1942 college football season

In 1942, Ohio State and Georgia were crowned national champions. Georgia defeated UCLA in the Rose Bowl on January 1, 1943. Nine ranking authorities listed in the NCAA record books listed the Bulldogs as #1. Ohio State was crowned #1 in the final AP Poll at the end of November and did not make a bowl appearance. At the time, the AP poll did not put out a post-bowl poll.

1942 college football season
First AP No. 1 of seasonOhio State
Number of bowls5
Champion(s)Ohio State (AP)
Wisconsin (Helms) Georgia (Various)
HeismanFrank Sinkwich (halfback, Georgia)
football seasons

In 1942, as many as 156 sportswriters participated in the AP poll (which did not take into account bowl games). 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.

The United States had entered World War II, and able-bodied men of college age had volunteered for, or been drafted into, the armed forces. "Service teams," many of which had former collegiate or professional players who had entered the Army or the Navy, played games against the college programs. In 1942, teams were fielded by Georgia Pre-Flight, the Great Lakes Naval Station, Iowa Pre-Flight, Jacksonville NAS, and St. Mary's Preflight.

Conference and program changes

Conference changes

Membership changes
School1941 Conference1942 Conference
American EaglesMason-DixonDropped Program
Centenary GentlemenSIAADropped program
Gonzaga (WA) BulldogsIndependentDropped Program
Oglethorpe Stormy PetrelsIndependentDropped program
Providence FriarsIndependentDropped program
Transylvania PioneersSIAADropped program

September

On September 19, in Louisville, Georgia defeated Kentucky, 7–6. The following Friday, Georgia defeated the Jacksonville Naval Air Station, 14–0, in Macon. The soldiers at the Flight School at the University of Iowa, organized as the Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks, overwhelmed Kansas, 61–0.

Most schools got their seasons underway on September 26. Defending champion Minnesota beat Pittsburgh, 50–7. Duke beat Davidson 21–0. Notre Dame and Wisconsin played to a 7–7 tie in Madison. Illinois beat South Dakota 46–0. In Montgomery, Alabama beat South Louisiana Institute (later University of Louisiana at Lafayette), 54–0. Texas beat the Corpus Christi Naval Air Station, 18–7. Michigan beat the Great Lakes Naval Training Station, 9–0. Before its smallest crowd since 1933 (22,555) Ohio State defeated a service team, the Fort Knox Armoraiders, 59–0.[1] Iowa Pre-Flight won again, at Northwestern, 20-12.

October

October 3

Minnesota's winning streak ended when the defending national champs lost their first game in almost four years, to the Seahawks of Iowa Pre-Flight (who just happened to be coached that season by "former" Minnesota head coach Bernie Bierman who had taken leave from Minnesota to serve as an officer in the military during World War II), 7–6. Ohio State beat Indiana 32–21. Michigan beat Michigan State 20-0. Illinois defeated Butler 67-0. Texas beat LSU 27–14. Notre Dame lost to Georgia Tech 13-6. Georgia defeated Furman 40-7. Alabama beat Mississippi State 21-6. Duke lost at Wake Forest, 20–7.

October 10

Minnesota lost at Illinois, 20–13. Ohio State beat visiting USC, 28–12. Michigan lost to Iowa Pre-Flight, 26–14. Georgia beat Ole Miss, 48–13, at Memphis. In Mobile, Alabama defeated the Pensacola NAS, 27–0. Texas lost at Tulane, 18–7. In the poll that followed, the Top Five consisted of three teams from the Big Nine (#1 Ohio State, #3 Michigan, and #5 Illinois) and two from the SEC (#2 Georgia and #4 Alabama).

October 17

#1 Ohio State beat Purdue 26–0. #2 Georgia beat Tulane 40–0. #3 Michigan defeated Northwestern 34–16. In Birmingham, #4 Alabama beat #15 Tennessee, 8–0. #5 Illinois won at #19 Iowa, 12–7. Losing also that day was Iowa Pre-Flight, which sustained its first loss at Notre Dame, 28–0.

In the next poll, the Top Five shuffled slightly, with Alabama and Michigan trading places: Ohio State (#1), Georgia (#2), Alabama (#3), Michigan (#4), Illinois (#5).

