1939 college football season

1939 college football season
First AP No. 1 of season	Pittsburgh
Number of bowls	5
Champion(s)	Texas A&M (AP) USC (Dickenson)
Heisman	Nile Kinnick (halfback, Iowa)
football seasons

The 1939 college football season concluded with the Aggies of The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (Texas A&M) being named as the national champions by the voters in the Associated Press writers' poll.

The Volunteers of the University of Tennessee were unbeaten and untied, and unscored upon, shutting out all of their opponents in ten games; but for the second straight year, they finished second in the poll. The final AP Poll in this era came out before postseason bowl games and, in the 1940 Rose Bowl, the Volunteers were unable to hold everyone scoreless, with the University of Southern California registering two touchdowns and beating them 14-0. As a consequence, the Dickinson System named USC, which had been ranked No. 3 in the final AP Poll before the bowl games, the national champion. As a result, the USC Trojans now claim a share of the 1939 title. However, USC did not begin recognizing 1939 as a national championship until 2004.

The first AP Poll of the season was taken after four weeks of play, starting with October 16. Each writer listed his choice for the top ten teams, and points were tallied based on 10 for first place, 9 for second, etc., and the AP then ranked the twenty teams with the highest number of points.

Conference and program changes

Conferences

• One new conference began football play in 1939:
  • California Collegiate Athletic Association – an active NCAA Division II conference that ended sponsorship of football in 1981

Programs

School	1938 Conference	1939 Conference
DePaul Blue Demons	Independent	Dropped Program
Grinnell Pioneers	Independent	Missouri Valley

September

September 30 Defending champion TCU lost at UCLA, 6–2, on 9/29, and finished 3–7–0. Tennessee won at N.C. State, 13–0. Duke beat Davidson 26–6. Oklahoma and SMU played to a 7–7 tie. Notre Dame beat Purdue 3–0. Tulane edged Clemson 7–6. Fordham defeated Waynesburg 34–7 in the first-ever televised football game.

October

October 7 Tennessee beat Sewanee 40-0. Duke defeated Colgate 37-0. Notre Dame beat Georgia Tech 17-14. Tulane beat Auburn 12-0. Oklahoma won at Northwestern, 23-0.

October 14 Pittsburgh beat Duke 14-13. Tennessee won at Chattanooga, 28-0. Notre Dame edged SMU, 20-19. Tulane beat Fordham 7-0. Oklahoma beat Texas 24-12.

October 21 #1 Pittsburgh lost to cross-town rival Duquesne, 21-13. In Cleveland, #2 Notre Dame defeated Navy, 14-7. #3 Oklahoma beat Kansas 27-7. #4 Tulane and visiting #14 North Carolina played to a 14-14 tie. #5 Tennessee continued shutting out its opponents, beating #8 Alabama 21-0, and was voted #1 in the next poll. #6 Michigan visited the Windy City and handed the University of Chicago an 85-0 defeat. #9 Texas A&M reached 5-0-0 with a 20-6 win over TCU, and rose to fifth in the next poll. #10 Ohio State won at Minnesota, 23-20.

October 28 #1 Tennessee defeated Mercer, 17-0. In Pittsburgh, #2 Notre Dame edged Carnegie Tech, 7-6. #3 Michigan beat Yale 27-7. #4 Ohio State lost to #7 Cornell, 23-14. #5 Texas A&M beat Baylor 20-0. Nebraska defeated Kansas State in the second televised football game 25–9.

November

November 4 #1 Tennessee won at #18 LSU, 20-0. #2 Michigan lost at unranked Illinois, 16-7. #3 Cornell beat Columbia 13-7. At Yankee Stadium, #4 Notre Dame beat Army 14-0. #5 Texas A&M won at Arkansas 27-0. #7 USC beat #11 Oregon State 19-7 in Portland.

November 11 #1 Tennessee shut out the Citadel, 34-0 #2 Texas A&M defeated #13 SMU 6-2. #3 Notre Dame, victor by one point in previous games, lost at unranked Iowa, 7-6. #4 USC beat Stanford 20-12. #5 Cornell narrowly beat Colgate 14-12. #6 Oklahoma won at Kansas State 13-10.

