The 1940 college football season ended with the Gophers of the University of Minnesota

University of Minnesota

The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities is a public research university located in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, United States. It is the oldest and largest part of the University of Minnesota system and has the fourth-largest main campus student body in the United States, with 52,557...

 being named the nation’s #1 team and national champion, and the Stanford University Indians

1940 Stanford Indians football team

The 1940 Stanford Indians football team, nicknamed the "Wow Boys", represented Stanford University in National Collegiate Athletic Association intercollegiate competition during the 1940 season. First-year head coach Clark Shaughnessy inherited a team that finished with a 1–7–1 record the previous...

 (later to be renamed the Cardinal) in second, with the two teams receiving 65 and 44 first place votes respectively. Each writer listed his choice for the top ten teams, and points were tallied based on 10 for first place, 9 for second, etc., and the AP then ranked the twenty teams with the highest number of points.

September

September 28 Defending champion Texas A&M beat Texas A&I (later the university’s Kingsville campus), 26-0. Tennessee beat Mercer 49-0. USC and Washington State played to a 14-14 tie. Tulane lost to Boston College 27-7. Michigan won at California 41-0. Minnesota defeated Washington 19-14 in Minneapolis.

October

October 5 In San Antonio, Texas A&M beat Tulsa 41-6. Tennessee

Tennessee Volunteers football

The Tennessee Volunteers football team are an American college football team at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville . The NCAA Division I team is also a member of the Southeastern Conference ....

 beat Duke 13-0. Cornell beat Colgate 34-0. Northwestern won at Syracuse, 40-0. Minnesota beat Nebraska

1940 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team

The 1940 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team was the representative of the University of Nebraska in the 1940 college football season. The team was coached by Biff Jones and played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.-Before the season:...

 13-7. Michigan

1940 Michigan Wolverines football team

The 1940 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1940 college football season. The Wolverines offense scored 196 points while the defense allowed 34 points. Senior Tom Harmon won the Heisman Trophy, and the team finished the season ranked No...

 beat Michigan State 21-14.

October 12 Cornell won at Army 45-0.
In Los Angeles, Texas A&M beat UCLA

1940 UCLA Bruins football team

The 1940 UCLA Bruins football team represented UCLA in the 1940 college football season. The Bruins offense scored 79 points while the defense allowed 174 points. Coached by Edwin C...

, 7-0, and was ranked 2nd in the AP poll that followed. Tennessee beat Chattanooga 53-0 and was fifth in the next poll. Northwestern beat Ohio State 6-3. Michigan won at Harvard 26-0.

October 19 #1 Cornell

Cornell Big Red football

The Cornell Big Red football team represents Cornell University in National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Championship Subdivision college football competition as a member of the Ivy League. It is one of the oldest and most storied football programs in the nation...

 beat Syracuse 33-6. #2 Texas A&M

Texas A&M Aggies football

The Texas A&M Aggies football team represents Texas A&M University in college football. The Aggies have competed in the Big 12 Conference since the conference's inception in 1996. They will join the Southeastern Conference in July 2012. Texas A&M football has earned one national title and 18...

 beat TCU 21-7. #3 Michigan

Michigan Wolverines football

The Michigan Wolverines football program represents the University of Michigan in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level. Michigan has the most all-time wins and the highest winning percentage in college football history...

 beat Illinois 28-0. #4 Northwestern

Northwestern Wildcats football

The Northwestern Wildcats football team, representing Northwestern University, is a NCAA Division I team and member of the Big Ten Conference, with evidence of organization in 1876...

 won at Wisconsin 27-7. In Birmingham, #5 Tennessee

Tennessee Volunteers football

The Tennessee Volunteers football team are an American college football team at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville . The NCAA Division I team is also a member of the Southeastern Conference ....

 beat Alabama, 27-12. In Columbus, #7 Minnesota beat #15 Ohio State 13-7. #6 Notre Dame

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football

Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team is the football team of the University of Notre Dame. The team is currently coached by Brian Kelly.Notre Dame competes as an Independent at the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision level, and is a founding member of the Bowl Championship Series coalition. It is an...

 beat Carnegie Tech 61-0.

