AP College Football Poll, Rankings: 1940 to 1949 Final Top 25
Where did all the top teams rank in the final 1940 to 1949 top 25 AP college football poll? Which programs made the cut and which ones just missed out, but received votes?
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According to the final AP rankings, how do the programs rank all-time, by decade, and by era? Which ones were the best over the 1940s?
Take all the AP final rankings and use our CFN scoring system – the AP national champion gets 25 points, the No. 2 team 24, No. 3 23, and so on down to the bottom.
Michigan only won one AP national championship in the 1940s – Notre Dame won four, Army two, and Minnesota two – but the consistency mattered. Michigan was in the top nine of every AP poll of the decade.
1940s AP National Champions
1949 Notre Dame; 1948 Michigan, 1947 Notre Dame, 1946 Notre Dame, 1945 Army, 1944 Army, 1943 Notre Dame, 1942 Ohio State, 1941 Minnesota, 1940 Minnesota
AP Poll, All-Time Rankings
Greatest Programs of All-Time | 1930s | 1940s | 1950s
1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s
AP Top 20 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945
1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949
AP College Football Poll: 1940 to 1949 Final All-Time Rankings
1 Michigan 210
2 Notre Dame 201
3 Army 146
4 Ohio State 124
5 Tennessee 103
6 Texas 97
7 Duke 86
8 Minnesota 85
9 Navy 83
10 Penn 79
11 Georgia Tech 78
12 Georgia 77
13 Northwestern 69
T14 Oklahoma 67
T14 North Carolina 67
16 Alabama 66
17 Cal 56
18 USC 52
19 Tulsa 51
20 SMU 49
21 LSU 47
22 Rice 45
23 Iowa Pre-Flight 44
24 Boston College 39
25 Stanford 38
Others Receiving Votes: Santa Clara 37, Texas A&M 37, Mississippi State 35, UCLA 35, Fordham 34, Illinois 33, Ole Miss 33, William & Mary 33, Cornell 32, March Field 32, Bainbridge NTS 30, Washington 30, Great Lakes Navy 29, Indiana 28, Saint Mary’s (CA) Pre-Flight 26, Missouri 25, Pacific 23, Randolph Field 23, Wisconsin 23, Oklahoma State 21, Purdue 21, Michigan State 19, Nebraska 19, Del Monte Pre-Flight 18, Duquesne 18, Holy Cross 17, NC State 17, Oregon 17, Washington State 16, Clemson 15, Kentucky 15, Kansas 14, Oregon State 14, Vanderbilt 14, Yale 14, Georgetown 13, Norman Naval Air Station 13, Tulane 13, Villanova 13, Wake Forest 13, Columbia 12, Maryland 12, Arkansas 10, Auburn 10, Dartmouth 10, El Toro Marines 10, Hardin-Simmons 9, Colorado College 8, Fort Pierce 8, Princeton 8, Delaware 7, Lafayette 7, Baylor 6, Second Air Force 6
AP Poll, All-Time Rankings
Greatest Programs of All-Time | 1930s | 1940s | 1950s
1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s
AP Top 20 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945
1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949
NEXT: AP College Football Poll, Rankings: 1949 Final Top 20
AP College Football Poll, Rankings: 1949 Final Top 20
1 Notre Dame
2 Oklahoma
3 Cal
4 Army
5 Rice
6 Ohio State
7 Michigan
8 Minnesota
9 LSU
10 Pacific
11 Kentucky
12 Cornell
13 Villanova
14 Maryland
15 Santa Clara
16 North Carolina
17 Tennessee
18 Princeton
19 Michigan State
20 Baylor
20 Missouri
AP Poll, All-Time Rankings
AP Top 20 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945
1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949
NEXT: AP College Football Poll, Rankings: 1948 Final Top 20
AP College Football Poll, Rankings: 1948 Final Top 20
1 Michigan
2 Notre Dame
3 North Carolina
4 Cal
5 Oklahoma
6 Army
7 Northwestern
8 Georgia
9 Oregon
10 SMU
11 Clemson
12 Vanderbilt
13 Tulane
14 Michigan State
15 Ole Miss
16 Minnesota
17 William & Mary
18 Penn State
19 Cornell
20 Wake Forest
AP Poll, All-Time Rankings
AP Top 20 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945
1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949
NEXT: AP College Football Poll, Rankings: 1947 Final Top 20
AP College Football Poll, Rankings: 1947 Final Top 20
1 Notre Dame
2 Michigan
3 SMU
4 Penn State
5 Texas
6 Alabama
7 Penn
8 USC
