1939 college football season

The 1939 college football season concluded with the Aggies of The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (Texas A&M) being named as the national champions by the voters in the Associated Press writers' poll.

1939 college football season
First AP No. 1 of seasonPittsburgh[1]
Number of bowls5
Champion(s)Texas A&M (AP)
USC (Dickenson)
HeismanNile Kinnick (halfback, Iowa)
football seasons

The Volunteers of the University of Tennessee were unbeaten and untied, and unscored upon, shutting out all of their opponents in ten games; but for the second straight year, they finished second in the poll. The final AP Poll in this era came out before postseason bowl games and, in the 1940 Rose Bowl, the Volunteers were unable to hold everyone scoreless, with the University of Southern California registering two touchdowns and beating them 14-0. As a consequence, the Dickinson System named USC, which had been ranked No. 3 in the final AP Poll before the bowl games, the national champion. As a result, the USC Trojans now claim a share of the 1939 title.[2] However, USC did not begin recognizing 1939 as a national championship until 2004.[3]

The first AP Poll of the season was taken after four weeks of play, starting with October 16. 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.

Conference and program changes

Conferences

Programs
School1938 Conference1939 Conference
DePaul Blue DemonsIndependentDropped Program
Grinnell PioneersIndependentMissouri Valley

September

September 30 Defending champion TCU lost at UCLA, 6–2, on 9/29, and finished 3–7–0. Tennessee won at N.C. State, 13–0. Duke beat Davidson 26–6. Oklahoma and SMU played to a 7–7 tie. Notre Dame beat Purdue 3–0. Tulane edged Clemson 7–6. Fordham defeated Waynesburg 34–7 in the first-ever televised football game.

October

October 7 Tennessee beat Sewanee 40-0. Duke defeated Colgate 37-0. Notre Dame beat Georgia Tech 17-14. Tulane beat Auburn 12-0. Oklahoma won at Northwestern, 23-0.

October 14 Pittsburgh beat Duke 14-13. Tennessee won at Chattanooga, 28-0. Notre Dame edged SMU, 20-19. Tulane beat Fordham 7-0. Oklahoma beat Texas 24-12.

October 21 #1 Pittsburgh lost to cross-town rival Duquesne, 21-13. In Cleveland, #2 Notre Dame defeated Navy, 14-7. #3 Oklahoma beat Kansas 27-7. #4 Tulane and visiting #14 North Carolina played to a 14-14 tie. #5 Tennessee continued shutting out its opponents, beating #8 Alabama 21-0, and was voted #1 in the next poll. #6 Michigan visited the Windy City and handed the University of Chicago an 85-0 defeat. #9 Texas A&M reached 5-0-0 with a 20-6 win over TCU, and rose to fifth in the next poll. #10 Ohio State won at Minnesota, 23-20.

October 28 #1 Tennessee defeated Mercer, 17-0. In Pittsburgh, #2 Notre Dame edged Carnegie Tech, 7-6. #3 Michigan beat Yale 27-7. #4 Ohio State lost to #7 Cornell, 23-14. #5 Texas A&M beat Baylor 20-0. Nebraska defeated Kansas State in the second televised football game 25–9.

November

November 4 #1 Tennessee won at #18 LSU, 20-0. #2 Michigan lost at unranked Illinois, 16-7. #3 Cornell beat Columbia 13-7. At Yankee Stadium, #4 Notre Dame beat Army 14-0. #5 Texas A&M won at Arkansas 27-0. #7 USC beat #11 Oregon State 19-7 in Portland.

November 11 #1 Tennessee shut out the Citadel, 34-0 #2 Texas A&M defeated #13 SMU 6-2. #3 Notre Dame, victor by one point in previous games, lost at unranked Iowa, 7-6. #4 USC beat Stanford 20-12. #5 Cornell narrowly beat Colgate 14-12. #6 Oklahoma won at Kansas State 13-10.

