1940 college football season

1940 college football season
First AP No. 1 of season	Cornell[1]
Number of bowls	5
Champion(s)	Minnesota (AP) Boston College (various) Tennessee (various) Stanford (Helms, Poling)
Heisman	Tom Harmon, (halfback, Michigan)
← 1939 · football seasons · 1941 →

The 1940 college football season ended with the Gophers of the University of Minnesota being named the nation's No. 1 team and national champion by the AP Poll, and the Stanford University Indians 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. Minnesota, Stanford, Boston College, and Tennessee all claim 1940 as a national championship season.

Conference and program changes[]

Conference changes[]

• One conference began play during 1940:
  • New Mexico Intercollegiate Conference – an NCAA College Division and NAIA conference active through the 1962 season; later known as the Frontier Conference
• One conference played its final season in 1940:
  • Alamo Conference – conference active since the 1936 season

Membership changes[]

School	1939 Conference	1940 Conference
Chicago Maroons	Big Ten	Dropped Program
Loyola (LA) Wolf Pack	Dixie	Dropped Program
St. Joseph's (PA) Hawks	Independent	Dropped Program

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 beat Duke 13–0. Cornell beat Colgate 34–0. Northwestern won at Syracuse, 40–0. Minnesota beat Nebraska 13–7. Michigan beat Michigan State 21–14.

October 12 Cornell won at Army 45–0. In Los Angeles, Texas A&M beat UCLA, 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 No. 1 Cornell beat Syracuse 33–6. No. 2 Texas A&M beat TCU 21–7. No. 3 Michigan beat Illinois 28–0. No. 4 Northwestern won at Wisconsin 27–7. In Birmingham, No. 5 Tennessee beat Alabama, 27–12. In Columbus, No. 7 Minnesota beat No. 15 Ohio State 13–7. No. 6 Notre Dame beat Carnegie Tech 61–0.

October 26 No. 1 Cornell beat Ohio State 21–7. No. 2 Notre Dame won at Illinois 26–0. No. 3 Michigan beat Pennsylvania 14–0. No. 4 Texas A&M won at Baylor 14–7. No. 5 Tennessee beat Florida 14–0. No. 6 Minnesota beat Iowa 34–6.

November[]

November 2 No. 1 Cornell beat Columbia 27–0. No. 2 Notre Dame beat Army 7–0 at Yankee Stadium. No. 3 Michigan was idle. No. 4 Minnesota narrowly won at Northwestern, 13–12. No. 5 Texas A&M beat Arkansas 17–0. No. 7 Tennessee beat LSU 28–0.

November 9 No. 1 Cornell beat Yale 21–0, but dropped to second in the next poll. No. 2 Minnesota and No. 3 Michigan both unbeaten (5–0–0) met in Minneapolis, with the Gophers winning by one point, 7–6. No. 4 Texas A&M won at SMU 19–7. No. 5 Tennessee won at Rhodes College 41–0. No. 6 Stanford beat Washington 20–10 to advance its record to 7–0–0.

November 16 No. 1 Minnesota beat Purdue 33–6. No. 2 Cornell lost at Dartmouth 3–0. No. 3 Texas A&M beat Rice 25–0. No. 4 Stanford beat Oregon State 28–14. No. 5 Tennessee beat Virginia 41–14. No. 8 Boston College beat Georgetown 19–18 to extend its record to 8–0–0

November 23 No. 1 Minnesota closed its season with a 22–13 win at Wisconsin. No. 2 Texas A&M and No. 3 Stanford were idle. No. 4 Boston College beat Auburn 33–7. No. 5 Cornell. No. 7 Michigan won at Ohio State to close its season at 7–1–0.

On Thanksgiving Day No. 2 Texas A&M lost at Texas 7–0.

November 30 No. 3 Stanford closed its season with a 13–7 win at California. No. 4 Boston College defeated Holy Cross 7–0.

