Several major systems have determined the 1940 college football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, did not itself bestow a national championship.
The AP poll and most other rankings consider Minnesota the season's champion. However, three rankings consider Stanford the champion, and two consider Tennessee the champion.
Note: AP Poll, Boand System, Dickinson System, Dunkel System, Houlgate System, Litkenhous Ratings, Poling System, and Williamson System were given contemporarily. All other methods were given retroactively.
The final AP Poll was released on December 2, at the end of the 1940 regular season, weeks before the major bowls. The AP would not release a post-bowl season final poll regularly until 1968.
The final Boand System rankings (also known as "Azzi Ratem") were released after the bowl games in early January 1941. Boand's final rankings were as follows:
1. Minnesota (86.4)<br> 2. Stanford (83.1)<br> 3. Boston College (83.0)<br> 4. Michigan (81.8)<br> 5. Texas A&M (80.3)<br> 6. Tennessee (80.2)<br> 7. Mississippi State (79.6)<br> 8. SMU (76.9)<br> 9. Northwestern (76.9)<br> 10. Penn (76.2)<br> 11. Texas (76.1)<br> 12. Nebraska (76.0)<br>
The final Dickinson System rankings released in December 1940 were as follows:
1. Minnesota (29.55) <br> 2. Michigan (26.16) <br> 3. Stanford (25.84) <br> 4. Tennessee (25.76) <br> 5. Texas A&M (25.74) <br> 6. Penn (24.78)<br> 7. Mississippi State (24.28)<br> 8. SMU (23.82)<br> 9. Texas (23.33)<br> 10. Nebraska (23.12)<br> 11. Northwestern (22.51)<br> 12. Boston College (22.14)
The final Dunkel System rankings released in December 1940 were as follows:
1. Tennessee<br> 2. Minnesota<br> 3. Michigan<br> 4. Boston College <br> 5. Stanford <br> 6. Washington<br> 7. Mississippi State<br> 8. Northwestern<br> 9. Texas A&M <br> 10. Georgetown<br> 11. SMU <br> 12. Texas <br> 13. LSU<br> 14. Penn<br> 15. Santa Clara<br> 16. Cornell<br> 17. Duke<br> 18. Fordham<br> 19. Nebraska <br> 20. Oregon<br>
The final Litkenhous Ratings released in December 1940 provided numerical rankings to 697 college football programs. The top 100 ranked teams were:
1. Minnesota<br> 2. Tennessee<br> 3. Michigan<br> 4. Northwestern<br> 5. Penn<br> 6. Stanford<br> 7. Cornell<br> 8. Boston College<br> 9. Texas A&M<br> 10. Washington<br> 11. Duke<br> 12. Georgetown<br> 13. Texas<br> 14. Santa Clara<br> 15. Nebraska<br> 16. Mississippi State<br> 17. Fordham<br> 18. Ohio State<br> 19. SMU<br> 20. Notre Dame<br> 21. Rice<br> 22. Michigan State<br> 23. Ole Miss<br> 24. Alabama<br> 25. Iowa<br> 26. Indiana<br> 27. Wisconsin<br> 28. Tulane<br> 29. Purdue<br> 30. Pittsburgh<br> 31. Auburn<br> 32. Oregon<br> 33. LSU<br> 34. Marshall<br> 35. Temple<br> 36. Oregon State<br> 37. Missouri<br> 38. Detroit<br> 39. Baylor<br> 40. California<br> 41. USC<br> 42. TCU<br> 43. Colgate<br> 44. Kentucky<br> 45. Oklahoma<br> 46. Navy<br> 47. North Carolina<br> 48. Duquesne<br> 49. Saint Mary's<br> 50. Tulsa<br> 51. Harvard<br> 52. Penn State<br> 53. Georgia<br> 54. Clemson<br> 55. HardinâÂÂSimmons<br> 56. Villanova<br> 57. Wake Forest<br> 58. Princeton<br> 59. Georgia Tech<br> 60. UCLA<br> 61. Columbia<br> 62. Illinois<br> 63. Vanderbilt<br> 64. Florida<br> 65. Syracuse<br> 66. Utah<br> 67. Arkansas<br> 68. Colorado<br> 69. Lafayette<br> 70. Texas Tech<br> 71. Washington State<br> 72. Dartmouth<br> 73. Manhattan<br> 74. San Jose State<br> 75. Holy Cross<br> 76. Arizona<br> 77. Denver<br> 78. Chattanooga<br> 79. Mississippi College<br> 80. Oklahoma A&M<br> 81. Furman<br> 82. Marquette<br> 83. NC State<br> 84. San Diego Marines<br> 85. VMI<br> 86. North Texas State Teachers<br> 87. William & Mary<br> 88. Boston University<br> 89. San Francisco<br> 90. Dayton<br> 91. Creighton<br> 92. Southwest Missouri State<br> 93. George Washington<br> 94. Gonzaga<br> 95. West Virginia<br> 96. Rollins<br> 97. Virginia<br> 98. VPI<br> 99. Eastern Kentucky<br> 100. Rutgers<br>
The final Williamson System rankings for 1940 were as follows:
1. Stanford<br> 2. Boston College<br> 3. Minnesota<br> 4. Michigan<br> 5. Mississippi State<br> 6. Tennessee<br> 7. Texas A&M<br> 8. Santa Clara<br> 9. Fordham<br> 10. Nebraska<br> 11. SMU<br> 12. Washington<br> 13. Penn<br> 14. Northwestern<br> 15. Georgetown<br> 16. Alabama<br> 17. Ole Miss<br> 18. Duke<br> 19. Duquesne<br> 20. Saint Mary's (CA)<br> 21. Cornell<br> 22. Rice<br> 23. Notre Dame<br> 24. Texas<br> 25. Navy<br> 26. Oklahoma<br> 27. LSU<br> 28. Syracuse<br> 29. Columbia<br> 30. Auburn<br> 31. Ohio State<br> 32. Colgate<br> 33. Pittsburgh<br> 34. Hardin-Simmons<br> 35. Missouri<br> 36. Wisconsin<br> 37. Penn State<br> 38. Tulane<br> 39. Indiana<br> 40. Arizona State