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1940–41 NCAA football bowl games

{{short description|College football postseason game series}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}

{{Infobox College football bowl games

| season = 1940

| regular_season =

| number_of_bowls = 5

| all_star_games = Blue–Gray Football Classic
East–West Shrine Game

| bowl_start = January 1, 1941

| bowl_end =

| champions = Minnesota Golden Gophers (AP)
Boston College Eagles (Various)
Tennessee Volunteers (Various)
Stanford Indians (Helms, Poling System)

| bowl_record_link = #Conference performance in bowl games

| conference1 = Independent

| conference1_teams = 3

| conference1_wins = 1

| conference1_losses = 2

| conference1_ap_poll = 7

| conference2 = SEC

| conference2_teams = 2

| conference2_wins = 1

| conference2_losses = 1

| conference2_ap_poll = 2

| conference3 = Big Four

| conference3_teams = 1

| conference3_wins = 1

| conference3_losses = 0

| conference3_ap_poll = 0

| conference4 = PCC

| conference4_teams = 1

| conference4_wins = 1

| conference4_losses = 0

| conference4_ap_poll = 2

| conference5 = SWC

| conference5_teams = 1

| conference5_wins = 1

| conference5_losses = 0

| conference5_ap_poll = 2

| conference6 = Big Six

| conference6_teams = 1

| conference6_wins = 0

| conference6_losses = 1

| conference6_ap_poll = 1

| conference7 = Border

| conference7_teams = 1

| conference7_wins = 0

| conference7_losses = 1

| conference7_ap_poll = 0

| conference8 = Big Ten

| conference8_teams = 0

| conference8_wins = 0

| conference8_losses = 0

| conference8_ap_poll = 3

| conference9 = Middle Three

| conference9_teams = 0

| conference9_wins = 0

| conference9_losses = 0

| conference9_ap_poll = 1

| conference10 = Southern

| conference10_teams = 0

| conference10_wins = 0

| conference10_losses = 0

| conference10_ap_poll = 1

| Note = The final AP poll ranked 19 teams.

}}

The 1940–41 NCAA football bowl games were the final games of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) 1940 college football season and featured five bowl games, each of which had been held the previous season. All five bowls were played on January 1, 1941. The national championship, according to recognized selectors, was split by Minnesota, Boston College, Tennessee, and Stanford.

Poll rankings

{{see also|1940 college football rankings}}

The below table lists top teams (per the AP poll taken after the completion of the regular season), their win–loss records (prior to bowl games), and the bowls they later played in.{{cite web |url=http://www.collegepollarchive.com/football/ap/seasons.cfm?seasonid=1940 |title=1940 Final AP Football Poll |website=collegepollarchive.com |accessdate=December 15, 2024 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027074144/http://www.collegepollarchive.com/football/ap/seasons.cfm?seasonid=1940 |archivedate=October 27, 2014 |via=Wayback Machine}}

class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:90%;"

! AP !! Team !! W–L !! Conf. !! Bowl

{{center|1}}Minnesota Golden Gophers{{center|8–0}}Big Ten{{mdash}} {{dagger}}
{{center|2}}Stanford Indians{{center|9–0}}PCCRose Bowl
{{center|3}}Michigan Wolverines{{center|7–1}}Big Ten{{mdash}} {{dagger}}
{{center|4}}Tennessee Volunteers{{center|10–0}}SECSugar Bowl
{{center|5}}Boston College Eagles{{center|10–0}}Ind.Sugar Bowl
{{center|6}}Texas A&M Aggies{{center|8–1}}SWCCotton Bowl Classic
{{center|7}}Nebraska Cornhuskers{{center|8–1}}Big SixRose Bowl
{{center|8}}Northwestern Wildcats{{center|6–2}}Big Ten{{mdash}} {{dagger}}
{{center|9}}Mississippi State Maroons{{center|8–0–1}}SECOrange Bowl
{{center|10}}Washington Huskies{{center|7–2}}PCC{{mdash}}
{{center|11}}Santa Clara Broncos{{center|6–1–1}}Ind.{{mdash}}
{{center|12}}Fordham Rams{{center|7–1}}Ind.Cotton Bowl Classic
{{center|13}}Georgetown Hoyas{{center|8–1}}Ind.Orange Bowl
{{center|14}}Penn Quakers{{center|6–1–1}}Ind.{{mdash}}
{{center|15}}Cornell Big Red{{center|6–2}}Ind.{{mdash}}
{{center|16}}SMU Mustangs{{center|7–1–1}}SWC{{mdash}}
{{center|17}}Hardin–Simmons Cowboys{{center|8–0}}Ind.{{mdash}}
{{center|18}}Duke Blue Devils{{center|7–2}}Southern{{mdash}}
{{center|19}}Lafayette Leopards{{center|9–0}}Middle Three{{mdash}}
{{center|20}}{{sort|zzz|{{mdash}}}}{{sort|0|{{mdash}}}}{{sort|zzz|{{mdash}}}}{{mdash}}

Note: Only 19 teams received votes in the final poll.