Conference standings[]

Major conference standings[]

1940 Big Six Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 7 Nebraska $ 5 – 0 – 0     8 – 2 – 0 Oklahoma 4 – 1 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 Missouri 3 – 2 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 Iowa State 2 – 3 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 Kansas State 1 – 4 – 0     2 – 7 – 0 Kansas 0 – 5 – 0     2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1940 Big Ten football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 1 Minnesota $ 6 – 0 – 0     8 – 0 – 0 No. 3 Michigan 3 – 1 – 0     7 – 1 – 0 No. 8 Northwestern 4 – 2 – 0     6 – 2 – 0 Ohio State 3 – 3 – 0     4 – 4 – 0 Wisconsin 3 – 3 – 0     4 – 4 – 0 Iowa 2 – 3 – 0     4 – 4 – 0 Indiana 2 – 3 – 0     3 – 5 – 0 Purdue 1 – 4 – 0     2 – 6 – 0 Illinois 0 – 5 – 0     1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1940 Border Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Arizona State $ 3 – 0 – 1     7 – 2 – 2 Arizona 3 – 1 – 0     7 – 2 – 0 Texas Mines 3 – 1 – 1     4 – 4 – 1 New Mexico 3 – 2 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 New Mexico A&M 1 – 4 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Texas Tech 0 – 1 – 0     9 – 1 – 1 Arizona State–Flagstaff 0 – 5 – 0     2 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1940 Middle Three Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 19 Lafayette $ 2 – 0 – 0     9 – 0 – 0 Rutgers 1 – 1 – 0     5 – 3 – 0 Lehigh 0 – 2 – 0     2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1940 Missouri Valley Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Tulsa $ 4 – 0 – 0     7 – 3 – 0 Oklahoma A&M 4 – 1 – 0     6 – 3 – 1 Creighton 2 – 2 – 0     6 – 2 – 2 Drake 2 – 2 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 Washington University 1 – 3 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Saint Louis 1 – 3 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Washburn 0 – 4 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1940 Mountain States Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Utah $ 5 – 1 – 0     7 – 2 – 0 Denver 4 – 1 – 1     6 – 2 – 1 Colorado 4 – 1 – 1     5 – 3 – 1 BYU 2 – 3 – 1     2 – 4 – 2 Colorado A&M 1 – 3 – 2     3 – 4 – 2 Utah State 2 – 4 – 0     2 – 5 – 1 Wyoming 0 – 5 – 1     1 – 7 – 1 $ – Conference champion
1940 Pacific Coast Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 2 Stanford $ 7 – 0 – 0     10 – 0 – 0 No. 10 Washington 7 – 1 – 0     7 – 2 – 0 Oregon State 4 – 3 – 1     5 – 3 – 1 Washington State 3 – 4 – 2     4 – 4 – 2 Oregon 3 – 4 – 1     4 – 4 – 1 California 3 – 4 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 USC 2 – 3 – 2     3 – 4 – 2 Montana 1 – 2 – 0     4 – 4 – 1 UCLA 1 – 6 – 0     1 – 9 – 0 Idaho 0 – 4 – 0     1 – 7 – 1 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1940 Rocky Mountain Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Colorado College $ 2 – 0 – 1     5 – 2 – 1 Colorado Mines 3 – 1 – 0     3 – 4 – 0 Montana State 2 – 1 – 0     4 – 4 – 0 Colorado State–Greeley 1 – 3 – 0     2 – 5 – 1 Western State (CO) 0 – 3 – 1     2 – 6 