | 15 | 10 | 12 | ||||
| Clemson | 13 | 14 | 18 | 16 | ||||
| Harvard | 17 | 19 | ||||||
| Stanford | 19 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 17 | |||
| TCU | 19 | |||||||
| Washington | 20 | |||||||
| Boston College | 18 | |||||||
| Army | 14 | 11 | 19 | |||||
| Tulane | 17 | 10 | 14 | |||||
| Syracuse | 17 | |||||||
| Temple | 17 | 13 | ||||||
| SMU | 20 | |||||||
| Santa Clara | 9 | 8 | ||||||
| Oregon | 16 | |||||||
| Villanova | 19 | |||||||
| Rice | 12 | |||||||
| Nebraska | 15 | |||||||
| Columbia | 20 |
Tap a rank to read it and highlight that team on the chart above.
1941 final polls
The last ranking of the season in each poll.
1941 final pollsAP, Elo
Final AP poll, Dec 1.
Show all 20 teams
Elo top 25
rating, z
The 1941 honours
The Heisman vote and the major awards side by side, then the All-Americans.
The 1941 honoursHeisman: Bruce Smith
Heisman Trophy voting
Major awards
Consensus All-Americans
A star marks a unanimous selection.
- Darold JenkinsMissouri
- Holt RastAlabama
- Bob DoveNotre Dame
Show all 5 positions
- Endicott Peabody★ unanimousHarvard
- Ray FrankowskiWashington
The best games of 1941
The ten best games of the season by Game Score. Switch to the Elo score for a second opinion.
How this is measured
The best games of 194110 games
Upsets of 1941
The results the ratings gave the winner the least chance of, lowest first.
How this is measured
Upsets of 194110 upsets
1941 standings by conference
Every conference at once: conference and overall record, and the final AP rank. A star marks the conference champion.
1941 standings by conference10 groups
Big Nine
9 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | AP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minnesota★ conference champion | 5-0 | 8-0 | #1 |
| 2 | Michigan | 3-1-1 | 6-1-1 | #5 |
| 3 | Ohio State | 3-1-1 | 6-1-1 | #13 |
| 4 | Northwestern | 4-2 | 5-3 | #11 |
| 5 | Wisconsin | 3-3 | 3-5 | |
| 6 | Iowa | 2-4 | 3-5 | |
| 7 | Purdue | 1-3 | 2-5-1 | |
| 8 | Indiana | 1-3 | 2-6 | |
| 9 | Illinois | 0-5 | 2-6 |
Big Six
6 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | AP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Missouri★ conference champion | 5-0 | 8-2 | #7 |
| 2 | Oklahoma | 3-2 | 6-3 | |
| 3 | Nebraska | 3-2 | 4-5 | |
| 4 | Kansas | 2-3 | 3-6 | |
| 5 | Kansas State | 1-3-1 | 2-5-2 | |
| 6 | Iowa State | 0-4-1 | 2-6-1 |
Border
9 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas Tech | 2-0 | 9-2 | |
| 2 | Arizona★ conference champion | 5-0 | 7-3 | |
| 3 | West Texas State | 4-1 | 8-2 | |
| 4 | Hardin-Simmons | 3-1 | 7-3-1 | |
| 5 | New Mexico | 3-2-1 | 5-4-1 | |
| 6 | Texas Western | 3-4 | 4-5-1 | |
| 7 | Arizona State | 2-4-1 | 5-5-1 | |
| 8 | Northern Arizona | 1-5 | 3-5 | |
| 9 | New Mexico State | 0-6 | 2-7 |
Missouri Valley
6 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tulsa★ conference champion | 4-0 | 8-2 | |
| 2 | Oklahoma A&M | 3-1 | 5-4 | |
| 3 | Creighton | 3-2 | 5-5 | |
| 4 | Saint Louis | 1-3-1 | 4-5-1 | |
| 5 | Washington University | 1-3 | 4-5 | |
| 6 | Drake | 0-3-1 | 4-5-1 |
Mountain States
7 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Utah★ conference champion | 4-0-2 | 6-0-2 | |
| 2 | BYU | 3-1-2 | 4-3-2 | |
| 3 | Denver | 3-1-2 | 4-3-2 | |
| 4 | Colorado A&M | 3-2-1 | 4-2-1 | |
| 5 | Colorado | 3-2-1 | 3-4-1 | |
| 6 | Wyoming | 1-5 | 2-7-1 | |
| 7 | Utah State | 0-6 | 0-8 |
Pacific Coast
10 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | AP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oregon State★ conference champion | 7-2 | 8-2 | #12 |
| 2 | Washington State | 5-3 | 6-4 | #19 |
| 3 | Washington | 5-3 | 5-4 | |
| 4 | Stanford | 4-3 | 6-3 | |
| 5 | Oregon | 4-4 | 5-5 | |
| 6 | UCLA | 3-4-1 | 5-5-1 | |
| 7 | California | 3-4 | 4-5 | |
| 8 | USC | 2-4-1 | 2-6-1 | |
| 9 | Montana | 1-3 | 6-3 | |
| 10 | Idaho | 0-4 | 4-5 |
Southeastern
12 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | AP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mississippi State★ conference champion | 4-0-1 | 8-1-1 | #16 |
