AFCA Blue Ribbon Commission Champion 1941

Teams named national champions by NCAA-designated selectors
(Underline: claimed title season; +: co-champion/split selection)

Other Notable Contenders

	Alabama	Duquesne	Minnesota	Notre Dame	Texas
Record	9-2	8-0	8-0	8-0-1	8-1-1
Opponent Win %	0.694	0.556	0.470	0.455	0.546
+.500 Opponents	9	3	3	4	4
Average PF-PA	23.9-7.7	17.9-2.6	23.3-4.8	21.0-7.1	33.8-5.5
FBS Record	7-2	5-0	8-0	7-0-1	8-1-1
FBS Opponent Win %	0.719	0.578	0.470	0.493	0.546
Average FBS PF-PA	17.2-8.8	18.0-4.2	23.3-4.8	21.6-8.0	33.8-5.5
Conference Record	5-2	Independent	5-0	Independent	4-1-1
Non-Home games	5	3	3	5	4
SOS (S-R/BR)	44/5	84/92	12/26	36/48	21/3

There were 2 other teams that had selections from CFBDW selectors, but ultimately chose not to include them. SoCon champ Duke went undefeated in the regular season and finished #2 in the final AP poll (conducted prior to the bowl games). However, the Blue Devils would fall to 2-loss PCC champ Oregon State in the Rose Bowl, which was played on Duke’s home field due to security concerns after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Orange Bowl champ Georgia got left out due to already having 2 teams in the mix with multiple blemishes on their records. While the Bulldogs have a transitive chain over Texas, they lost head-to-head to Alabama along with a tie to Ole Miss. Another team that missed the cutoff was Lambert Trophy winner Fordham, who claimed the award over undefeated Duquesne. While the Rams did win the Sugar Bowl, they suffered a loss to a bad Pittsburgh team during the season that would’ve prevented serious consideration for a national title.

So right off the bat, I want to address the 2 teams that are probably the longshots yet received NCAA selector favor: Alabama and Texas. The Crimson Tide have a case for playing one of the nation’s toughest schedules depending on the metrics used, as only 2 of their opponents finished with a losing record. 5 of those opponents were Top 25-caliber (Georgia, Mississippi State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt) along with 2 other top 50 foes (Miami, Tulane). While Alabama did have a tough schedule, you still have to perform well against it: not only did the Crimson Tide lose 2 games, they lost them both by shutout. Outside of ending up with the CFB Belt (college football’s ‘lineal championship’) following their win at the Cotton Bowl, any claim that Alabama has for being a national champion is ludicrous. Texas, who had the nation’s best offense and the best scoring margin of the contenders, is another 1 of those teams if you looked at scoring numbers and schedule strength (they played an all-FBS schedule this year) without seeing their record, you probably would assume that they were the nation’s best team. The Longhorns played 2 Top 25-caliber opponents (Texas A&M, TCU), as well as 4 more that would’ve been pushing for consideration (LSU, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rice) and another top 50 caliber (SMU). However, a tie to a bad Baylor team and a loss to TCU would give more blemishes then I’m sure the BRC would care to consider for awarding a retroactive title. Had Longhorns not suffered 1 of those blemishes and won a postseason game (most likely the Cotton Bowl as they would’ve had head-to-head over Texas A&M for a berth without 1 of those blemishes), I could see Texas having a pretty good case. With the body of work as it is, not so much.

Up next is Notre Dame, who went undefeated for the 1st time since the Knute Rockne era in their 1st season under Hall of Fame coach Frank Leahy. The Irish faced 2 Top 25-caliber opponents (Navy, Northwestern), as well as 1 team pushing for consideration (Army) and another top 50 caliber foe (USC). In addition, they also played Border Conference champ Arizona in their season opener. While they didn’t lose a game, they also didn’t go unscathed, thanks to a scoreless tie to Army. Notre Dame also had the smallest scoring margin of the contenders this year and didn’t have as strong a schedule compared to some of the other contenders. They did boast one of the year’s best wins in terms of opponent quality by handing Navy their only loss of the year, and they played the least home-heavy schedule of the contenders listed (over half of their games were played away from home, including their 3 toughest games of the year). They also had a close call in their season finale to USC, who despite their average rating strength, only had 2 wins on the year. While the Irish didn’t receive any selections from NCAA or CFBDW selectors, they were #3 in the final AP Poll (and would’ve been rated higher had the bowls been taken into account since #2 Duke lost in the postseason) and are generally rated as a Top 5 team by most of the ratings I’ve come across.

1941 was arguably the peak of our next team in the analysis, Duquesne. The Dukes capped a 23-1-1 stretch over 3 seasons with a perfect record this year, although they failed to secure the Lambert Trophy this year. They boasted the best scoring defense in the nation this year, as well as the best scoring defense among FBS-level games among the contenders. Unfortunately, Duquesne played arguably the worst schedule of the contenders: playing 3 non-FBS opponents (most of the group), tied for fewest games against winning teams, and only 1 Top 25-caliber opponent. They also weren’t overly impressive against their schedule on the offensive side of the ball, especially against 1 of their non-FBS foes and 2 of their weaker foes. Their season ultimately boiled down to 1 game, defeating SEC champion Mississippi State to hand the Bulldogs their 1st loss in 2 years. Duquesne finished 8th in the final AP Poll and received a CFBDW selection (CFBDW and Duquesne’s record books state Kenneth Massey named the Dukes #1; however, Massey lists Minnesota #1. Another CFBDW selector, Soren Sorenson, has Duquesne as his #1 team).

Finally, we have Big 10 champion Minnesota, led by Bernie Beirman in the final season of his 1st stint in Minneapolis. The Gophers posted a perfect record against an all-FBS schedule and had the 2nd-best scoring margin of the contenders listed. They faced 3 Top 25-caliber opponents (Michigan, Northwestern, Washington), with their win over the Wolverines being one of the year’s best in terms of opponent quality. While Minnesota did have one of the best schedules based on the metrics, they also tied Duquesne for the fewest games against winning teams and tied Notre Dame for facing the most teams with losing records. The Gophers finished atop the AP Poll after the regular season and received the overwhelming majority of selector favor from NCAA and CFBDW selectors. 1941 was the end of the golden era for Minnesota football: after winning 5 national and 7 Big 10 titles from 1932-1941 (including 3 of the first 6 from the AP Poll), the Gophers have only won only 1 national title and haven’t posted an unbeaten season since. Even Beirman couldn’t recapture the magic in a 2nd stint as coach following WWII.

Ultimately, I think the Blue Ribbon Commission decides between either Duquesne, Minnesota, and Notre Dame. The Gophers and Irish averaged out with the best rating among the teams. Both were perfect against Top 25-caliber teams. Notre Dame performed the best against common opponents, but the tie against Army hangs over their head. Minnesota performed the best overall on the scoreboard against a schedule that’s considered the toughest of the three teams. Therefore, I think Minnesota is the Tier 1 team as having the best case for the Coaches Trophy this season. The Irish would be Tier 2 as next best case should Minnesota not make a case, but are not a viable candidate to be co-champion. Duquesne would be Tier 3: while the Dukes did go undefeated and had the nation’s best scoring defense, their schedule strength and lack of offense against it hurts their case.

Tier 1 (Best Case to be awarded AFCA Trophy): Minnesota
Tier 2 (Legitimate case for champion/co-champion): Notre Dame
Tier 3 (Minor Contender, could make a case): Duquesne
Tier 4 (Not Serious Contenders): Alabama, Texas