October 24

#1 Ohio State won at Northwestern 20–6. #2 Georgia won at Cincinnati 35–13. #3 Alabama won at Kentucky, 14–0. #4 Michigan lost at #13 Minnesota, 16–14. #5 Illinois lost to #8 Notre Dame, 21–14. #6 Georgia Tech won at Navy, 21–0.

In the poll that followed, Notre Dame and Georgia Tech replaced Michigan and Illinois: Ohio State (#1), Georgia (#2), Alabama (#3), Notre Dame (#4), Georgia Tech (#5).

October 31

#1 Ohio State lost at #6 Wisconsin, 17-7. In Atlanta, #2 Georgia beat #3 Alabama, 21-10. #4 Notre Dame beat Navy in Cleveland, 9-0. #5 Georgia Tech won at Duke, 26-7. #7 Boston College beat Georgetown, 47-0. The Georgia Bulldogs took over first place in the poll that followed, and Wisconsin and Boston College moved in while Ohio State and Alabama fell out: 1. Georgia 2. Wisconsin 3. Georgia Tech 4. Notre Dame 5. Boston College.

November

November 7

In Jacksonville, #1 Georgia beat Florida, 75–0. #2 Wisconsin lost at unranked Iowa, 6–0. #3 Georgia Tech beat Kentucky 47–7. #4 Notre Dame beat Army 13–0 at Yankee Stadium. #5 Boston College beat Temple, 28–0. #8 Alabama beat South Carolina 29-0 and moved into the Top Five as Wisconsin dropped out. The nation's top two teams were Georgia and Georgia Tech: Georgia (#1), Georgia Tech (#2), Boston College (#3), Notre Dame (#4), Alabama (#5).

November 14

#1 Georgia won at Chattanooga, 40–0. In Atlanta, #2 Georgia Tech beat #5 Alabama 7-0. #3 Boston College beat Fordham at home, 56–6. #4 Notre Dame lost to #6 Michigan, 32–20, while in Cleveland, #10 Ohio State beat #13 Illinois 44–20. The poll: Georgia (#1), Georgia Tech (#2), Boston College (#3), Michigan (#4), Ohio State (#5).

November 21

In Columbus, Georgia, #1 Georgia lost to unranked Auburn, 27-13. #2 Georgia Tech beat Florida 20–7. #3 Boston College defeated Boston University, 37–0. #4 Michigan and #5 Ohio State met in Columbus, with OSU winning 21–7, capturing the Big Nine championship. #7 Wisconsin beat #10 Minnesota 21–6 to finish its season at 8–1–1. In the next poll, the Boston College Eagles were #1: Boston College (#1), Georgia Tech (#2), Ohio State (#3), Wisconsin (#4), Georgia (#5).

November 28

#1 Boston College lost to unranked Holy Cross, 55–12. #2 Georgia Tech visited #5 Georgia, and lost 34–0. #3 Ohio State defeated the Iowa Pre-Flight Seahawks, 41–12, finishing 9–1–0 and capturing the #1 ranking in the final AP poll.