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1940 Southeastern Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 4 Tennessee $ 5 – 0 – 0     10 – 1 – 0 No. 9 Mississippi State 4 – 0 – 1     10 – 0 – 1 Ole Miss 3 – 1 – 0     9 – 2 – 0 Alabama 4 – 2 – 0     7 – 2 – 0 Auburn 3 – 2 – 1     6 – 4 – 1 LSU 3 – 3 – 0     6 – 4 – 0 Georgia 2 – 3 – 1     5 – 4 – 1 Florida 2 – 3 – 0     5 – 5 – 0 Kentucky 1 – 2 – 2     5 – 3 – 2 Tulane 1 – 3 – 0     5 – 5 – 0 Vanderbilt 1 – 5 – 1     3 – 6 – 1 Georgia Tech 1 – 5 – 0     3 – 7 – 0 Sewanee 0 – 1 – 0     3 – 5 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll
1940 Southern Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Clemson $ 4 – 0 – 0     6 – 2 – 1 No. 18 Duke 4 – 1 – 0     7 – 2 – 0 Wake Forest 4 – 2 – 0     7 – 3 – 0 William & Mary 2 – 1 – 1     6 – 2 – 1 North Carolina 3 – 2 – 0     6 – 4 – 0 Richmond 3 – 2 – 0     7 – 3 – 0 VMI 3 – 2 – 1     7 – 2 – 1 Furman 4 – 3 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 Washington and Lee 1 – 1 – 1     2 – 7 – 1 VPI 2 – 3 – 0     5 – 5 – 0 NC State 3 – 5 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Maryland 0 – 1 – 1     2 – 6 – 1 South Carolina 1 – 3 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Davidson 1 – 5 – 0     5 – 5 – 0 The Citadel 0 – 4 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1940 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Rollins $ 6 – 0 – 0     8 – 1 – 0 Newberry 4 – 0 – 0     7 – 2 – 1 Mississippi College 2 – 0 – 0     5 – 1 – 1 Eastern Kentucky 1 – 0 – 0     8 – 0 – 0 Western Kentucky 4 – 1 – 1     7 – 1 – 1 Louisiana Normal 4 – 1 – 1     6 – 3 – 1 SW Louisiana 4 – 1 – 0     6 – 3 – 1 Union (TN) 3 – 1 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 Georgetown (KY) 2 – 1 – 0     5 – 3 – 2 Murray State 4 – 2 – 1     4 – 3 – 2 Centre 2 – 1 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Miami (FL) 2 – 1 – 0     3 – 7 – 0 Presbyterian 5 – 3 – 0     6 – 4 – 0 Mississippi Southern 3 – 2 – 0     7 – 4 – 0 Louisiana Tech 3 – 2 – 0     6 – 4 – 0 West Tennessee State 4 – 3 – 0     5 – 5 – 0 Morehead State 1 – 1 – 2     3 – 3 – 2 Wofford 2 – 2 – 1     3 – 4 – 2 Middle Tennessee 2 – 4 – 0     4 – 4 – 0 Tampa 2 – 4 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Oglethorpe 2 – 4 – 0     2 – 6 – 0 Tennessee Tech 1 – 2 – 0     2 – 6 – 0 Transylvania 1 – 2 – 1     5 – 3 – 1 Stetson 2 – 5 – 1     2 – 5 – 1 Troy State 1 – 3 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Louisiana College 1 – 4 – 2     2 – 5 – 2 Union (KY) 0 – 1 – 1     5 – 1 – 1 Centenary 0 – 2 – 0     3 – 7 – 0 Louisville 0 – 2 – 0     3 – 5 – 1 Jacksonville State 0 – 2 – 0     3 – 5 – 0 Erskine 0 – 5 – 0     1 – 8 – 0 Delta State 0 – 5 – 1     0 – 8 – 2 $ – Conference champion	1940 Southwest Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 6 Texas A&M 5 – 1 – 0     9 – 1 – 0 No. 16 SMU 5 – 1 – 0     8 – 1 – 1 Texas 4 – 2 – 0     8 – 2 – 0 Rice 4 – 2 – 0     7 – 3 – 0 TCU 2 – 4 – 0     3 – 7 – 0 Arkansas 1 – 5 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 Baylor 0 – 6 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Independents[]