November 18 #1 Tennessee extended its shutout streak, beating Vanderbilt 13-0. Having outscored its opposition, 186-0, Tennessee had a record of 8-0-0, but fell to second in the poll that followed. #2 Texas A&M won at Rice 19-0, and was #1 in the next poll. #3 USC was idle. #4 Cornell won at #20 Dartmouth, 35-6, to stay unbeaten. #5 Oklahoma lost at #12 Missouri, 7-6. #6 Tulane beat Columbia 25-0.

In the next poll, Texas A&M-- which had gotten none of the first place votes the week before—was first, with 38 votes. Tennessee, which had had 66 of the 85 #1 votes the week before, had 33 on the new round of ballots, and finished second. There were 20 for Cornell, and 11 for USC.

November 25 #1 Texas A&M and #2 Tennessee were idle. In Philadelphia, #3 Cornell closed its season with a 26-0 over Penn, to finish unbeaten and untied at 8-0-0. #4 USC won at #7 Notre Dame, 20-12. #5 Tulane beat Sewanee 52-0. In the next round of voting, Texas A&M tied for first place, with 939 points apiece. A&M had more first place votes (27 to 25), but Cornell, with 34 votes, had more. Cornell had 909 points overall.

On Thanksgiving Day, which fell on November 30 in 1939, #1 Texas A&M beat Texas 20-0, to complete a 10-0-0 season, and #4 Tennessee won at Kentucky, 19-0. Two days later, December 2, #1 USC beat Washington 9-7. #5 Tulane beat LSU 33-20.

December 9 #1 Texas A&M had finished its season and accepted a bid to the Sugar Bowl. #2 Tennessee beat Auburn 7-0. #3 USC and #9 UCLA played to a 0-0 tie. #4 Cornell and #5 Tulane had both completed their seasons.