9 North Carolina
10 Georgia Tech
11 Army
12 Kansas
13 Ole Miss
14 William & Mary
15 Cal
16 Oklahoma
17 NC State
18 Rice
19 Duke
20 Columbia
AP Poll, All-Time Rankings
AP Top 20 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945
1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949
NEXT: AP College Football Poll, Rankings: 1946 Final Top 20
AP College Football Poll, Rankings: 1946 Final Top 20
1 Notre Dame
2 Army
3 Georgia
4 UCLA
5 Illinois
6 Michigan
7 Tennessee
8 LSU
9 North Carolina
10 Rice
11 Georgia Tech
12 Yale
13 Penn
14 Oklahoma
15 Texas
16 Arkansas
17 Tulsa
18 NC State
19 Delaware
20 Indiana
AP Poll, All-Time Rankings
AP Top 20 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945
1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949
NEXT: AP College Football Poll, Rankings: 1945 Final Top 20
AP College Football Poll, Rankings: 1945 Final Top 20
1 Army
2 Alabama
3 Navy
4 Indiana
5 Oklahoma State
6 Michigan
7 Saint Mary’s (CA) Pre-Flight
8 Penn
9 Notre Dame
10 Texas
11 USC
12 Ohio State
13 Duke
14 Tennessee
15 LSU
16 Holy Cross
17 Tulsa
18 Georgia
19 Wake Forest
20 Columbia
AP Poll, All-Time Rankings
AP Top 20 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945
1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949
NEXT: AP College Football Poll, Rankings: 1944 Final Top 20
AP College Football Poll, Rankings: 1944 Final Top 20
1 Army
2 Ohio State
3 Randolph Field
4 Navy
5 Bainbridge NTS
6 Iowa Pre-Flight
7 USC
8 Michigan
9 Notre Dame
10 March Field
11 Duke
12 Tennessee
13 Georgia Tech
13 Norman Naval Air Station
15 Illinois
16 El Toro Marines
17 Great Lakes Navy
18 Fort Pierce
19 Saint Mary’s (CA) Pre-Flight
20 Second Air Force
AP Poll, All-Time Rankings
AP Top 20 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945
1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949
NEXT: AP College Football Poll, Rankings: 1943 Final Top 20
AP College Football Poll, Rankings: 1943 Final Top 20
1 Notre Dame
2 Iowa Pre-Flight
3 Michigan
4 Navy
5 Purdue
6 Great Lakes Navy
7 Duke
8 Del Monte Pre-Flight
9 Northwestern
10 March Field
11 Army
12 Washington
13 Georgia Tech
14 Texas
15 Tulsa
16 Dartmouth
17 Bainbridge NTS
18 Colorado College
19 Pacific
20 Penn
AP Poll, All-Time Rankings
AP Top 20 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945
1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949
NEXT: AP College Football Poll, Rankings: 1942 Final Top 20
AP College Football Poll, Rankings: 1942 Final Top 20
1 Ohio State
2 Georgia
3 Wisconsin
4 Tulsa
5 Georgia Tech
6 Notre Dame
7 Tennessee
8 Boston College
9 Michigan
10 Alabama
11 Texas
12 Stanford
13 UCLA
14 William & Mary
15 Santa Clara
16 Auburn
17 Washington State
18 Mississippi State
T19 Holy Cross
T19 Minnesota
T19 Penn State
AP Poll, All-Time Rankings
AP Top 20 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945
1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949
NEXT: AP College Football Poll, Rankings: 1941 Final Top 20
AP College Football Poll, Rankings: 1941 Final Top 20
1 Minnesota
2 Duke
3 Notre Dame
4 Texas
5 Michigan
6 Fordham
7 Missouri
8 Duquesne
9 Texas A&M
10 Navy
11 Northwestern
12 Oregon State
13 Ohio State
14 Georgia
15 Penn
16 Mississippi State
17 Ole Miss
18 Tennessee
19 Washington State
20 Alabama
AP Poll, All-Time Rankings
AP Top 20 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945
1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949
NEXT: AP College Football Poll, Rankings: 1940 Final Top 20
AP College Football Poll, Rankings: 1940 Final Top 20
1 Minnesota
2 Stanford
3 Michigan
4 Tennessee
5 Boston College
6 Texas A&M
7 Nebraska
8 Northwestern
9 Mississippi State
10 Washington
11 Santa Clara
12 Fordham
13 Georgetown
14 Penn
15 Cornell
16 SMU
17 Hardin-Simmons
18 Duke
19 Lafayette
AP Poll, All-Time Rankings
Greatest Programs of All-Time | 1930s | 1940s | 1950s
1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s
AP Top 20 1940 | 1941 | 1942 | 1943 | 1944 | 1945
1946 | 1947 | 1948 | 1949