November 18 #1 Tennessee extended its shutout streak, beating Vanderbilt 13-0. Having outscored its opposition, 186-0, Tennessee had a record of 8-0-0, but fell to second in the poll that followed. #2 Texas A&M won at Rice 19-0, and was #1 in the next poll. #3 USC was idle. #4 Cornell won at #20 Dartmouth, 35-6, to stay unbeaten. #5 Oklahoma lost at #12 Missouri, 7-6. #6 Tulane beat Columbia 25-0.

In the next poll, Texas A&M-- which had gotten none of the first place votes the week before—was first, with 38 votes. Tennessee, which had had 66 of the 85 #1 votes the week before, had 33 on the new round of ballots, and finished second. There were 20 for Cornell, and 11 for USC.

November 25 #1 Texas A&M and #2 Tennessee were idle. In Philadelphia, #3 Cornell closed its season with a 26-0 over Penn, to finish unbeaten and untied at 8-0-0. #4 USC won at #7 Notre Dame, 20-12. #5 Tulane beat Sewanee 52-0. In the next round of voting, Texas A&M tied for first place, with 939 points apiece. A&M had more first place votes (27 to 25), but Cornell, with 34 votes, had more. Cornell had 909 points overall.

On Thanksgiving Day, which fell on November 30 in 1939, #1 Texas A&M beat Texas 20-0, to complete a 10-0-0 season, and #4 Tennessee won at Kentucky, 19-0. Two days later, December 2, #1 USC beat Washington 9-7. #5 Tulane beat LSU 33-20.

December 9 #1 Texas A&M had finished its season and accepted a bid to the Sugar Bowl. #2 Tennessee beat Auburn 7-0. #3 USC and #9 UCLA played to a 0-0 tie. #4 Cornell and #5 Tulane had both completed their seasons.

Conference standings

Major conference standings

1939 Big Six Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 6 Missouri $ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 No. 18 Nebraska 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 1 No. 19 Oklahoma 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 1 Kansas 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Iowa State 1 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Kansas State 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1939 Big Ten Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 15 Ohio State $ 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 No. 9 Iowa 4 – 1 – 1 6 – 1 – 1 No. 20 Michigan 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Purdue 2 – 1 – 2 3 – 3 – 2 Northwestern 3 – 2 – 1 3 – 4 – 1 Illinois 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 4 – 1 Minnesota 2 – 3 – 1 3 – 4 – 1 Indiana 2 – 3 – 0 2 – 4 – 2 Wisconsin 0 – 5 – 1 1 – 6 – 1 Chicago 0 – 3 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1939 Border Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Arizona State $ 4 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 1 New Mexico 4 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Texas Tech 2 – 1 – 0 5 – 5 – 1 Texas Mines 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Arizona 1 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 New Mexico A&M 1 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 Arizona State–Flagstaff 0 – 4 – 0 1 – 6 – 1 $ – Conference champion
1939 Middle Three Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Rutgers $ 2 – 0 – 0 7 – 1 – 1 Lafayette 1 – 1 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Lehigh 0 – 2 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1939 Missouri Valley Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Washington University $ 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 1 Oklahoma A&M 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 1 Tulsa 2 – 1 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 Drake 2 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0 Saint Louis 1 – 2 – 1 5 – 3 – 2 Creighton 2 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Washburn 1 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1939 Mountain States Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Colorado $ 5 – 1 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Utah 4 – 1 – 1 6 – 1 – 2 Denver 3 – 2 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 BYU 2 – 2 – 2 5 – 2 – 2 Utah State 2 – 3 – 1 3 – 4 – 1 Colorado A&M 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Wyoming 0 – 5 – 1 0 – 7 – 1 $ – Conference champion
1939 Pacific Coast Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 3 USC $ 5 – 0 – 2 8 – 0 – 2 No. 7 UCLA 5 – 0 – 3 6 – 0 – 4 Oregon State 6 – 1 – 1 9 – 1 – 1 Washington 4 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 1 Oregon 3 – 3 – 1 3 – 4 – 1 Washington State 3 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Montana 1 – 2 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 California 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Stanford 0 – 6 – 1 1 – 7 – 1 Idaho 0 – 3 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1939 Rocky Mountain Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Colorado Mines $ 4 – 0 – 0 8 – 0 – 0 Colorado State–Greeley 3 – 1 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Western State (CO) 1 – 2 – 0 2 – 5 – 1 Montana State 0 – 2 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Colorado College 0 – 3 – 0 2 – 5 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1939 Southeastern Conference football standings Conf Overall Team   W   L     W   L   No. 2 Tennessee + 6 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0 No. 16 Georgia Tech + 6 – 0 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 No. 5 Tulane + 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 1 Mississippi State 3 – 2 – 0 8 – 2 – 0 Ole Miss 2 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Kentucky 2 – 2 – 1 6 – 2 – 1 Auburn 3 – 3 – 1 5 – 5 – 1 Alabama 2 – 3 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Georgia 1 – 3 – 0 5 – 6 – 0 LSU 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Vanderbilt 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 1 Florida 0 – 3 – 1 5 – 5 – 1 Sewanee 0 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 + – Conference co-champions Rankings from AP Poll
1939 Southern Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 8 Duke $ 5 – 0 – 0 8 – 1 – 0 No. 12 Clemson 4 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0 William & Mary 2 – 0 – 1 6 – 2 – 1 North Carolina 5 – 1 – 0 8 – 1 – 1 VMI 3 – 1 – 1 6 – 3 – 1 Richmond 3 – 1 – 1 7 – 1 – 2 Furman 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Wake Forest 3 – 3 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 NC State 2 – 4 – 0 2 – 8 – 0 Washington and Lee 1 – 2 – 0 3 – 4 – 1 South Carolina 1 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 1 VPI 1 – 4 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 Davidson 1 – 7 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 Maryland 0 – 1 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 The Citadel 0 – 4 – 0 3 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll	1939 Southwest Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 1 Texas A&M $ 6 – 0 – 0 11 – 0 – 0 Baylor 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 SMU 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 1 Texas 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Arkansas 2 – 3 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 TCU 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0 Rice 0 – 5 – 1 1 – 9 – 1 $ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Independents