1940 Eastern college football independents records v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 5 Boston College   –       11 – 0 – 0 Duquesne   –       7 – 1 – 0 No. 14 Penn   –       6 – 1 – 1 Penn State   –       6 – 1 – 1 No. 12 Fordham   –       7 – 2 – 0 No. 15 Cornell   –       6 – 2 – 0 Princeton   –       5 – 2 – 1 Columbia   –       5 – 2 – 2 Brown   –       6 – 3 – 1 Bucknell   –       4 – 2 – 2 Boston University   –       5 – 3 – 0 Colgate   –       5 – 3 – 0 Hofstra   –       4 – 3 – 0 Harvard   –       3 – 2 – 3 Dartmouth   –       5 – 4 – 0 Temple   –       4 – 4 – 1 Tufts   –       4 – 4 – 0 Vermont   –       4 – 4 – 0 Villanova   –       4 – 5 – 0 Pittsburgh   –       3 – 4 – 1 Syracuse   –       3 – 4 – 1 Buffalo   –       3 – 5 – 0 Carnegie Tech   –       3 – 5 – 0 Manhattan   –       3 – 6 – 0 NYU   –       2 – 7 – 0 Yale   –       1 – 7 – 0 Army   –       1 – 7 – 1 CCNY   –       1 – 5 – 1 Massachusetts State   –       1 – 8 – 0 Rankings from AP Poll	1940 Midwestern college football independents records v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Wayne   –       4 – 1 – 3 Detroit   –       7 – 2 – 0 Notre Dame   –       7 – 2 – 0 Xavier   –       7 – 3 – 0 Ohio   –       5 – 2 – 2 Dayton   –       6 – 3 – 0 Cincinnati   –       5 – 3 – 1 Wichita   –       6 – 4 – 0 Central Michigan   –       4 – 3 – 1 Marquette   –       4 – 4 – 0 Michigan State   –       3 – 4 – 1 Ohio Wesleyan   –       2 – 4 – 3 Akron   –       2 – 5 – 2 Western State (MI)   –       2 – 5 – 0 Michigan State Normal   –       1 – 5 – 1 Miami (OH)   –       0 – 7 – 1	1940 Southern college football independents records v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 17 Hardin–Simmons   –       9 – 0 – 0 No. 13 Georgetown   –       8 – 2 – 0 Marshall   –       8 – 2 – 0 Navy   –       6 – 2 – 1 Delaware   –       5 – 3 – 0 East Carolina   –       5 – 3 – 0 Western Maryland   –       5 – 3 – 0 George Washington   –       5 – 3 – 1 Catholic University   –       4 – 3 – 1 West Virginia   –       4 – 4 – 1 Virginia   –       4 – 5 – 0 Georgia Teachers   –       3 – 5 – 0 Oklahoma City   –       1 – 7 – 3 William & Mary Norfolk Division   –       0 – 6 – 0 Rankings from AP Poll
1940 Western college football independents records v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T No. 11 Santa Clara   –       6 – 1 – 1 Cal Poly   –       6 – 3 – 0 Saint Mary's   –       5 – 3 – 0 Gonzaga   –       5 – 4 – 1 Nevada   –       4 – 4 – 1 Humboldt State   –       3 – 4 – 0 Idaho Southern Branch   –       3 – 5 – 0 San Francisco State   –       3 – 5 – 0 Loyola (CA)   –       3 – 7 – 0 Portland   –       2 – 3 – 1 Hawaii   –       2 – 5 – 0 San Francisco   –       1 – 6 – 1 La Verne   –       0 – 6 – 0 Rankings from AP Poll

Minor conferences[]

