The 1940 Dartmouth Indians football team was an American football team that represented Dartmouth College as an independent during the 1940 college football season. In their seventh and final season under head coach Earl Blaik, the Indians compiled a 5âÂÂ4 record. Louis Young was the team captain.
George Wolfe was the team's leading scorer, with 48 points, from eight touchdowns.
Dartmouth was ranked at No. 72 (out of 697 college football teams) in the final rankings under the Litkenhous Difference by Score system for 1940.
Dartmouth played its home games at Memorial Field on the college campus in Hanover, New Hampshire.
Cornell scored a touchdown in the last few seconds of the game, resulting in a 7-3 win for Cornell being officially recorded. However, observers felt that an illegal fifth down had occurred, and therefore the touchdown was invalid. After developing and reviewing filmed footage of the game, the referee agreed. Cornell coach Carl Snavely agreed to give up the win, and thus the official score was revised to 3-0 in favor of Dartmouth. The loss broke Cornell's 18-game winning streak. As of 2024, it is believed to be the "only collegiate sporting contest to be decided off the field after its completion."