1939 Eastern college football independents records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T No. 4 Cornell   –   8 – 0 – 0 No. 10 Duquesne   –   8 – 0 – 1 Swarthmore   –   6 – 0 – 1 Scranton   –   7 – 0 – 2 Princeton   –   7 – 1 – 0 La Salle   –   6 – 1 – 1 Penn State   –   5 – 1 – 2 No. 11 Boston College   –   9 – 2 – 0 No. 17 Fordham   –   6 – 2 – 0 Villanova   –   6 – 2 – 0 Boston University   –   5 – 3 – 0 Brown   –   5 – 3 – 1 Dartmouth   –   5 – 3 – 1 Hofstra   –   4 – 3 – 0 NYU   –   5 – 4 – 0 Pittsburgh   –   5 – 4 – 0 Harvard   –   4 – 4 – 0 Manhattan   –   4 – 4 – 0 Penn   –   4 – 4 – 0 Syracuse   –   3 – 3 – 2 Vermont   –   3 – 3 – 2 Tufts   –   3 – 4 – 1 Yale   –   3 – 4 – 1 Army   –   3 – 4 – 2 Bucknell   –   3 – 5 – 0 Carnegie Tech   –   3 – 5 – 0 Providence   –   3 – 5 – 0 Columbia   –   2 – 4 – 2 Massachusetts State   –   2 – 5 – 2 Colgate   –   2 – 5 – 1 Temple   –   2 – 7 – 0 CCNY   –   1 – 7 – 0 Buffalo   –   0 – 7 – 0 Rankings from AP Poll	1939 Midwestern college football independents records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Central Michigan   –   8 – 1 – 0 No. 13 Notre Dame   –   7 – 2 – 0 Ohio   –   6 – 3 – 0 Detroit   –   5 – 3 – 1 Akron   –   5 – 4 – 0 Cincinnati   –   4 – 3 – 2 Ohio Wesleyan   –   5 – 4 – 1 Marquette   –   4 – 4 – 0 Michigan State   –   4 – 4 – 1 Dayton   –   4 – 4 – 1 Michigan State Normal   –   3 – 3 – 1 Wayne   –   4 – 5 – 0 Xavier   –   3 – 5 – 1 Western State Teachers (MI)   –   2 – 6 – 1 Miami (OH)   –   1 – 7 – 1 Rankings from AP Poll	1939 Southern college football independents records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Georgetown   –   7 – 0 – 1 Catholic University   –   8 – 1 – 1 Hardin–Simmons   –   7 – 1 – 1 George Washington   –   5 – 3 – 0 Virginia   –   5 – 4 – 0 Georgia Teachers   –   5 – 5 – 0 Oklahoma City   –   4 – 4 – 2 Roanoke   –   4 – 4 – 0 Delaware State   –   2 – 2 – 0 William & Mary Norfolk   –   4 – 5 – 0 Oglethorpe   –   3 – 4 – 1 Navy   –   3 – 5 – 1 West Virginia   –   2 – 6 – 1 Western Maryland   –   1 – 6 – 0 Delaware   –   1 – 7 – 0 East Carolina   –   0 – 8 – 0
1939 Western college football independents records Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T San Diego Marines   –   11 – 0 – 0 No. T–14 Santa Clara   –   5 – 1 – 3 Gonzaga   –   6 – 2 – 0 Humboldt State   –   5 – 2 – 0 Idaho Southern Branch   –   5 – 2 – 0 Cal Poly   –   4 – 4 – 1 San Francisco   –   4 – 3 – 3 La Verne   –   3 – 3 – 0 Saint Mary's   –   3 – 4 – 1 Hawaii   –   3 – 6 – 0 Loyola (CA)   –   2 – 6 – 1 San Francisco State   –   2 – 4 – 2 Portland   –   1 – 5 – 1 Rankings from AP Poll