| 2 | Tennessee | 3-1 | 8-2 | #18 |
| 3 | Alabama | 5-2 | 9-2 | #20 |
| 4 | Georgia | 3-1-1 | 9-1-1 | #14 |
| 5 | Mississippi | 2-1-1 | 6-2-1 | #17 |
| 6 | Vanderbilt | 3-2 | 8-2 | |
| 7 | LSU | 2-2-2 | 4-4-2 | |
| 8 | Tulane | 2-3 | 5-4 | |
| 9 | Georgia Tech | 2-4 | 3-6 | |
| 10 | Florida | 1-3 | 4-6 | |
| 11 | Auburn | 0-4-1 | 4-5-1 | |
| 12 | Kentucky | 0-4 | 5-4 |
Southern
16 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | AP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duke★ conference champion | 5-0 | 9-1 | #2 |
| 2 | South Carolina | 4-0-1 | 4-4-1 | |
| 3 | Clemson | 5-1 | 7-2 | |
| 4 | William & Mary | 4-1 | 8-2 | |
| 5 | Virginia Tech | 4-2 | 6-4 | |
| 6 | VMI | 4-2 | 4-6 | |
| 7 | Wake Forest | 4-2-1 | 5-5-1 | |
| 8 | North Carolina State | 3-4-2 | 4-5-2 | |
| 9 | Furman | 2-3-2 | 3-4-2 | |
| 10 | Washington & Lee | 1-2-2 | 1-6-2 | |
| 11 | Maryland | 1-2 | 3-5-1 | |
| 12 | North Carolina | 2-4 | 3-7 | |
| 13 | Davidson | 1-5-2 | 1-6-3 | |
| 14 | Citadel | 0-2-1 | 4-3-1 | |
| 15 | George Washington | 0-4-1 | 1-7-1 | |
| 16 | Richmond | 0-6 | 2-7 |
Southwest
7 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | AP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas A&M★ conference champion | 5-1 | 9-2 | #9 |
| 2 | Texas | 4-1-1 | 8-1-1 | #4 |
| 3 | TCU | 4-1-1 | 7-3-1 | |
| 4 | Rice | 3-2-1 | 6-3-1 | |
| 5 | SMU | 2-4 | 5-5 | |
| 6 | Baylor | 1-4-1 | 3-6-1 | |
| 7 | Arkansas | 0-6 | 3-7 |
Independent
37 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | AP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duquesne | - | 8-0 | #8 |
| 2 | Notre Dame | - | 8-0-1 | #3 |
| 3 | Fordham | - | 8-1 | #6 |
| 4 | Virginia | - | 8-1 | |
| 5 | Pennsylvania | - | 7-1 | #15 |
| 6 | Navy | - | 7-1-1 | #10 |
| 7 | Miami (FL) | - | 8-2 | |
| 8 | Detroit | - | 7-2 | |
| 9 | Penn State | - | 7-2 | |
| 10 | Temple | - | 7-2 | |
| 11 | Boston College | - | 7-3 | |
| 12 | Harvard | - | 5-2-1 | |
| 13 | Syracuse | - | 5-2-1 | |
| 14 | Santa Clara | - | 6-3 | |
| 15 | Cornell | - | 5-3 | |
| 16 | Army | - | 5-3-1 | |
| 17 | Michigan State | - | 5-3-1 | |
| 18 | San Francisco | - | 6-4 | |
| 19 | Brown | - | 5-4 | |
| 20 | Dartmouth | - | 5-4 | |
| 21 | Georgetown | - | 5-4 | |
| 22 | St. Mary's | - | 5-4 | |
| 23 | Colgate | - | 3-3-2 | |
| 24 | Holy Cross | - | 4-4-2 | |
| 25 | Loyola Marymount | - | 5-5 | |
| 26 | Manhattan | - | 4-4-1 | |
| 27 | Villanova | - | 4-4 | |
| 28 | Marquette | - | 4-5 | |
| 29 | West Virginia | - | 4-6 | |
| 30 | Columbia | - | 3-5 | |
| 31 | Pittsburgh | - | 3-6 | |
| 32 | Gonzaga | - | 3-7 | |
| 33 | Sewanee | - | 2-5 | |
| 34 | Princeton | - | 2-6 | |
| 35 | NYU | - | 2-7 | |
| 36 | Yale | - | 1-7 | |
| 37 | Centenary | - | 0-8-2 |
1941 bowls
One line per game, latest first. A tag marks the playoff and the other major bowls.
1941 bowls5 bowls
Where these numbers come from
Enough to disbelieve this page on purpose rather than by accident.
Champions, polls, standings, bowls, honours and games are read from the Citizen of Nowhere college football database, built from its own workbook one season at a time. Team colours and crests are the current programs’, so a school is drawn the way it looks today even where it played under another name.
The AP poll begins in 1936, so earlier seasons have no poll race and no final poll, but they do have an Elo race, and their champions are those the selectors named. Before 1992 there was no title game, so those seasons list the major bowls instead; from 1992 the title game is shown with the other major bowls, and from 2014 the playoff bracket. Where the database has no entry for a section, the section is left out rather than shown empty.
Elo ratings, the upsets and the best games come from the site’s college football Elo, which rates every game since 1869 and counts games against lower-level opponents. Each season’s ratings are shown on a scale where the average major team ends the season at 1500; z is the distance from that average in standard deviations.