Conference standings

Major conference standings
1939 Big Six Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 6 Missouri $ 5 –0 –0  8 –2 –0
No. 18 Nebraska 4 –1 –0  7 –1 –1
No. 19 Oklahoma 3 –2 –0  6 –2 –1
Kansas 1 –4 –0  2 –6 –0
Iowa State 1 –4 –0  2 –7 –0
Kansas State 1 –4 –0  4 –5 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1939 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 15 Ohio State $ 5 –1 –0  6 –2 –0
No. 9 Iowa 4 –1 –1  6 –1 –1
No. 20 Michigan 3 –2 –0  6 –2 –0
Purdue 2 –1 –2  3 –3 –2
Northwestern 3 –2 –1  3 –4 –1
Illinois 3 –3 –0  3 –4 –1
Minnesota 2 –3 –1  3 –4 –1
Indiana 2 –3 –0  2 –4 –2
Wisconsin 0 –5 –1  1 –6 –1
Chicago 0 –3 –0  2 –6 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1939 Border Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Arizona State $ 4 –0 –0  8 –2 –1
New Mexico 4 –2 –0  8 –2 –0
Texas Tech 2 –1 –0  5 –5 –1
Texas Mines 3 –2 –0  5 –4 –0
Arizona 1 –2 –0  6 –4 –0
New Mexico A&M 1 –4 –0  3 –6 –0
Arizona State–Flagstaff 0 –4 –0  1 –6 –1
  • $ – Conference champion
1939 Middle Three Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Rutgers $ 2 –0 –0  7 –1 –1
Lafayette 1 –1 –0  4 –5 –0
Lehigh 0 –2 –0  3 –6 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
1939 Missouri Valley Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Washington University $ 4 –1 –0  6 –3 –1
Oklahoma A&M 3 –1 –0  5 –4 –1
Tulsa 2 –1 –1  4 –5 –1
Drake 2 –3 –0  5 –5 –0
Saint Louis 1 –2 –1  5 –3 –2
Creighton 2 –4 –0  4 –5 –0
Washburn 1 –3 –0  6 –4 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
1939 Mountain States Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Colorado $ 5 –1 –0  5 –3 –0
Utah 4 –1 –1  6 –1 –2
Denver 3 –2 –1  5 –3 –1
BYU 2 –2 –2  5 –2 –2
Utah State 2 –3 –1  3 –4 –1
Colorado A&M 2 –4 –0  2 –7 –0
Wyoming 0 –5 –1  0 –7 –1
  • $ – Conference champion
1939 Pacific Coast Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 3 USC $ 5 –0 –2  8 –0 –2
No. 7 UCLA 5 –0 –3  6 –0 –4
Oregon State 6 –1 –1  9 –1 –1
Washington 4 –4 –0  4 –5 –1
Oregon 3 –3 –1  3 –4 –1
Washington State 3 –5 –0  4 –5 –0
Montana 1 –2 –0  3 –6 –0
California 2 –5 –0  3 –7 –0
Stanford 0 –6 –1  1 –7 –1
Idaho 0 –3 –0  2 –6 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1939 Rocky Mountain Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Colorado State–Greeley 3 –1 –0  4 –4 –0
Montana State 0 –2 –0  2 –7 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
1939 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 2 Tennessee + 6 –0 –0  10 –1 –0
No. 16 Georgia Tech + 6 –0 –0  8 –2 –0
No. 5 Tulane + 5 –0 –0  8 –1 –1
Mississippi State 3 –2 –0  8 –2 –0
Ole Miss 2 –2 –0  7 –2 –0
Kentucky 2 –2 –1  6 –2 –1
Auburn 3 –3 –1  5 –5 –1
Alabama 2 –3 –1  5 –3 –1
Georgia 1 –3 –0  5 –6 –0
LSU 1 –5 –0  4 –5 –0
Vanderbilt 1 –6 –0  2 –7 –1
Florida 0 –3 –1  5 –5 –1
Sewanee 0 –3 –0  3 –5 –0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll
1939 Southern Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 8 Duke $ 5 –0 –0  8 –1 –0
No. 12 Clemson 4 –0 –0  9 –1 –0
William & Mary 2 –0 –1  6 –2 –1
North Carolina 5 –1 –0  8 –1 –1
VMI 3 –1 –1  6 –3 –1
Richmond 3 –1 –1  7 –1 –2
Furman 3 –3 –0  5 –4 –0
Wake Forest 3 –3 –0  7 –3 –0
NC State 2 –4 –0  2 –8 –0
Washington and Lee 1 –2 –0  3 –4 –1
South Carolina 1 –3 –0  3 –6 –1
VPI 1 –4 –1  4 –5 –1
Davidson 1 –7 –0  2 –7 –0
Maryland 0 –1 –0  2 –7 –0
The Citadel 0 –4 –0  3 –8 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1939 Southwest Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 1 Texas A&M $ 6 –0 –0  11 –0 –0
Baylor 4 –2 –0  7 –3 –0
SMU 4 –2 –0  6 –3 –1
Texas 3 –3 –0  5 –4 –0
Arkansas 2 –3 –1  4 –5 –1
TCU 1 –5 –0  3 –7 –0
Rice 0 –5 –1  1 –9 –1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Independents
1939 Eastern college football independents records
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 4 Cornell   –    8 –0 –0
No. 10 Duquesne   –    8 –0 –1
Princeton   –    7 –1 –0
La Salle   –    6 –1 –1
Penn State   –    5 –1 –2
No. 11 Boston College   –    9 –2 –0
No. 17 Fordham   –    6 –2 –0
Villanova   –    6 –2 –0
Brown   –    5 –3 –1
NYU   –    5 –4 –0
Pittsburgh   –    5 –4 –0
Harvard   –    4 –4 –0
Manhattan   –    4 –4 –0
Penn   –    4 –4 –0
Syracuse   –    3 –3 –2
Tufts   –    3 –4 –1
Yale   –    3 –4 –1
Army   –    3 –4 –2
Carnegie Tech   –    3 –5 –0
Columbia   –    2 –4 –2
Massachusetts State   –    2 –5 –2
Colgate   –    2 –5 –1
Temple   –    2 –7 –0
Buffalo   –    0 –7 –0
Rankings from AP Poll
1939 Midwestern college football independents records
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Central Michigan   –    8 –1 –0
No. 13 Notre Dame   –    7 –2 –0
Ohio   –    6 –3 –0
Detroit   –    5 –3 –1
Akron   –    5 –4 –0
Cincinnati   –    4 –3 –2
Ohio Wesleyan   –    5 –4 –1
Marquette   –    4 –4 –0
Michigan State   –    4 –4 –1
Dayton   –    4 –4 –1
Michigan State Normal   –    3 –3 –1
Wayne   –    4 –5 –0
Xavier   –    3 –5 –1
Western State (MI)   –    2 –6 –1
Miami (OH)   –    1 –7 –1
Rankings from AP Poll
1939 Southern college football independents records
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Georgetown   –    7 –0 –1
Catholic University   –    8 –1 –1
Hardin–Simmons   –    7 –1 –1
George Washington   –    5 –3 –0
Georgia Teachers   –    5 –5 –0
Loyola (LA)   –    5 –5 –0
Oklahoma City   –    4 –4 –2
Navy   –    3 –5 –1
West Virginia   –    2 –6 –1
Western Maryland   –    1 –6 –0
Delaware   –    1 –7 –0
East Carolina   –    0 –8 –0
William & Mary Norfolk Division   –      –  
1939 Western college football independents records
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Gonzaga   –    6 –2 –0
Humboldt State   –    5 –2 –0
Idaho Southern Branch   –    5 –2 –0
No. T–14 Santa Clara   –    5 –1 –3
Cal Poly   –    4 –4 –1
San Francisco   –    4 –3 –3
La Verne   –    3 –3 –0
Saint Mary's   –    3 –4 –1
Hawaii   –    3 –6 –0
Loyola (CA)   –    2 –6 –1
San Francisco State   –    2 –4 –2
Portland   –    1 –5 –1
Rankings from AP Poll