Minor conferences

Conference	Champion(s)	Record
Alamo Conference	Texas A&I West Texas State Teachers	1–0–1
California Collegiate Athletic Association	San Jose State	3–0
Central Intercollegiate Athletics Association	Virginia State College	7–0–1
Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Wichita	4–0–1
Far Western Conference	Nevada	3–0
Indiana Intercollegiate Conference	Butler	4–0
Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Central (IA) Upper Iowa	5–2
Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference	Ottawa (KS)	5–0–1
Lone Star Conference	North Texas State Teachers	4–0
Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association	Albion	6–0
Midwest Collegiate Athletic Conference	Knox Ripon	3–1–1
Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Saint Thomas (MN)	4–0–1
Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association	Northwest Missouri State Teachers	5–0
Nebraska College Athletic Conference	Hastings	3–0–1
Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Association	Nebraska State Normal	3–0
North Central Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	North Dakota South Dakota South Dakota State College	4–1
North Dakota College Athletic Conference	North Dakota Science	6–0
Northern Teachers Athletic Conference	Winona State Teachers	4–0
Ohio Athletic Conference	Muskingum	6–0
Oklahoma Collegiate Athletic Conference	Central State Teachers (OK)	5–0–1
Pacific Northwest Conference	Pacific (OR)	3–0–2
Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference	Slippery Rock State Teachers	5–0
South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference	Northern State Teachers	3–1–1
Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Whittier	3–0–1
Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference	Alabama State College	5–1–2
Southwestern Athletic Conference	Langston	5–0–1
Texas Conference	Abilene Christian St. Edward's (TX)	5–1
Washington Intercollegiate Conference	Eastern Washington College Pacific Lutheran	2–0–1
Wisconsin State Teachers College Conference	North: La Crosse Teachers South: Milwaukee State Teachers	3–1 4–0

