1940 AFCA Blue Ribbon Commission Champion

Teams named national champions by NCAA-designated selectors
(Underline: Claimed title for the season; +: co-champion selection)

Other Notable Contenders

	Boston College	Minnesota	Mississippi St.	Stanford	Tennessee
Record	11-0	8-0	10-0-1	10-0	10-1
Opponent Win %	0.533	0.627	0.589	0.511	0.591
+.500 Opponents	5	4	6	4	6
Average PF-PA	30.8-5.9	19.3-8.9	22.5-5.3	19.6-8.5	30.2-4.1
FBS Record	8-0	8-0	6-0-1	10-0	7-1
FBS Opponent Win %	0.544	0.627	0.654	0.511	0.635
Average FBS PF-PA	27.9-8.1	19.3-8.9	18.0-5.4	19.6-8.5	23.6-5.6
Conference Record	Ind	6-0	4-0-1	7-0	5-0
Non-Home games	2	3	7	5	4
SOS (S-R/BR)	70/42	1/12	72/41	13/2	54/37

I really wanted to take a deeper dive at unbeaten Hardin-Simmons, but the Cowboys weren’t a highly rated team (barely cracking Top 25 in some ratings and falling outside of that in most). Alot of that has to do with their schedule, which is generally considered among the worst of FBS-level teams for this year. My longshot out the gate is SEC champion Tennessee, who was named #1 by one of the NCAA-designated selectors after the regular season. The Volunteers might have garnered some retroactive favor had they finished the year unbeaten, but a loss at the Sugar Bowl dampened those hopes despite having the best scoring numbers of the contenders. The school still claims this as a national title season despite that postseason loss (I’d be very okay with Tennessee trying to make a case for some of their unbeaten seasons in the late 1920s and early 1930s if they’d quit claiming this one as a title season). However, I think another SEC team warrants some closer consideration.

Mississippi State put together arguably the best season in school history in 1940, posting their 2nd (and to date, last) unbeaten season. Under the guidance of Hall of Fame coach Allyn McKeen, this season was part of a 4 year stretch where the Bulldogs went 34-5-2 and accomplished program high-water marks (1st bowl win, only SEC title) before World War II led to a brief stoppage of play. The Bulldogs faced 3 Top 25-caliber teams (Alabama, Georgetown, Ole Miss) and 2 others that probably would’ve been pushing Top 25 consideration (Auburn, LSU). Overall, Mississippi State played the most games away from home among the contenders and had the 3rd-best average scoring margin overall and against FBS-level competition (against Top 25-caliber, the Bulldogs had the best scoring margin). While they did go unbeaten against all opposition, an early season tie at Auburn would prevent them from sharing the SEC title with Tennessee. In addition, they didn’t perform as well against common opponents as the Volunteers did, and with 4 non-FBS opponents, their schedule strength can be argued as being the worst among contenders. However, they did manage to avoid a loss (which Tennessee didn’t) and compare well to my next contender, so their case isn’t a complete throwaway. According to some MSU websites, the Bulldogs had received some consideration from the Rose Bowl to play Stanford in a battle of unbeatens before accepting a firm offer to play in the Orange Bowl – a shame in retrospect because that would’ve provided a chance for a championship-caliber victory.

Lambert Trophy winner Boston College, in their 2nd season under Hall of Fame coach Frank Leahy, put together the school’s 4th unbeaten season (1st as an FBS-level program). The Eagles had the best scoring offense and 2nd-best scoring margin among the contenders, both overall and in FBS-only games. Probably the biggest knock against them would be their schedule, which based on metrics, is in contention for being 1 of the worst among contenders. While Boston College did play 2 Top 25-caliber teams (Georgetown, Tennessee) and 2 that probably would’ve been pushing consideration (Auburn, Tulane), they played 3 non-FBS teams and had the most home-heavy schedule of the contenders. While they did beat the Auburn team that tied Mississippi State, they also only won by 1 point over the Georgetown team the Bulldogs beat in the Orange Bowl and barely beat sub-.500 Holy Cross. The biggest argument helping the Eagles is the Sugar Bowl win over Tennessee: not only was it the marquee postseason match-up this year (pairing 2 teams with perfect records going into the game) but gave them a win over a team that had 2 of the contemporary NCAA-designated selectors favoring them. While Boston College received no NCAA selector backing, their ‘self-claimed’ title did have the support of 2 CFBDW selectors.

