1940 NCAA Division IA Football Power Ratings

Return to the college football ratings index

Final power ratings for the 1940 season are listed below. Home field advantage for this year was .627 and the root for determining point spreads was 1.754.

The average home field advantage for this year is 3.95 points.

Some game locations are unknown and have been estimated. Research continues.

KEY: PR=Final power rating, PS=Pre-season power rating, SOS=strength of schedule.


Rank Team PR PS SOS PF PA Wins Losses Ties Pct Conference
1 Stanford .920 .451 .693 19.60 8.50 10 0 0 1.000 PCC
2 Mississippi State .920 .656 .608 22.45 5.27 10 0 1 .955 SEC
3 Texas A&M .906 .815 .704 18.30 4.60 9 1 0 .900 SWC
4 Texas .875 .515 .879 17.20 7.70 8 2 0 .800 SWC
5 Tennessee .872 .868 .472 30.18 4.09 10 1 0 .909 SEC
6 Boston College .870 .609 .324 30.82 5.91 11 0 0 1.000 Northeast Independent
7 Minnesota .857 .618 .685 19.25 8.88 8 0 0 1.000 Western
8 Southern Methodist .854 .699 .735 14.20 7.50 8 1 1 .850 SWC
9 Georgetown .830 .658 .522 28.00 5.50 8 2 0 .800 South/West Independent
10 Michigan .823 .573 .546 24.50 4.25 7 1 0 .875 Western
11 Washington .816 .580 .583 18.78 6.00 7 2 0 .778 PCC
12 Nebraska .813 .708 .606 18.30 7.50 8 2 0 .800 Big 6
13 Duke .811 .880 .613 22.56 5.78 7 2 0 .778 Southern
14 Mississippi .796 .705 .550 22.82 9.09 9 2 0 .818 SEC
15 Santa Clara .787 .774 .527 19.38 5.75 6 1 1 .813 South/West Independent
16 Hardin-Simmons .745 .431 .050 26.11 8.44 9 0 0 1.000 South/West Independent
17 Rice .738 .486 .650 13.10 7.80 7 3 0 .700 SWC
18 Fordham .733 .719 .370 18.00 6.89 7 2 0 .778 Northeast Independent
19 Northwestern .730 .520 .529 21.25 8.00 6 2 0 .750 Western
20 Alabama .709 .773 .446 18.44 8.89 7 2 0 .778 SEC
21 Texas Tech .708 .585 .311 21.91 11.91 9 1 1 .864 Border
22 Auburn .708 .692 .826 15.45 13.91 6 4 1 .591 SEC
23 Clemson .702 .790 .481 20.22 8.11 6 2 1 .722 Southern
24 Wake Forest .700 .587 .565 19.30 11.30 7 3 0 .700 Southern
25 Detroit Mercy .700 .602 .271 16.33 3.00 7 2 0 .778 Eastern Independent
26 Tulsa .700 .474 .531 16.60 11.20 7 3 0 .700 MVC
27 Notre Dame .680 .794 .323 18.67 7.44 7 2 0 .778 Eastern Independent
28 Duquesne .680 .680 .344 14.75 8.00 7 1 0 .875 Eastern Independent
29 Virginia Military Institute .679 .586 .336 12.70 5.20 7 2 1 .750 Southern
30 William & Mary .677 .455 .371 20.56 6.67 6 2 1 .722 Southern
31 Oklahoma .676 .762 .619 13.44 11.67 6 3 0 .667 Big 6
32 Cornell .659 .702 .320 25.13 4.75 6 2 0 .750 Northeast Independent
33 Utah .659 .655 .292 18.78 9.67 7 2 0 .778 Mountain States
34 Navy .656 .535 .348 11.78 5.11 6 2 1 .722 Eastern Independent
35 Oregon State .655 .691 .543 14.22 8.89 5 3 1 .611 PCC
36 Missouri .646 .693 .479 23.67 13.89 6 3 0 .667 Big 6
37 Penn State .645 .534 .234 16.88 5.75 6 1 1 .813 Eastern Independent
38 North Carolina .638 .809 .571 15.90 9.80 6 4 0 .600 Southern
39 Oklahoma State .633 .416 .456 21.00 13.70 6 3 1 .650 MVC
40 Tulane .633 .823 .813 14.40 12.60 5 5 0 .500 SEC