Minor conference standings

1939 Alamo Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Texas A&I + 2 – 0 – 1 6 – 1 – 3 West Texas State + 2 – 0 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 St. Mary's (TX) 1 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 2 Sul Ross 0 – 3 – 0 0 – 7 – 1 + – Conference co-champions	1939 California Collegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T San Jose State $ 3 – 0 – 0 13 – 0 – 0 Fresno State 1 – 1 – 0 10 – 1 – 0 Santa Barbara State 1 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 1 San Diego State 0 – 2 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1939 Central Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Wichita $ 4 – 0 – 1 5 – 3 – 2 Emporia State 3 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 St. Benedict's 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 Pittsburg State 2 – 1 – 2 3 – 4 – 2 Fort Hays State 1 – 3 – 1 2 – 5 – 2 Southwestern (KS) 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1939 Eastern Pennsylvania Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Gettysburg $ 3 – 0 – 1 6 – 2 – 1 Muhlenberg 2 – 1 – 0 6 – 4 – 0 Franklin & Marshall 1 – 1 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Drexel 0 – 1 – 1 3 – 5 – 1 Ursinus 0 – 3 – 1 2 – 5 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1939 Far Western Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Fresno State 2 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 1 Nevada $ 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Pacific (CA) 2 – 2 – 0 6 – 6 – 1 Chico State 1 – 2 – 0 2 – 4 – 2 Cal Aggies 0 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 $ – Conference champion Fresno State was ineligible for the conference championship because they only played two league games.	1939 Illinois College Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Illinois Wesleyan $ 2 – 0 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Knox (IL) 2 – 0 – 1 6 – 1 – 1 Monmouth (IL) 1 – 0 – 1 6 – 2 – 2 Illinois College 1 – 0 – 1 6 – 1 – 1 Wheaton (IL) 1 – 0 – 1 2 – 4 – 2 Bradley 2 – 1 – 0 6 – 1 – 2 Lake Forest 2 – 2 – 0 5 – 2 – 0 Augustana (IL) 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 North Central 0 – 3 – 0 2 – 4 – 1 Millikin 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1939 Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Western Illinois $ 3 – 0 – 1 5 – 1 – 1 Illinois State Normal 3 – 0 – 2 4 – 2 – 3 Northern Illinois State 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 2 – 1 Carthage 2 – 1 – 0 2 – 6 – 1 Eastern Illinois 2 – 2 – 1 4 – 3 – 1 Elmhurst 1 – 4 – 0 1 – 6 – 1 Eureka 0 – 2 – 0 0 – 7 – 0 Southern Illinois 0 – 4 – 0 0 – 8 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1939 Indiana Intercollegiate Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Butler $ 4 – 0 – 0 7 – 0 – 1 Ball State 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 0 Manchester 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 Rose Poly 3 – 1 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Earlham 5 – 2 – 0 5 – 2 – 0 Saint Joseph's (IN) 2 – 1 – 0 4 – 3 – 0 DePauw 3 – 2 – 1 4 – 3 – 1 Hanover 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Wabash 2 – 3 – 1 3 – 5 – 1 Central Normal 1 – 3 – 0 2 – 4 – 0 Valparaiso 1 – 3 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Franklin (IN) 1 – 7 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 Evansville 0 – 4 – 1 1 – 6 – 1 Indiana State 0 – 3 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1939 Iowa Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Central (IA) + 5 – 2 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 Upper Iowa + 5 – 2 – 0 5 – 2 – 0 St. Ambrose 2 – 0 – 0 6 – 1 – 1 Dubuque 4 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Iowa Wesleyan 3 – 2 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Parsons 3 – 2 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Loras 4 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Western Union 2 – 2 – 0 6 – 2 – 1 Penn (IA) 2 – 2 – 2 3 – 3 – 2 Luther 2 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Simpson (IA) 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 8 – 0 Buena Vista 0 – 4 – 1 1 – 5 – 1 Wartburg 0 – 4 – 1 0 – 5 – 1 + – Conference co-champions
