1941 college football season

The 1941 college football regular season was the 73rd season of intercollegiate football in the United States. Competition included schools from the Big Ten Conference, the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC), the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the Big Six Conference, the Southern Conference, the Southwestern Conference, and numerous smaller conferences and independent programs.

The teams ranked highest in the final Associated Press poll in December 1941 were:

1. Minnesota, under head coach Bernie Bierman, compiled a perfect 8–0 record, won the Big Ten championship, and was ranked No. 1. It was Minnesota's fifth national championship in eight years.
2. Duke compiled a 9–0 record in the regular season, won the Southern Conference championship, and was ranked No. 2.
3. Notre Dame, led by head coach Frank Leahy, compiled an 8–0–1 record and was ranked No. 3.
4. Texas, led by head coach Dana X. Bible, compiled an 8–1–1 record and was ranked No. 4. Texas was named by one contemporary major selector, the math-based Williamson System, as its No. 1 team.^[2]
5. Michigan, led by head coach Fritz Crisler, compiled a 6–1–1 record and was ranked No. 5.

Minnesota halfback Bruce Smith won the 1941 Heisman Trophy, and Virginia halfback Bill Dudley won the 1941 Maxwell Award. The season's statistical leaders included Frank Sinkwich of Georgia with 1,103 rushing yards, Bud Schwenk of Washington University in St. Louis with 1,457 passing yards, Hank Stanton of Arizona with 820 receiving yards, and Bill Dudley with 134 points scored.

In the four major bowl games, No. 2 Duke lost to PCC champion Oregon State in the Rose Bowl, No. 6 Fordham defeated No. 7 Missouri in the Sugar Bowl, No. 14 Georgia defeated unranked TCU in the Orange Bowl, and No. 20 Alabama defeated No. 9 Texas A&M Aggies in the Cotton Bowl. The Rose Bowl was moved from Pasadena, California, to Durham, North Carolina, due to security concerns on the West Coast following the December 7 attack on Pearl Harbor.