Conference standings

Major conference standings
1942 Big Six Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Missouri $ 4 –0 –1  8 –3 –1
Oklahoma 3 –1 –1  3 –5 –2
Nebraska 3 –2 –0  3 –7 –0
Kansas State 2 –3 –0  3 –8 –0
Iowa State 1 –4 –0  3 –6 –0
Kansas 1 –4 –0  2 –8 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
1942 Big Ten football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 1 Ohio State $ 5 –1 –0  9 –1 –0
No. 3 Wisconsin 4 –1 –0  8 –1 –1
No. 9 Michigan 3 –2 –0  7 –3 –0
Illinois 3 –2 –0  6 –4 –0
Iowa 3 –3 –0  6 –4 –0
No. 19 Minnesota 3 –3 –0  5 –4 –0
Indiana 2 –2 –0  7 –3 –0
Purdue 1 –4 –0  1 –8 –0
Northwestern 0 –6 –0  1 –9 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1942 Border Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Hardin–Simmons + 4 –0 –1  9 –1 –1
Texas Tech + 3 –0 –1  4 –5 –1
West Texas State 5 –2 –0  7 –2 –0
Arizona 4 –2 –0  6 –4 –0
Texas Mines 4 –3 –0  5 –4 –0
New Mexico 3 –4 –0  4 –5 –2
Arizona State 2 –5 –0  2 –8 –0
Arizona State–Flagstaff 1 –4 –0  1 –5 –0
New Mexico A&M 0 –6 –0  1 –8 –0
  • + – Conference co-champions
1942 Middle Three Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Lehigh + 1 –0 –1  5 –2 –1
Lafayette + 1 –0 –1  3 –5 –1
Rutgers 0 –2 –0  3 –4 –1
  • $ – Conference champion
1942 Missouri Valley Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 4 Tulsa $ 5 –0 –0  10 –1 –0
Oklahoma A&M 4 –1 –0  6 –3 –1
Washington University 2 –3 –0  5 –5 –0
Saint Louis 2 –3 –0  4 –5 –0
Creighton 1 –4 –0  5 –4 –0
Drake 1 –4 –0  3 –7 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1942 Mountain States Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Colorado + 5 –1 –0  7 –2 –0
Utah + 5 –1 –0  6 –3 –0
Denver 3 –2 –1  6 –3 –1
Utah State 2 –3 –1  6 –3 –1
Colorado A&M 2 –3 –0  4 –3 –0
BYU 1 –4 –0  2 –5 –0
Wyoming 1 –5 –0  3 –5 –0
  • + – Conference co-champions
1942 Pacific Coast Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 13 UCLA $ 6 –1 –0  7 –4 –0
Washington State 5 –1 –1  6 –2 –2
No. 12 Stanford 5 –2 –0  6 –4 –0
USC 4 –2 –1  5 –5 –1
Oregon State 4 –4 –0  4 –5 –1
Washington 3 –3 –2  4 –3 –3
California 3 –4 –0  5 –5 –0
Oregon 2 –5 –0  2 –6 –0
Idaho 1 –5 –0  3 –7 –0
Montana 0 –6 –0  0 –8 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1942 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 2 Georgia $ 6 –1 –0  11 –1 –0
No. 5 Georgia Tech 4 –1 –0  9 –2 –0
No. 7 Tennessee 4 –1 –0  9 –1 –1
No. 18 Mississippi State 5 –2 –0  8 –2 –0
No. 10 Alabama 4 –2 –0  8 –3 –0
LSU 3 –2 –0  7 –3 –0
No. 16 Auburn 3 –3 –0  6 –4 –1
Vanderbilt 2 –4 –0  6 –4 –0
Florida 1 –3 –0  3 –7 –0
Tulane 1 –4 –0  4 –5 –0
Kentucky 0 –5 –0  3 –6 –1
Ole Miss 0 –5 –0  2 –7 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1942 Southern Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 14 William & Mary $ 4 –0 –0  9 –1 –1
VPI 5 –1 –0  7 –2 –1
Wake Forest 5 –1 –1  6 –2 –1
North Carolina 3 –1 –1  5 –2 –2
Duke 3 –1 –1  5 –4 –1
NC State 3 –1 –2  4 –4 –2
Furman 3 –3 –0  3 –6 –0
The Citadel 2 –2 –0  5 –2 –0
Clemson 2 –3 –1  3 –6 –1
Davidson 2 –4 –1  2 –6 –1
VMI 2 –4 –1  3 –5 –1
George Washington 2 –4 –0  3 –6 –0
Maryland 1 –2 –0  7 –2 –0
South Carolina 1 –4 –0  1 –7 –1
Richmond 1 –5 –0  3 –6 –1
Washington and Lee 0 –4 –0  1 –8 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
1942 Southwest Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 11 Texas $ 5 –1 –0  9 –2 –0
Rice 4 –1 –1  7 –2 –1
TCU 4 –2 –0  7 –3 –0
Baylor 3 –2 –1  6 –4 –1
Texas A&M 2 –3 –1  4 –5 –1
SMU 1 –4 –1  3 –6 –2
Arkansas 0 –6 –0  3 –7 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Independents
1942 Eastern college football independents records
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 19 Penn State   –    6 –1 –1
No. 8 Boston College   –    8 –2 –0
Buffalo   –    6 –2 –0
Colgate   –    6 –2 –1
Army   –    6 –3 –0
Syracuse   –    6 –3 –0
Duquesne   –    6 –3 –1
Yale   –    5 –3 –0
Fordham   –    5 –3 –1
Penn   –    5 –3 –1
No. 19 Holy Cross   –    5 –4 –1
Brown   –    4 –4 –0
Carnegie Tech   –    3 –3 –0
Villanova   –    4 –4 –0
Cornell   –    3 –5 –1
Princeton   –    3 –5 –1
Temple   –    2 –5 –3
Columbia   –    3 –6 –0
Pittsburgh   –    3 –6 –0
Tufts   –    2 –5 –1
Franklin & Marshall   –    1 –4 –2
Massachusetts State   –    2 –5 –0
Harvard   –    2 –6 –1
Drexel   –    2 –6 –0
Manhattan   –    2 –6 –0
Rankings from AP Poll
1942 Midwestern college football independents records
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Central Michigan   –    6 –0 –0
Western Michigan   –    5 –1 –0
Cincinnati   –    8 –2 –0
Dayton   –    8 –2 –0
Marquette   –    7 –2 –0
No. 6 Notre Dame   –    7 –2 –2
Bowling Green   –    6 –2 –1
Ohio   –    5 –3 –0
Detroit   –    5 –4 –0
Wichita   –    5 –4 –0
Michigan State   –    4 –3 –2
Michigan State Normal   –    3 –3 –1
Ohio Wesleyan   –    4 –4 –0
Miami (OH)   –    3 –6 –0
Wayne   –    1 –6 –1
Akron   –    0 –7 –2
Rankings from AP Poll
1942 Southern college football independents records
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Delaware   –    8 –0 –0
Mississippi Southern   –    4 –0 –0
Miami (FL)   –    7 –2 –0
Chattanooga   –    7 –4 –0
Georgetown   –    5 –3 –1
Navy   –    5 –4 –0
West Virginia   –    5 –4 –0
Western Maryland   –    4 –4 –1
Virginia   –    2 –6 –1
1942 Western college football independents records
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 17 Santa Clara   –    7 –2 –0
Saint Mary's   –    6 –3 –1
San Francisco   –    6 –4 –0
Portland   –    5 –1 –0
Loyola (CA)   –    5 –4 –1
Idaho Southern Branch   –    4 –2 –0
Nevada   –    4 –3 –1
Cal Poly   –    4 –3 –0
San Francisco State   –    0 –6 –0
Rankings from AP Poll
1942 military service football records
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Second Air Force   –    11 –0 –1
Manhattan Beach Coast Guard   –    6 –0 –1
Georgia Pre-Flight   –    7 –1 –1
North Carolina Pre-Flight   –    8 –2 –1
Jacksonville NAS   –    9 –3 –0
Great Lakes Navy   –    8 –3 –1
March Field   –    5 –2 –0
Iowa Pre-Flight   –    7 –3 –1
Fort Riley   –    6 –3 –0
Saint Mary's Pre-Flight   –    6 –3 –1
Albuquerque AB   –    4 –3 –0
Corpus Christi NAS   –    4 –3 –1
Camp Davis   –    4 –3 –2
Lakehurst NAS   –    4 –4 –1
Camp Grant   –    4 –5 –0
Pensacola NAS   –    3 –5 –1
Camp Pickett   –    1 –6 –0
Alameda Coast Guard   –    1 –7 –1