41 Louisiana State .633 .694 .618 13.90 11.20 6 4 0 .600 SEC
42 Arizona .628 .488 .188 22.67 9.22 7 2 0 .778 Border
43 Georgia .621 .576 .592 20.90 13.40 5 4 1 .550 SEC
44 Creighton .607 .425 .227 17.80 7.90 6 2 2 .700 MVC
45 Pennsylvania .603 .457 .183 30.88 9.88 6 1 1 .813 Eastern Independent
46 Kentucky .599 .580 .442 19.00 10.70 5 3 2 .600 SEC
47 Oregon .597 .551 .603 11.11 6.44 4 4 1 .500 PCC
48 Colgate .597 .457 .499 15.63 9.50 5 3 0 .625 Northeast Independent
49 St. Mary's .593 .538 .461 12.50 8.50 5 3 0 .625 South/West Independent
50 Washington State .590 .485 .725 13.10 14.70 4 4 2 .500 PCC
51 Baylor .589 .702 .846 10.90 11.40 4 6 0 .400 SWC
52 Columbia .581 .459 .422 9.00 8.00 5 2 2 .667 Northeast Independent
53 Arizona State .576 .434 .150 18.00 9.09 7 2 2 .727 Border
54 Temple .573 .444 .579 17.22 12.56 4 4 1 .500 Eastern Independent
55 Denver .572 .509 .185 17.22 10.33 6 2 1 .722 Mountain States
56 Colorado .570 .535 .369 20.22 11.78 5 3 1 .611 Mountain States
57 Florida .567 .509 .722 13.60 14.10 5 5 0 .500 SEC
58 Texas Christian .557 .680 .933 11.60 12.10 3 7 0 .300 SWC
59 Arkansas .555 .595 .950 11.20 17.40 4 6 0 .400 SWC
60 Pittsburgh .552 .755 .725 10.63 12.75 3 4 1 .438 Eastern Independent
61 Richmond .541 .556 .217 15.67 8.89 6 3 0 .667 Southern
62 Iowa .533 .465 .478 15.63 12.25 4 4 0 .500 Western
63 Michigan State .526 .570 .520 13.50 9.50 3 4 1 .438 Eastern Independent
64 Gonzaga .524 .463 .316 13.30 7.90 5 4 1 .550 South/West Independent
65 Furman .515 .493 .303 21.67 12.44 5 4 0 .556 Southern
66 California .511 .586 .691 8.40 12.80 4 6 0 .400 PCC
67 Villanova .509 .756 .496 16.33 11.00 4 5 0 .444 Eastern Independent
68 Ohio State .503 .662 .583 12.38 14.13 4 4 0 .500 Western
69 Southern California .503 .824 .555 9.78 10.89 3 4 2 .444 PCC
70 Dartmouth .500 .636 .222 15.00 9.11 5 4 0 .556 Northeast Independent
71 New Mexico .492 .563 .221 18.56 10.67 5 4 0 .556 Border
72 Indiana .491 .431 .729 8.63 12.50 3 5 0 .375 Western
73 Brown .477 .462 .111 12.40 9.40 6 3 1 .650 Northeast Independent
74 West Virginia .475 .428 .359 14.11 10.44 4 4 1 .500 Eastern Independent
75 Virginia Tech .474 .478 .406 14.00 14.50 5 5 0 .500 Southern
76 Wisconsin .472 .371 .474 15.63 16.75 4 4 0 .500 Western
77 Iowa State .469 .445 .450 13.11 14.67 4 5 0 .444 Big 6
78 George Washington .465 .517 .254 8.67 9.11 5 3 1 .611 South/West Independent
79 Princeton .461 .565 .160 14.88 14.00 5 2 1 .688 Eastern Independent
80 Virginia .453 .469 .392 13.00 11.44 4 5 0 .444 South/West Independent
81 Syracuse .452 .482 .511 14.25 16.75 3 4 1 .438 Northeast Independent
82 North Carolina State .449 .412 .649 13.33 17.89 3 6 0 .333 Southern
83 Georgia Tech .448 .733 .624 13.90 16.00 3 7 0 .300 SEC
84 Harvard .447 .430 .194 9.63 6.13 3 2 3 .563 Northeast Independent
85 Vanderbilt .444 .527 .549 10.10 9.80 3 6 1 .350 SEC
86 Holy Cross .435 .704 .445 11.70 12.50 4 5 1 .450 Northeast Independent
87 Marquette .418 .458 .658 18.00 22.89 2 6 1 .278 Eastern Independent