Conference	Champion(s)	Record
Alamo Conference	West Texas State Teachers	2–0
California Collegiate Athletic Association	San Jose State	3–0
Central Intercollegiate Athletics Association	Morgan State College	6–0–1
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	St. Benedict's (KS)	4–0
Far Western Conference	Pacific (OR)	2–0
Indiana Intercollegiate Conference	Butler Manchester College	4–0
Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Dubuque	7–0
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference	Kansas Wesleyan	5–1
Lone Star Conference	North Texas State Teachers	4–0
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association	Albion	5–0
Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference	Beloit	5–1–1
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Gustavus Adolphus	5–0
Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association	Southwest Missouri State Teachers	5–0
Nebraska College Athletic Conference	Doane Hastings	3–1
Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Association	Nebraska State Teachers	2–0–1
New Mexico Intercollegiate Conference	Western New Mexico	3–0
North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Iowa State Teachers	5–0
North Dakota College Athletic Conference	Mayville State	6–0
Northern Teachers Athletic Conference	St. Cloud State Teachers	4–0
Ohio Athletic Conference	Wittenberg	6–0
Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference	Oklahoma Baptist	5–0–1
Pacific Northwest Conference	Willamette	4–0
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference	Indiana State Teachers Millersville State Teachers	7–1 4–0
Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference	Colorado College	2–0–1
South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference	Northern State Teachers	3–0
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Redlands	3–0–1
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Morris Brown	6–1
Southwestern Athletic Conference	Langston Southern	5–1
Texas Collegiate Athletic Conference	Abilene Christian Howard Payne Texas Western	5–1
Washington Intercollegiate Conference	Pacific Lutheran	4–0–1
Wisconsin State Teachers College Conference	North: La Crosse Teachers South: Whitewater State Teachers	4–0 4–0

Minor conference standings[]

