One human poll comprised the 1944 college football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseasonâÂÂthe AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll. The Coaches' Poll began operation in 1950; in addition, the AP Poll did not begin conducting preseason polls until that same year.
The final AP Poll was released on December 4, at the end of the 1944 regular season, weeks before the major bowls. The AP would not release a post-bowl season final poll regularly until 1968.
The final Litkenhous Ratings released in December 1944 provided numerical rankings to more than 300 college and military football programs. The top 100 ranked teams were:
1. Army (9âÂÂ0)<br> 2. Randolph Field (11âÂÂ0)<br> 3. Ohio State (9âÂÂ0)<br> 4. Navy (6âÂÂ3)<br> 5. Notre Dame (8âÂÂ2)<br> 6. Second Air Force (10âÂÂ4âÂÂ1)<br> 7. Michigan (8âÂÂ2)<br> 8. Iowa Pre-Flight (10âÂÂ1)<br> 9. Georgia Tech (8âÂÂ3)<br> 10. Indiana (7âÂÂ3)<br> 11. Great Lakes Navy (9âÂÂ2âÂÂ1)<br> 12. Purdue (5âÂÂ5)<br> 13. Illinois (5âÂÂ4âÂÂ1)<br> 14. Duke (6âÂÂ4)<br> 15. Minnesota (5âÂÂ3âÂÂ1)<br> 16. Fourth Air Force (7âÂÂ2âÂÂ2)<br> 17. Lincoln Army Air Field (6âÂÂ1)<br> 18. Tulsa (8âÂÂ2)<br> 19. Alabama (5âÂÂ2âÂÂ2)<br> 20. Fort Warren (5âÂÂ4âÂÂ1)<br> 21. Colorado (6âÂÂ2)<br> 22. Norman NAS (6âÂÂ0)<br> 23. El Toro Marines (8âÂÂ1)<br> 24. Penn (5âÂÂ3)<br> 25. USC (8âÂÂ0âÂÂ2)<br> 26. Fort Pierce Amphibs (9âÂÂ0)<br> 27. Third Air Force (8âÂÂ3)<br> 28. Bainbridge NTS (10âÂÂ0)<br> 29. Tennessee (7âÂÂ1âÂÂ1)<br> 30. Wisconsin (3âÂÂ6)<br> 31. Mississippi State (6âÂÂ2)<br> 32. Oklahoma A&M (8âÂÂ1)<br> 33. LSU (2âÂÂ5âÂÂ1)<br> 34. Northwestern (1âÂÂ7âÂÂ1)<br> 35. Georgia (7âÂÂ3)<br> 36. Bunker Hill NAS (6âÂÂ1)<br> 37. Amarillo AAF (5âÂÂ3)<br> 38. Texas (5âÂÂ4)<br> 39. Camp Peary (5âÂÂ2)<br> 40. North Carolina Pre-Flight (6âÂÂ2âÂÂ1)<br> 41. Tulane (4âÂÂ3)<br> 42. Texas A&M (7âÂÂ4)<br> 43. Saint Mary's Pre-Flight (4âÂÂ4)<br> 44. Wake Forest (8âÂÂ1)<br> 45. Washington (5âÂÂ3)<br> 46. Georgia Pre-Flight (4âÂÂ5)<br> 47. UCLA (4âÂÂ5âÂÂ1)<br> 48. Oklahoma (6âÂÂ3âÂÂ1)<br> 49. San Diego NTS<br> 50. Ottumwa NAS<br> 51. Berkeley CGS<br> 52. Marquette<br> 53. Camp Shoemaker<br> 54. Fleet City<br> 55. Auburn<br> 56. Alameda Coast Guard<br> 57. Jacksonville NAS<br> 58. Virginia<br> 59. Utah<br> 60. Arkansas<br> 61. Denver<br> 62. Kentucky<br> 63. Rice<br> 64. Yale<br> 65. TCU<br> 66. NC State<br> 67. Kessler Field<br> 68. Colorado College<br> 69. Clemson<br> 70. Fort Benning Fourth<br> 71. Missouri<br> 72. Iowa<br> 73. Michigan State<br> 74. Coast Guard Academy<br> 75. Iowa State<br> 76. California<br> 77. SMU<br> 78. North Carolina<br> 79. Maxwell Field<br> 80. Pittsburgh<br> 81. Brown<br> 82. Southwestern (TX)<br> 83. Cornell<br> 84. Lubbock American Air Force<br> 85. Ole Miss<br> 86. Maryville<br> 87. Penn State<br> 88. Denison<br> 89. William & Mary<br> 90. Navy PT School<br> 91. Western Michigan<br> 92. Colorado Amphibs<br> 93. South Carolina<br> 94. Arkansas Aggies<br> 95. San Francisco Coast Guard<br> 96. Texas Tech<br> 97. Peru Navy<br> 98. Dartmouth<br> 99. Holy Cross<br> 100. Fort Benning Third