{{dagger}} The Big Ten Conference did not allow its members to participate in bowl games until the 1947 Rose Bowl.

Bowl schedule

class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%;"
Date

!Game

!Site

!Teams

!Affiliations

!Results

style=white-space:nowrap rowspan=5| Jan. 1

|Rose Bowl

|Rose Bowl
Pasadena, California

|#2 Stanford Indians (9–0)
#7 Nebraska Cornhuskers (8–1)

|PCC
Big Six

| Stanford 21
Nebraska 13

Sugar Bowl

|Tulane Stadium
New Orleans, Louisiana

|#5 Boston College Eagles (10–0)
#4 Tennessee Volunteers (10–0)

|Independent
SEC

|Boston College 19
Tennessee 13

Orange Bowl

|Burdine Stadium
Miami, Florida

|#9 Mississippi State Maroons (9–0–1)
#13 Georgetown Hoyas (8–1)

|SEC
Independent

|Mississippi State 14
Georgetown 7

Sun Bowl

|Kidd Field
El Paso, Texas

|Western Reserve Red Cats (7–1)
Arizona State Bulldogs (7–1–2)

|Big Four
Border

|Western Reserve 26
Arizona State 13

Cotton Bowl Classic

|Cotton Bowl
Dallas, Texas

|#6 Texas A&M Aggies (8–1)
#12 Fordham Rams (7–1)

|SWC
Independent

|Texas A&M 13
Fordham 12

Source:{{cite book |editor-last=MacCambridge |editor-first=Michael |title=ESPN College Football Encyclopedia |date=2005 |publisher=ESPN Books |location=New York, N.Y. |isbn=1-4013-3703-1}}{{rp|1181}}

=Conference performance in bowl games=

class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center; font-size: 95%;"
rowspan=2|Conference

! rowspan=2|Games

! colspan=3|Record

! colspan=2|Bowls

W || L || Pct.

! class=unsortable|Won || class=unsortable|Lost

Independents3{{WinLossPct|1|2}}

| Sugar

| Cotton, Orange

SEC2{{WinLossPct|1|1}}

| Orange

| Sugar

Big Four1{{WinLossPct|1|0}}

| Sun

| {{mdash}}

Pacific Coast1{{WinLossPct|1|0}}

| Rose

| {{mdash}}

SWC1{{WinLossPct|1|0}}

| Cotton

| {{mdash}}

Big Six1{{WinLossPct|0|1}}

| {{mdash}}

| Rose

Border1{{WinLossPct|0|1}}

| {{mdash}}

| Sun

Game recaps

=Rose Bowl=

{{Linescore Amfootball|

|Road=#2 Stanford

|R1=7|R2=7|R3=7|R4=0

|Home=#7 Nebraska

|H1=7|H2=6|H3=0|H4=0

}}

class="wikitable"
Qtr.

! Team

! Scoring play

! Score

rowspan=2|1

|style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Nebraska Cornhuskers|border=0}}; text-align:center"|NEB

|Francis 2 yard rush, Francis kick good

|NEB 7–0

style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Stanford Cardinal|border=0}}; text-align:center"|STAN

|Gallarneau 10 yard rush, Albert kick good

|TIED 7–7

rowspan=2|2

|style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Nebraska Cornhuskers|border=0}}; text-align:center"|NEB

|Zikmund 33 yard pass from Rohrig, kick blocked

|NEB 13–7

style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Stanford Cardinal|border=0}}; text-align:center"|STAN

|Gallarneau 40 yard pass from Albert, Albert kick good

|STAN 14–13

3

|style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Stanford Cardinal|border=0}}; text-align:center"|STAN

|Kmetovic 40 yard punt return, Albert kick good

|STAN 21–13

colspan=4|Source:{{rp|1442}}

{{Clear}}

=Sugar Bowl=

{{Linescore Amfootball|

|Road=#5 Boston College

|R1=0|R2=0|R3=13|R4=6

|Home=#4 Tennessee

|H1=7|H2=0|H3=6|H4=0

}}

class="wikitable"
Qtr.