1940 Alamo Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T West Texas State $ 2 – 0 – 0     7 – 3 – 0 Texas A&I 1 – 1 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 St. Mary's (TX) 0 – 2 – 0     4 – 6 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1940 California Collegiate Athletic Association football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T San Jose State $ 3 – 0 – 0     11 – 1 – 0 Fresno State 1 – 1 – 1     9 – 2 – 1 San Diego State 1 – 1 – 1     5 – 3 – 1 Santa Barbara State 0 – 3 – 0     5 – 5 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1940 Central Intercollegiate Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T St. Benedict's $ 4 – 0 – 0     6 – 4 – 0 Emporia State 3 – 1 – 0     6 – 2 – 0 Fort Hays State 1 – 3 – 0     3 – 3 – 3 Southwestern (KS) 1 – 3 – 0     3 – 5 – 1 Pittsburg State 1 – 3 – 0     3 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1940 Colored Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Morgan State $ 6 – 0 – 1     7 – 0 – 1 Johnson C. Smith 5 – 1 – 0     8 – 1 – 0 Virginia Union 4 – 2 – 2     5 – 2 – 2 North Carolina A&T 3 – 3 – 1     4 – 4 – 1 North Carolina College 4 – 2 – 0     5 – 2 – 1 Bluefield State 2 – 4 – 1     2 – 6 – 1 Virginia State 2 – 3 – 2     3 – 3 – 2 Shaw 2 – 4 – 2     2 – 4 – 2 Hampton 3 – 4 – 1     3 – 4 – 1 Saint Paul's (VA) 2 – 6 – 0     2 – 6 – 0 Howard 1 – 6 – 0     1 – 7 – 0 Lincoln (PA) 4 – 1 – 0     7 – 1 – 0 St. Augustine's 0 – 3 – 0     2 – 3 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1940 Dixie Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Chattanooga + 3 – 0 – 1     7 – 1 – 1 Mississippi College + 3 – 0 – 1     5 – 1 – 1 Howard (AL) 4 – 1 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 Spring Hill 1 – 3 – 0     3 – 5 – 0 Southwestern (TN) 0 – 1 – 0     3 – 5 – 1 Millsaps 0 – 3 – 0     4 – 4 – 1 Mercer 0 – 3 – 0     1 – 7 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1940 Eastern Pennsylvania Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Franklin & Marshall $ 3 – 0 – 0     7 – 2 – 0 Muhlenberg 2 – 1 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 Gettysburg 2 – 2 – 0     4 – 4 – 0 Drexel 1 – 1 – 0     2 – 6 – 0 Ursinus 0 – 4 – 0     1 – 5 – 1 $ – Conference champion
1940 Far Western Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Pacific (CA) $ 2 – 0 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 Cal Aggies 2 – 1 – 0     4 – 4 – 1 Chico State 1 – 2 – 0     3 – 3 – 1 Humboldt State 0 – 2 – 0     3 – 4 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1940 Illinois College Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Lake Forest + 3 – 0 – 0     6 – 0 – 1 Illinois Wesleyan + 3 – 0 – 0     7 – 1 – 0 Augustana (IL) 2 – 1 – 1     4 – 2 – 2 Millikin 4 – 2 – 0     5 – 3 – 0 Knox (IL) 1 – 1 – 0     4 – 3 – 1 Monmouth (IL) 0 – 1 – 1     0 – 7 – 2 North Central (IL) 1 – 3 – 0     4 – 3 – 0 Wheaton (IL) 0 – 1 – 0     1 – 6 – 1 Bradley 0 – 2 – 0     4 – 4 – 0 Illinois College 0 – 3 – 0     4 – 4 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1940 Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Illinois State $ 4 – 0 – 0     5 – 3 – 1 Carthage 2 – 0 – 0     5 – 2 – 1 Eastern Illinois 4 – 1 – 0     6 – 1 – 1 Northern Illinois State 2 – 2 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 Elmhurst 1 – 2 – 0     2 – 5 – 1 Western Illinois 0 – 3 – 1     1 – 6 – 1 Southern Illinois 0 – 3 – 1     2 – 5 – 1 Eureka 0 – 2 – 0     2 – 5 – 1