October 26 #1 Cornell beat Ohio State 21-7. #2 Notre Dame won at Illinois 26-0. #3 Michigan beat Pennsylvania 14-0. #4 Texas A&M won at Baylor 14-7. #5 Tennessee beat Florida 14-0. #6 Minnesota beat Iowa 34-6.

November

November 2 #1 Cornell beat Columbia 27–0. #2 Notre Dame beat Army 7–0 at Yankee Stadium. #3 Michigan was idle. #4 Minnesota narrowly won at Northwestern, 13-12. #5 Texas A&M beat Arkansas 17-0. #7 Tennessee beat LSU 28-0.

November 9 #1 Cornell beat Yale 21-0, but dropped to second in the next poll. #2 Minnesota and #3 Michigan both unbeaten (5-0-0) met in Minneapolis, with the Gophers winning by one point, 7-6. #4 Texas A&M won at SMU 19-7. #5 Tennessee won at Rhodes College 41-0. #6 Stanford beat Washington 20-10 to advance its record to 7-0-0.

November 16 #1 Minnesota beat Purdue 33-6. #2 Cornell

Cornell University

Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...

 lost at Dartmouth 3-0. #3 Texas A&M

Texas A&M Aggies football

The Texas A&M Aggies football team represents Texas A&M University in college football. The Aggies have competed in the Big 12 Conference since the conference's inception in 1996. They will join the Southeastern Conference in July 2012. Texas A&M football has earned one national title and 18...

 beat Rice 25-0. #4 Stanford

1940 Stanford Indians football team

The 1940 Stanford Indians football team, nicknamed the "Wow Boys", represented Stanford University in National Collegiate Athletic Association intercollegiate competition during the 1940 season. First-year head coach Clark Shaughnessy inherited a team that finished with a 1–7–1 record the previous...

 beat Oregon State 28-14. #5 Tennessee

Tennessee Volunteers football

The Tennessee Volunteers football team are an American college football team at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville . The NCAA Division I team is also a member of the Southeastern Conference ....

 beat Virginia 41-14. #8 Boston College beat Georgetown 19-18 to extend its record to 8-0-0

November 23 #1 Minnesota closed its season with a 22-13 win at Wisconsin. #2 Texas A&M and #3 Stanford

1940 Stanford Indians football team

The 1940 Stanford Indians football team, nicknamed the "Wow Boys", represented Stanford University in National Collegiate Athletic Association intercollegiate competition during the 1940 season. First-year head coach Clark Shaughnessy inherited a team that finished with a 1–7–1 record the previous...

 were idle. #4 Boston College

Boston College Eagles football

The Boston College Eagles football team is the collegiate football program of Boston College. The team is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, a Division I Bowl Subdivision league governed by the NCAA. Within the ACC, the Eagles are one of six teams in the Atlantic Division...

 beat Auburn

Auburn Tigers football

Only Mohamed Amin Abughadir set the record with 1,890 yards in 1 season. He was the QB for Auburn in 1998.The Auburn Tigers football team represents Auburn University in college football as a member of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, competing in the Western Division of the...

 33-7. #5 Cornell. #7 Michigan won at Ohio State to close its season at 7-1-0.

On Thanksgiving Day #2 Texas A&M lost at Texas 7-0.

November 30 #3 Stanford

1940 Stanford Indians football team

The 1940 Stanford Indians football team, nicknamed the "Wow Boys", represented Stanford University in National Collegiate Athletic Association intercollegiate competition during the 1940 season. First-year head coach Clark Shaughnessy inherited a team that finished with a 1–7–1 record the previous...

 closed its season with a 13-7 win at California. #4 Boston College defeated Holy Cross 7-0.

Conference standings

The following is an incomplete list of conference standings:

Final Associated Press Poll

Prior to 1968 the final AP Poll was released before the bowl games were played.