Minor conferences
Conference Champion(s) Record
Alamo Conference Texas A&I
West Texas State Teachers		 1–0–1
California Collegiate Athletic Association San Jose State 3–0
Central Intercollegiate Athletics Association Virginia State College 7–0–1
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Wichita 4–0–1
Far Western Conference Nevada 3–0
Indiana Intercollegiate Conference Butler 4–0
Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Central (IA)
Upper Iowa		 5–2
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Ottawa (KS) 5–0–1
Lone Star Conference North Texas State Teachers 4–0
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Albion 6–0
Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference Knox
Ripon		 3–1–1
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Saint Thomas (MN) 4–0–1
Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association Northwest Missouri State Teachers 5–0
Nebraska College Athletic Conference Hastings 3–0–1
Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Association Nebraska State Normal 3–0
North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference North Dakota
South Dakota
South Dakota State College		 4–1
North Dakota College Athletic Conference North Dakota Science 6–0
Northern Teachers Athletic Conference Winona State Teachers 4–0
Ohio Athletic Conference Muskingum 6–0
Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference Central State Teachers (OK) 5–0–1
Pacific Northwest Conference Pacific (OR) 3–0–2
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference Slippery Rock State Teachers 5–0
South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference Northern State Teachers 3–1–1
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Whittier 3–0–1
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Alabama State College 5–1–2
Southwestern Athletic Conference Langston 5–0–1
Texas Conference Abilene Christian
St. Edward's (TX)		 5–1
Washington Intercollegiate Conference Eastern Washington College
Pacific Lutheran		 2–0–1
Wisconsin State Teachers College Conference North: La Crosse Teachers
South: Milwaukee State Teachers		 3–1
4–0