Up next is Stanford, with their 2nd and final claimed title season. Expectations were low for the Cardinal, who were coming off a disappointing season and a new coach in Clark Shaughnessy. While Shaughnessy was a Hall of Fame coach with success at Tulane and Loyola (LA) in addition to serving as a consultant to the NFL’s Chicago Bears, he had come off an unsuccessful stint at the University of Chicago where the school’s de-emphasis (and eventual disbandment) of football hampered any opportunities of success. However, with a veteran group returning and with a modernized version of the obsolete T-Formation, Stanford enjoyed a spectacular turnaround in 1940, posting a perfect record enroute to winning the PCC title and Rose Bowl. While the Cardinal had the worst opponent win percentage of the contenders and faced only 4 teams with winning records, their schedule strength is considered among the best of the group. This is due to an all-FBS schedule that featured 3 Top 25-caliber teams (Nebraska, Washington, Santa Clara), as well as another game over a team pushing for Top 25 consideration (Oregon State) and 4 other teams that were top 50 caliber or close to. While they did have close calls to sub-.500 Cal and UCLA, their overall body of work allowed them to compare favorably to our final contender. Stanford was named national champion by 1 contemporary NCAA selector (Poling) as well as receiving other selections from NCAA and CFBDW selectors. In addition, the Cardinal captured the CFB Belt (college football’s ‘lineal championship’) during the season and successfully retained it through season’s end.

Finally, we have Minnesota, who rebounded under a rare down year during Hall of Fame coach Bernie Bierman’s 1st decade at the helm to return to their championship-winning ways. Playing an all-FBS schedule, the Gophers played arguably the toughest schedule of the contenders (as only 1 opponent finished below .500 on the year and wasn’t a top 50 rated team on average). Minnesota played 5 Top 25-caliber teams (Michigan, Nebraska, Northwestern, Ohio State, Washington), the most of any of the contenders. With such a slate, it’s easy to rationalize why their scoring numbers were the worst among contenders, as 2 wins were by single digits and 5 were 1-possession games. The wins over Michigan and Northwestern were easily the best in opponent quality as both of them are Top 10-caliber (the Wolverines in several rating systems are considered the 2nd-best team in the country). Probably the biggest knock against Minnesota is that most of their toughest games took place at home. The Gophers cleaned up on the majority of the NCAA-designated selectors, including the AP Poll and the 4 remaining contemporary selectors (including the Dickinson System, which ceased after this season after quickly being replaced by the AP Poll in national relevance).

Among the 4 unbeatens, there are arguments for and against the teams in question. Mississippi State performed the best against Top 25-caliber teams but were edged out by Boston College and Tennessee against common opponents in addition to suffering a tie. The Eagles had some of the best scoring numbers and performed the best overall against top 50 teams but performed the worst against Top 25-caliber teams and played the most home-heavy schedule. Stanford outperformed Minnesota against Top 25 & top 50 foes, as well against common opponents. The Gophers played arguably the toughest schedule from top to bottom and have the majority of selector favor. While part of me wants to go with Minnesota since they had such overwhelming selector support, Stanford edged out the Gophers against common opponents and in comparative opposition. Therefore, I give the Cardinal the advantage as Tier 1 as having the best case to go before the Blue Ribbon Commission for a retroactive Coaches Trophy. However, I could see the BRC going with Minnesota due to their contemporary selector favor: due to that, the Gophers are firmly a Tier 2 team in my book. I place Boston College on the Tier 2 line as well since they did perform better on the scoreboard against top 50 caliber opponents compared to Stanford and Minnesota and had the best postseason victory. I don’t think Minnesota will be as compelled to make a case to AFCA due to winning the AP title and having so much selector favor. Stanford and Boston College have the most incentive to make a case. Mississippi State did outperform the other 3 teams on the scoreboard for most part against comparative competition, but their tie drops them to the Tier 3 slot.

Tier 1 (Best Case to be awarded AFCA Trophy): Stanford
Tier 2 (Legitimate case for champion/co-champion): Boston College, Minnesota
Tier 3 (Minor Contender, could make a case): Mississippi State
Tier 4 (Not Serious Contenders): Tennessee