Minor conferences
Conference Champion(s) Record
California Collegiate Athletic Association Fresno State Normal 2–0
Central Intercollegiate Athletics Association Morgan State College 5–1–1
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Pittsburg State 5–0
Far Western Conference Pacific (CA) 2–0
Indiana Intercollegiate Conference Indiana State-Muncee 5–0
Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Dubuque 8–0
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference Baker 6–0
Lone Star Conference East Texas State Teachers 2–0–1
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Alma 4–0
Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference Lawrence 5–0–0
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Saint Thomas (MN) 5–0
Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association Northwest Missouri State Teachers
Southeast Missouri State Teachers		 3–1
Nebraska College Athletic Conference Doane 4–0
Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Association Nebraska State Teachers (UN–Kearney) 2–1
New Mexico Intercollegiate Conference New Mexico State Teachers 1–0
North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Augustana (SD)
Iowa State Teachers (Northern Iowa)		 4–0
5–0
North Dakota College Athletic Conference North Dakota Science 5–0
Ohio Athletic Conference Ohio Northern 5–0–1
Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference Central State College (OK) 2–0
Pacific Northwest Conference Willamette 4–0
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference East Stroudsburg State Teachers 4–0
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Colorado Mines 2–0
South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference Augustana (SD) 2–0
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Occidental
Pomona-Pitzer
Whittier		 2–1
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Florida A&M College 7–0
Southwestern Athletic Conference Texas College 4–0
State Teacher's College Conference of Minnesota Mankato State Teachers
St. Cloud State Teachers		 4–0
Texas Collegiate Athletic Conference Howard Payne 4–0
Washington Intercollegiate Conference Central Washington College 4–1–1
Wisconsin State Teachers College Conference North: La Crosse Teachers
South: Platteville State Teachers		 4–0
3–0–1