1940 Indiana Intercollegiate Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Manchester + 4 – 0 – 0     5 – 2 – 1 Butler + 4 – 0 – 0     4 – 4 – 1 Evansville 4 – 1 – 0     5 – 3 – 0 Rose Poly 4 – 1 – 0     5 – 3 – 0 Saint Joseph's (IN) 3 – 1 – 0     4 – 2 – 1 Indiana State 2 – 1 – 0     5 – 2 – 1 Wabash 4 – 2 – 0     4 – 4 – 1 DePauw 3 – 3 – 0     3 – 4 – 0 Ball State 2 – 3 – 0     3 – 4 – 1 Valparaiso 2 – 3 – 0     3 – 4 – 1 Hanover 1 – 4 – 0     1 – 8 – 0 Earlham 1 – 4 – 1     1 – 5 – 1 Central Normal 0 – 4 – 1     0 – 5 – 1 Franklin (IN) 0 – 7 – 0     0 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1940 Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Dubuque $ 7 – 0 – 0     7 – 1 – 0 St. Ambrose * 2 – 0 – 1     8 – 0 – 1 Loras 4 – 1 – 1     6 – 2 – 2 Western Union 2 – 1 – 0     7 – 1 – 0 Central (IA) 5 – 3 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 Buena Vista 2 – 2 – 0     4 – 3 – 1 Parsons 3 – 3 – 1     4 – 4 – 1 Upper Iowa 3 – 3 – 0     3 – 3 – 0 Iowa Wesleyan 2 – 3 – 0     2 – 6 – 1 Luther 1 – 3 – 0     3 – 4 – 1 Simpson 1 – 4 – 1     1 – 7 – 1 Penn (IA) 1 – 5 – 0     2 – 6 – 0 Wartburg 0 – 5 – 0     0 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion * – ineligible for conference title	1940 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Kansas Wesleyan $ 5 – 0 – 1     6 – 1 – 2 Baker 4 – 2 – 0     5 – 3 – 0 Ottawa 3 – 2 – 1     4 – 4 – 1 Bethany (KS) 3 – 3 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 College of Emporia 2 – 4 – 0     2 – 6 – 1 McPherson 2 – 4 – 0     2 – 7 – 0 Bethel (KS) 1 – 5 – 0     4 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1940 Lone Star Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T North Texas State $ 4 – 0 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 Sam Houston State 3 – 1 – 0     8 – 2 – 0 East Texas State 2 – 2 – 0     4 – 4 – 0 Stephen F. Austin 1 – 3 – 0     4 – 5 – 0 Southwest Texas State 0 – 4 – 0     3 – 5 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1940 Louisiana Intercollegiate Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Southwestern Louisiana $ 4 – 0 – 0     6 – 3 – 1 Louisiana Normal 3 – 1 – 1     6 – 3 – 1 Louisiana Tech 3 – 2 – 0     6 – 4 – 0 Louisiana College 0 – 2 – 1     2 – 5 – 2 Centenary 0 – 2 – 0     3 – 7 – 0 Southeastern Louisiana 0 – 3 – 0     3 – 6 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1940 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Albion $ 5 – 0 – 0     7 – 1 – 0 Alma 4 – 1 – 0     5 – 2 – 0 Hope 2 – 2 – 1     3 – 3 – 1 Hillsdale 2 – 2 – 1     2 – 4 – 1 Adrian 1 – 4 – 0     1 – 7 – 0 Kalamazoo 0 – 5 – 0     1 – 6 – 1 $ – Conference champion
1940 Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Gustavus Adolphus $ 5 – 0 – 0     7 – 1 – 0 St. Thomas (MN) 4 – 1 – 0     5 – 3 – 0 Macalester 4 – 1 – 1     5 – 1 – 1 Saint Mary's (MN) 4 – 2 – 0     5 – 3 – 0 Saint John's (MN) 2 – 3 – 1     4 – 3 – 1 Concordia (MN) 2 – 3 – 0     4 – 4 – 1 Hamline 2 – 4 – 0     2 – 4 – 0 Augsburg 0 – 4 – 0     1 – 5 – 0 St. Olaf 0 – 5 – 0     0 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1940 Missouri College Athletic Union football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Culver–Stockton $ 4 – 0 – 0     4 – 2 – 1 Central Methodist 2 – 1 – 1     2 – 5 – 1 Missouri Valley 2 – 2 – 0     2 – 5 – 1 William Jewell 1 – 2 – 1     1 – 7 – 1 Tarkio 0 – 4 – 0     1 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1940 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T SW Missouri State $ 5 – 0 – 0     10 – 0 – 0 NW Missouri State 3 – 2 – 0     7 – 2 – 0 Missouri Mines 2 – 2 – 1     3 – 3 – 2 Central Missouri State 2 – 3 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 SE Missouri State 1 – 3 – 1     4 – 5 – 1 Kirksville State 1 – 4 – 0     4 – 4 – 1 $ – Conference champion