! Team

! Scoring play

! Score

1

|style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Tennessee Volunteers|border=0|color=white}}; text-align:center"|TENN

|Thompson 4 yard rush, Foxx kick good

|TENN 7–0

rowspan=3|3

|style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Boston College Eagles|border=0}}; text-align:center"|BC

|Connally 13 yard rush, Maznicki kick good

|TIED 7–7

style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Tennessee Volunteers|border=0|color=white}}; text-align:center"|TENN

|Warren 2 yard rush, kick failed

|TENN 13–7

style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Boston College Eagles|border=0}}; text-align:center"|BC

|Holovak 1 yard rush, kick failed

|TIED 13–13

4

|style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Boston College Eagles|border=0}}; text-align:center"|BC

|O'Rourke 24 yard rush, kick failed

|BC 19–13

colspan=4|Source:{{rp|1466}}

{{Clear}}

=Orange Bowl=

{{Linescore Amfootball|

|Road=#9 Mississippi State

|R1=7|R2=7|R3=0|R4=0

|Home=#13 Georgetown

|H1=0|H2=0|H3=7|H4=0

}}

class="wikitable"
Qtr.

! Team

! Scoring play

! Score

1

|style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Mississippi State Bulldogs|border=0}}; text-align:center"|MSST

|Tripson blocked punt recovery, Dees kick good

|MSST 7–0

2

|style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Mississippi State Bulldogs|border=0}}; text-align:center"|MSST

|Jefferson 2 yard rush, Bruce kick good

|MSST 14–0

3

|style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Georgetown Hoyas|border=0}}; text-align:center"|GTWN

|Castiglia 2 yard rush, Lio kick good

|MSST 14–7

colspan=4|Source:{{rp|1454}}

{{Clear}}

=Sun Bowl=

{{Linescore Amfootball|

|Road=Western Reserve

|R1=7|R2=0|R3=6|R4=13

|Home=Arizona State

|H1=0|H2=13|H3=0|H4=0

}}

class="wikitable"
Qtr.

! Team

! Scoring play

! Score

1

|style="background:#c61d3a; color:white; text-align:center"|WR

|Belichick 1 yard rush, Belichick kick good

|WR 7–0

rowspan=2|2

|style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Arizona State Sun Devils|border=0}}; text-align:center"|ASU

|Pitts 14 yard pass from Hernandez, kick failed

|WR 7–6

style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Arizona State Sun Devils|border=0}}; text-align:center"|ASU

|Henshaw 94 yard rush, Hernandez kick good

|ASU 13–7

3

|style="background:#c61d3a; color:white; text-align:center"|WR

|Waggle 3 yard punt block return, kick failed

|TIED 13–13

rowspan=2|4

|style="background:#c61d3a; color:white; text-align:center"|WR

|Ries 13 yard rush, Skoczen kick good

|WR 20–13

style="background:#c61d3a; color:white; text-align:center"|WR

|Ries 3 yard rush, kick failed

|WR 26–13

colspan=4|Source:{{rp|1478}}

=Cotton Bowl Classic=

{{Linescore Amfootball|

|Road=#6 Texas A&M

|R1=0|R2=0|R3=13|R4=0

|Home=#12 Fordham

|H1=0|H2=6|H3=0|H4=6

}}

class="wikitable"
Qtr.

! Team

! Scoring play

! Score

2

|style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Fordham Rams|border=0}}; text-align:center"|FORD

|Filipowicz 2 yard rush, kick blocked

|FORD 6–0

rowspan=2|3

|style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Texas A&M Aggies|border=0}}; text-align:center"|A&M

|Smith 62 yard pass from Pugh, kick failed

|TIED 6–6

style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Texas A&M Aggies|border=0}}; text-align:center"|A&M

|Kimbrough 1 yard rush, Pugh kick good

|A&M 13–6

4

|style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Fordham Rams|border=0}}; text-align:center"|FORD

|Blumenstock 15 yard rush, kick blocked

|A&M 13–12

colspan=4|Source:{{rp|1490}}

{{Clear}}

See also

References

{{Reflist}}

{{1940 bowl game navbox}}

{{NCAA football bowl season navbox}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1940-41 NCAA football bowl games}}