88 Davidson .412 .345 .299 15.30 20.50 5 5 0 .500 Southern
89 St. Louis .411 .432 .484 8.80 11.30 3 6 1 .350 MVC
90 Manhattan .409 .504 .484 18.33 17.22 3 6 0 .333 Northeast Independent
91 Texas-El Paso .407 .500 .208 14.33 13.44 4 4 1 .500 Border
92 Purdue .405 .571 .579 12.00 13.25 2 6 0 .250 Western
93 South Carolina .404 .433 .523 11.89 16.22 3 6 0 .333 Southern
94 Drake .387 .480 .278 13.89 12.00 4 5 0 .444 MVC
95 Montana .377 .433 .247 10.56 16.56 4 4 1 .500 PCC
96 UCLA .370 .686 .934 7.90 17.40 1 9 0 .100 PCC
97 Brigham Young .362 .490 .341 9.88 11.63 2 4 2 .375 Mountain States
98 Colorado State .359 .285 .261 9.44 14.56 3 4 2 .444 Mountain States
99 San Francisco .337 .475 .645 9.13 15.63 1 6 1 .188 South/West Independent
100 Washington (Missouri) .324 .517 .241 14.00 15.67 3 6 0 .333 MVC
101 Washington & Lee .323 .423 .499 8.80 17.10 2 7 1 .250 Southern
102 Hampden-Sydney .319 .296 .189 10.67 16.67 4 5 0 .444 South/West Independent
103 Citadel .308 .385 .062 13.67 15.11 4 5 0 .444 Southern
104 Washburn .300 .360 .203 11.70 19.60 4 6 0 .400 MVC
105 Centenary .295 .423 .404 8.30 17.50 3 7 0 .300 South/West Independent
106 Sewanee .293 .292 .188 16.50 15.63 3 5 0 .375 South/West Independent
107 Kansas State .288 .531 .515 8.11 16.11 2 7 0 .222 Big 6
108 Loyola Marymount .284 .338 .377 8.90 17.20 3 7 0 .300 South/West Independent
109 Carnegie Tech .283 .564 .278 8.25 14.00 3 5 0 .375 Eastern Independent
110 Kansas .272 .384 .541 8.33 20.33 2 7 0 .222 Big 6
111 Utah State .254 .396 .239 6.00 13.00 2 5 1 .313 Mountain States
112 Miami (Florida) .248 .461 .192 13.10 19.70 3 7 0 .300 South/West Independent
113 Illinois .247 .404 .552 8.88 18.00 1 7 0 .125 Western
114 New Mexico State .239 .441 .177 10.56 22.22 3 6 0 .333 Border
115 Maryland .231 .364 .359 4.33 19.00 2 6 1 .278 Southern
116 Wild Card U .229 .228 .536 5.86 23.65 30 146 6 .181  
117 Idaho .228 .410 .597 3.33 23.78 1 7 1 .167 PCC
118 Northern Arizona .210 .220 .251 11.88 22.63 2 6 0 .250 Border
119 New York University .203 .519 .322 7.89 20.56 2 7 0 .222 Northeast Independent
120 Army .199 .540 .414 6.00 21.89 1 7 1 .167 Northeast Independent
121 Yale .164 .422 .381 5.38 20.25 1 7 0 .125 Northeast Independent
122 Wyoming .160 .228 .314 3.56 21.11 1 7 1 .167 Mountain States

Conference PR PS SOS Wins Losses Ties Pct Teams
SWC .725 .642 .814 43 26 1 .621 7
SEC .662 .678 .605 74 43 6 .626 12
Western .562 .513 .573 39 33 0 .542 9
PCC .557 .570 .617 43 43 8 .500 10
Eastern Independent .554 .582 .391 67 43 9 .601 14
Big 6 .528 .587 .535 28 27 0 .509 6
Southern .524 .533 .417 74 62 5 .543 15
Northeast Independent .480 .546 .358 62 54 9 .532 14
MVC .480 .444 .346 33 31 4 .515 7
South/West Independent .475 .472 .347 59 55 4 .517 13
Border .466 .461 .215 37 25 4 .591 7
Mountain States .419 .442 .286 26 27 8 .492 7

This page has been accessed Hit Counter times since June 9, 1999.



Last Updated on 09/15/13
By James Howell
Email: cfootball@jhowell.net