1940 Nebraska College Athletic Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Doane + 3 – 0 – 1     5 – 2 – 1 Hastings + 3 – 0 – 1     4 – 4 – 1 Midland 2 – 2 – 0     3 – 6 – 0 Nebraska Wesleyan 1 – 3 – 0     1 – 7 – 0 York (NE) 0 – 4 – 0     1 – 8 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1940 Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Peru State $ 2 – 0 – 1     7 – 0 – 2 Kearney State 2 – 1 – 0     7 – 2 – 0 Chadron State 1 – 2 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 Wayne State (NE) 0 – 2 – 1     4 – 5 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1940 New England Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T New Hampshire $ 2 – 0 – 0     5 – 3 – 0 Rhode Island State 2 – 1 – 0     5 – 3 – 0 Connecticut 1 – 2 – 0     4 – 4 – 0 Maine 1 – 2 – 0     1 – 6 – 0 Northeastern 0 – 1 – 0     2 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1940 North Central Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Iowa State Teachers $ 5 – 0 – 0     8 – 1 – 0 North Dakota 3 – 1 – 0     5 – 4 – 0 South Dakota 2 – 1 – 1     4 – 5 – 0 Morningside 2 – 2 – 1     3 – 2 – 2 South Dakota State 2 – 3 – 1     4 – 3 – 1 Omaha 1 – 3 – 1     2 – 3 – 2 North Dakota Agricultural 0 – 5 – 0     1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1940 North State Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Catawba $ 4 – 0 – 0     8 – 1 – 0 Elon 5 – 1 – 0     5 – 2 – 1 Lenoir–Rhyne 4 – 2 – 0     6 – 3 – 0 Appalachian State 2 – 2 – 0     6 – 4 – 0 High Point 2 – 3 – 0     5 – 4 – 1 Western Carolina 1 – 4 – 0     2 – 5 – 1 Guilford 0 – 6 – 0     0 – 9 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1940 Oklahoma Collegiate Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Oklahoma Baptist $ 5 – 0 – 1     8 – 2 – 1 SW Oklahoma State 4 – 2 – 0     8 – 2 – 0 SE Oklahoma State 3 – 2 – 1     7 – 2 – 1 East Central 3 – 2 – 1     7 – 2 – 2 Central State (OK) 2 – 2 – 2     2 – 5 – 2 NW Oklahoma State 0 – 4 – 2     3 – 6 – 2 Northeastern State 0 – 5 – 1     0 – 8 – 1 $ – Conference champion
1940 Smoky Mountain Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Milligan $ 5 – 0 – 0     9 – 0 – 0 Carson–Newman 4 – 1 – 0     4 – 4 – 0 East Tennessee State 3 – 3 – 0     4 – 4 – 0 Maryville 2 – 3 – 0     5 – 5 – 0 Cumberland (TN) 1 – 4 – 0     1 – 9 – 0 Tusculum 0 – 4 – 0     1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1940 South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Northern State $ 3 – 0 – 0     7 – 2 – 0 Spearfish 2 – 0 – 1     4 – 2 – 2 South Dakota Mines 1 – 1 – 1     2 – 5 – 1 Eastern Normal 1 – 2 – 0     1 – 5 – 0 Southern Normal 0 – 4 – 0     0 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1940 Southern California Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Redlands $ 3 – 0 – 1     4 – 4 – 1 Pomona 3 – 1 – 0     4 – 4 – 0 Occidental 2 – 2 – 0     3 – 4 – 1 Whittier 1 – 2 – 1     2 – 6 – 1 Caltech 0 – 4 – 0     2 – 5 – 1 $ – Conference champion
1940 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Southern +   –         –   Langston +   –         –   + – Conference co-champions	1940 Texas Conference football standings v t Conf     Overall Team W   L   T     W   L   T Abilene Christian + 5 – 1 – 0     7 – 2 – 0 Texas Wesleyan + 5 – 1 – 0     7 – 2 – 0 Howard Payne + 5 – 1 – 0     6 – 4 – 0 Austin 3 – 2 – 0     ? – ? – ? Trinity (TX) 4 – 3 – 0     4 – 5 – 1 Southwestern (TX) 2 – 5 – 0     5 – 6 – 0 McMurry 1 – 6 – 0     1 – 9 – 0 Daniel Baker 0 – 6 – 0     0 – 11 – 0 + – Conference co-champions

Rankings[]

Bowl games[]

Bowl game	Winning team		Losing team
Rose Bowl	No. 2 Stanford	21	No. 7 Nebraska	13
Sugar Bowl	No. 5 Boston College	19	No. 4 Tennessee	13
Orange Bowl	No. 9 Mississippi State	14	No. 13 Georgetown	7
Cotton Bowl Classic	No. 6 Texas A&M	20	No. 12 Fordham	12
Sun Bowl	Western Reserve	26	Arizona State[2]	13

See also[]

• 1940 College Football All-America Team

References[]