Minor conference standings
1939 Alamo Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Texas A&I + 2 –0 –1  6 –1 –3
West Texas State + 2 –0 –1  5 –3 –1
St. Mary's (TX) 1 –2 –0  5 –4 –2
Sul Ross 0 –3 –0  0 –7 –1
  • + – Conference co-champions
1939 California Collegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
San Jose State $ 3 –0 –0  13 –0 –0
Fresno State 1 –1 –0  10 –1 –0
Santa Barbara State 1 –2 –0  5 –4 –1
San Diego State 0 –2 –0  2 –7 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
1939 Eastern Pennsylvania Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Gettysburg $ 3 –0 –1  6 –2 –1
Muhlenberg 2 –1 –0  6 –4 –0
Franklin & Marshall 1 –1 –1  5 –3 –1
Drexel 0 –1 –1  3 –5 –1
Ursinus 0 –3 –1  2 –5 –1
  • $ – Conference champion
1939 Far Western Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Nevada $ 3 –0 –0  5 –4 –0
Pacific (CA) 2 –1 –0  6 –6 –1
Chico State 1 –2 –0  2 –4 –2
Cal Aggies 0 –3 –0  4 –4 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
1939 IIAC football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Northern Illinois State 3 –1 –0  5 –2 –1
  • $ – Conference champion
1939 Lone Star Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
North Texas State $ 4 –0 –0  6 –1 –0
Sam Houston State 2 –1 –1  6 –2 –2
East Texas State 2 –2 –0  7 –3 –0
Stephen F. Austin 1 –3 –0  3 –4 –2
Southwest Texas State 0 –3 –1  3 –5 –2
  • $ – Conference champion
1939 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Albion $ 6 –0 –0  7 –1 –0
Hillsdale 5 –1 –0  6 –1 –0
Hope 3 –2 –1  4 –2 –2
Kalamazoo 3 –3 –0  3 –5 –0
Alma 2 –3 –1  2 –5 –1
Adrian 1 –5 –0  2 –6 –0
Olivet 0 –6 –0  1 –7 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
1939 New England Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Maine $ 3 –0 –0  5 –2 –0
Connecticut 1 –1 –0  5 –3 –0
New Hampshire 1 –1 –0  3 –5 –0
Rhode Island State 1 –2 –0  3 –4 –1
Northeastern 0 –2 –0  0 –6 –1
  • $ – Conference champion
1939 North Central Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
South Dakota State + 4 –1 –0  7 –2 –0
North Dakota + 4 –1 –0  5 –3 –0
South Dakota + 4 –1 –0  4 –5 –0
Iowa State Teachers 3 –1 –0  5 –3 –1
Omaha 1 –3 –0  3 –5 –0
Morningside 1 –5 –0  2 –6 –0
North Dakota Agricultural 0 –5 –0  1 –6 –1
  • + – Conference co-champions
1939 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Langston $   –      –  
  • $ – Conference champion
1939 Texas Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Abilene Christian + 5 –1 –0  6 –2 –1
St. Edward's + 5 –1 –0  6 –3 –0
Trinity (TX) 4 –1 –2  6 –3 –2
Howard Payne 4 –2 –1  5 –4 –1
Texas Wesleyan 2 –2 –1  4 –5 –2
Southwestern (TX) 3 –3 –0  3 –5 –0
Daniel Baker 3 –4 –0  4 –6 –0
McMurry 1 –6 –0  1 –6 –0
Austin 0 –7 –0  0 –10 –0
  • + – Conference co-champions

Rankings
Main article: 1939 NCAA football rankings

Bowl games
Main article: 1939–40 NCAA football bowl games
Bowl game Winning team Losing team
Rose Bowl No. 3 USC 14 No. 2 Tennessee 0
Sugar Bowl No. 1 Texas A&M 14 No. 5 Tulane 13
Orange Bowl No. 16 Georgia Tech 21 No. 6 Missouri 7
Cotton Bowl Classic No. 12 Clemson 6 No. 11 Boston College 3
Sun Bowl Arizona State 0 Catholic University 0

See also

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-02-29. Retrieved 2009-01-20.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. This Just In: USC Also Is a 1939 Champion, Washington Post, July 28, 2004, Accessed October 16, 2008.
  3. USC Now Will Recognize Its 1939 Football Team As A National Champion. Trojan have 10 national champs in the sport, USC Trojans Athletic Department, July 24, 2004, Accessed October 16, 2008.
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