Ranking	Team	Record
1	Minnesota Gophers	8–0
2	Stanford Indians 1940 Stanford Indians football team The 1940 Stanford Indians football team, nicknamed the "Wow Boys", represented Stanford University in National Collegiate Athletic Association intercollegiate competition during the 1940 season. First-year head coach Clark Shaughnessy inherited a team that finished with a 1–7–1 record the previous...	9–0
3	Michigan Wolverines 1940 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1940 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1940 college football season. The Wolverines offense scored 196 points while the defense allowed 34 points. Senior Tom Harmon won the Heisman Trophy, and the team finished the season ranked No...	7–1
4	Tennessee Volunteers 1940 Tennessee Volunteers football team The 1940 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1940 college football season. Head coach Robert Neyland led his team to a 10-1 record including eight shut-outs and out-scored his opponents 332-45. The 1940 Tennessee Volunteers won the school's second...	10–0
5		10–0
6	Texas A&M Aggies	8–1
7	Nebraska Cornhuskers 1940 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team The 1940 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team was the representative of the University of Nebraska in the 1940 college football season. The team was coached by Biff Jones and played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.-Before the season:...	8–1
8		6–2
9		9–0–1
10	Washington Huskies	7–2
11		6–1–1
12	Fordham Rams	7–1
13		8–1
14		6–1–1
15		6–2
16		7–1–1
17		8–0
18		4–3–2
19		9–0

Bowl Games

Bowl game	Home	points	Away	points
Sun Bowl	Western Reserve Spartans Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University is a private research university located in Cleveland, Ohio, USA...	26	Arizona State Bulldogs Arizona State Sun Devils football The Arizona State Sun Devils' football program represents Arizona State University in college football, and competes in NCAA Division I FBS as a member of the Pacific-12 Conference....	13
Rose Bowl 1941 Rose Bowl The 1941 Rose Bowl, played on January 1, 1941, was an American football bowl game. It was the 27th Rose Bowl Game with the #7 ranked Cornhuskers taking on the #2 ranked Stanford Indians. At the end of the 2009 college football season, this game stands as the only meeting between these two...	#2 Stanford Indians 1940 Stanford Indians football team The 1940 Stanford Indians football team, nicknamed the "Wow Boys", represented Stanford University in National Collegiate Athletic Association intercollegiate competition during the 1940 season. First-year head coach Clark Shaughnessy inherited a team that finished with a 1–7–1 record the previous...	21	#7 Nebraska Cornhuskers Nebraska Cornhuskers football The Nebraska Cornhuskers represent the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in college football. The program has established itself as a traditional powerhouse, and has the fourth-most all-time victories of any NCAA Division I-A team. Nebraska is one of only six football programs in NCAA Division I-A...	13
Sugar Bowl 1941 Sugar Bowl The 1941 edition to the Sugar Bowl featured the fourth ranked Tennessee Volunteers and the fifth ranked Boston College Eagles, both with records of 10–0....	#5 Boston College Eagles Boston College Eagles football The Boston College Eagles football team is the collegiate football program of Boston College. The team is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference, a Division I Bowl Subdivision league governed by the NCAA. Within the ACC, the Eagles are one of six teams in the Atlantic Division...	19	#4 Tennessee Volunteers Tennessee Volunteers football The Tennessee Volunteers football team are an American college football team at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville . The NCAA Division I team is also a member of the Southeastern Conference ....	13
Cotton Bowl	#6 Texas A&M Aggies Texas A&M Aggies football The Texas A&M Aggies football team represents Texas A&M University in college football. The Aggies have competed in the Big 12 Conference since the conference's inception in 1996. They will join the Southeastern Conference in July 2012. Texas A&M football has earned one national title and 18...	20	#12 Fordham Rams Fordham Rams The 22 Fordham University varsity sports teams are known as the Fordham Rams. Their colors are maroon and white. The Fordham Rams are members of NCAA Division I and compete in the Atlantic 10 Conference for all sports except football. In football, the Rams play in the Patriot League of NCAA...	12
Orange Bowl	#9 Mississippi State Bulldogs Mississippi State Bulldogs football The Mississippi State Bulldogs football program represents Mississippi State University in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, competing as a member of the Western Division of the Southeastern Conference. Mississippi State has produced 38 All-Americans, 171 All-SEC selections, and 124...	14	#13 Georgetown Hoyas Georgetown Hoyas football The Georgetown Hoyas football team represents Georgetown University in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision level of college football. Like other sports teams from Georgetown, the team is named the Hoyas, which derives from the chant, Hoya Saxa...	7