1939 Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Ottawa $ 5 – 0 – 1 6 – 1 – 1 Bethany (KS) 3 – 2 – 1 3 – 5 – 1 Baker 2 – 2 – 2 3 – 4 – 2 Kansas Wesleyan 2 – 2 – 2 2 – 3 – 4 College of Emporia 2 – 3 – 1 2 – 5 – 2 McPherson 1 – 3 – 2 4 – 3 – 2 Bethel (KS) 1 – 4 – 1 3 – 5 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1939 Lone Star Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T North Texas State $ 4 – 0 – 0 6 – 1 – 0 Sam Houston State 2 – 1 – 1 6 – 2 – 2 East Texas State 2 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0 Stephen F. Austin 1 – 3 – 0 3 – 4 – 2 Southwest Texas State 0 – 3 – 1 3 – 5 – 2 $ – Conference champion	1939 Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Albion $ 6 – 0 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 Hillsdale 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 1 – 0 Hope 3 – 2 – 1 4 – 2 – 2 Kalamazoo 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Alma 2 – 3 – 1 2 – 5 – 1 Adrian 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 Olivet 0 – 6 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 $ – Conference champion
1939 Missouri College Athletic Union football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Missouri Valley + 3 – 1 – 0 7 – 1 – 0 Culver–Stockton + 3 – 1 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 William Jewell 2 – 2 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Central (MO) 1 – 3 – 0 2 – 5 – 1 Tarkio 1 – 3 – 0 1 – 7 – 0 + – Conference co-champions	1939 Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Maryville (MO) $ 5 – 0 – 0 9 – 0 – 0 Springfield (MO) 3 – 1 – 1 7 – 1 – 1 Missouri Mines 3 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0 Warrensburg 1 – 2 – 2 3 – 3 – 3 Cape Girardeau 1 – 3 – 1 5 – 3 – 1 Kirksville 0 – 5 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1939 Nebraska College Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Hastings * 3 – 0 – 1 6 – 3 – 1 Midland 2 – 0 – 2 4 – 1 – 4 Doane 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 0 Nebraska Wesleyan 1 – 3 – 0 2 – 7 – 0 York (NE) 0 – 3 – 1 2 – 4 – 3 * The conference title was declared vacant after the season because Hastings used an ineligible player.
1939 Nebraska Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Peru State $ 3 – 0 – 0 7 – 1 – 1 Chadron State 2 – 1 – 0 4 – 3 – 1 Wayne State (NE) 1 – 2 – 0 3 – 5 – 1 Kearney State 0 – 3 – 0 3 – 6 – 0 $ – Conference champion	1939 New England Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Maine $ 3 – 0 – 0 5 – 2 – 0 Connecticut 1 – 1 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 New Hampshire 1 – 1 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Rhode Island State 1 – 2 – 0 3 – 4 – 1 Northeastern 0 – 2 – 0 0 – 6 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1939 North Central Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T South Dakota State + 4 – 1 – 0 7 – 2 – 0 North Dakota + 4 – 1 – 0 5 – 3 – 0 South Dakota + 4 – 1 – 0 4 – 5 – 0 Iowa State Teachers 3 – 1 – 0 5 – 3 – 1 Omaha 1 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Morningside 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 6 – 0 North Dakota Agricultural 0 – 5 – 0 1 – 6 – 1 + – Conference co-champions
1939 Southwestern Athletic Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Langston $ 5 – 0 – 1 7 – 0 – 1 Prairie View 3 – 2 – 1 5 – 2 – 1 Arkansas AM&N 3 – 2 – 1 6 – 3 – 1 Bishop 2 – 2 – 2 3 – 2 – 2 Wiley 3 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0 Southern 1 – 4 – 1 4 – 5 – 1 Texas College 1 – 5 – 0 1 – 6 – 1 $ – Conference champion	1939 Texas Conference football standings Conf Overall Team W   L   T W   L   T Abilene Christian + 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 1 St. Edward's + 5 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0 Trinity (TX) 4 – 1 – 2 6 – 3 – 2 Howard Payne 4 – 2 – 1 5 – 4 – 1 Texas Wesleyan 2 – 2 – 1 4 – 5 – 2 Southwestern (TX) 3 – 3 – 0 3 – 5 – 0 Daniel Baker 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 6 – 0 McMurry 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 6 – 0 Austin 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 10 – 0 + – Conference co-champions

Rankings

Main article: 1939 NCAA football rankings

Bowl games

Main article: 1939–40 NCAA football bowl games

Bowl game	Winning team		Losing team
Rose Bowl	No. 3 USC	14	No. 2 Tennessee	0
Sugar Bowl	No. 1 Texas A&M	14	No. 5 Tulane	13
Orange Bowl	No. 16 Georgia Tech	21	No. 6 Missouri	7
Cotton Bowl Classic	No. 12 Clemson	6	No. 11 Boston College	3
Sun Bowl	Arizona State	0	Catholic University	0

See also

• 1939 College Football All-America Team