Minor conference standings
1942 California Collegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Fresno State $ 2 –0 –0  9 –1 –0
San Jose State 1 –1 –0  7 –2 –0
San Diego State 0 –2 –0  0 –6 –1
  • $ – Conference champion
1942 Far Western Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Pacific (CA) $ 2 –0 –0  2 –6 –1
Chico State 1 –1 –0  5 –1 –0
Cal Aggies 0 –2 –0  1 –6 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
1941 Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Western Illinois $ 3 –0 –1  5 –0 –2
Northern Illinois State 2 –0 –2  4 –2 –2
Illinois State 2 –1 –1  2 –5 –1
Southern Illinois 1 –3 –0  2 –4 –0
Eastern Illinois 0 –4 –0  1 –7 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
1942 Lone Star Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
East Texas State $ 2 –0 –1  4 –3 –1
Sam Houston State 2 –1 –0  5 –3 –0
North Texas State 1 –2 –0  3 –5 –0
Southwest Texas State 0 –2 –1  3 –4 –1
  • $ – Conference champion
1942 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Alma $ 4 –0 –0  7 –0 –0
Kalamazoo 2 –2 –0  4 –3 –0
Albion 2 –2 –0  4 –4 –0
Hillsdale 1 –3 –0  3 –5 –0
Hope 1 –3 –0  1 –4 –2
  • $ – Conference champion
1942 New England Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
New Hampshire + 3 –0 –0  6 –0 –0
Connecticut + 2 –0 –0  6 –2 –0
Northeastern 0 –1 –0  0 –5 –1
Rhode Island State 0 –2 –0  3 –3 –0
Maine 0 –2 –0  2 –4 –0
  • + – Conference co-champions
1942 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Texas College $   –      –  
  • $ – Conference champion
1942 Texas Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
Howard Payne $ 4 –0 –0  7 –2 –0
Abilene Christian 3 –1 –0  6 –2 –0
Southwestern (TX) 2 –2 –0  6 –4 –0
McMurry 1 –3 –0  2 –6 –0
Austin 0 –4 –0  0 –8 –0
  • $ – Conference champion

Rankings
Main article: 1942 NCAA football rankings

Bowl games
Bowl game Winning team Losing team
Rose Bowl No. 2 Georgia 9 No. 13 UCLA 0
Sugar Bowl No. 7 Tennessee 14 No. 4 Tulsa 7
Orange Bowl No. 10 Alabama 37 No. 8 Boston College 21
Cotton Bowl Classic No. 11 Texas 14 No. 5 Georgia Tech 7
Sun Bowl Second Air Force 13 Hardin–Simmons 7

See also

References
  1. "Ohio State Triumphs Over Fort Knox Soldiers," The Sunday Times-Signal (Zanesville, O.), Sep. 27, 1942, pII-6
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