| 1940 Big Ten Conference football season | |
| Sport: | Football |
| No Of Teams: | 9 |
| Top Pick: | Tom Harmon |
| Season Champs: | Minnesota |
| Season Champ Name: | Champion |
| Mvp: | Tom Harmon |
| Seasonslistnames: | Football |
| Prevseason Year: | 1939 |
| Nextseason Year: | 1941 |
The 1940 Big Ten Conference football season was the 45th season of college football played by the member schools of the Big Ten Conference (also known as the Western Conference) and was a part of the 1940 college football season. The University of Chicago terminated its football program after the 1939 season, leaving only nine conference members fielding football teams. However, Chicago remained a member of the conference and participated in other sports, and the conference remained known generally as the Big Ten.
The 1940 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team under head coach Bernie Bierman compiled a perfect 8–0 record, outscored opponents by a combined total of 154 to 71, won the Big Ten championship, and was ranked No. 1 in the final AP Poll. Quarterback Bob Paffrath was selected as the team's most valuable player. Tackle Urban Odson and halfback George Franck were consensus first-team picks for the 1940 College Football All-America Team.
Michigan, under head coach Fritz Crisler, compiled a 7–1 record, led the conference in both scoring offense (24.5 points per game) and scoring defense (4.3 points per game), and finished the season ranked No. 3 in the final AP Poll. The team's sole setback was a 7–6 loss on the road against Minnesota. Halfback Tom Harmon was a unanimous first-team All-American and the winner of the Heisman Trophy, the Maxwell Award, the Chicago Tribune Silver Football, and the AP's male athlete of the year award.
Northwestern, under head coach Pappy Waldorf, finished in third place in the Big Ten with a 6–2 record and was ranked No. 8 in the final AP Poll. Northwestern's two losses were to No. 1 Minnesota (by one point) and No. 3 Michigan (by seven points). Northwestern tackle Alf Bauman was a consensus first-team All-American.
| Conf. Rank | Team | Head coach | AP final | AP high | Overall record | Conf. record | PPG | PAG | MVP | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minnesota | Bernie Bierman |
|
| 8–0 | 6–0 | 19.3 | 8.9 | Bob Paffrath | |
| 2 | Michigan | Fritz Crisler |
|
| 7–1 | 3–1 | 24.5 | 4.3 | Tom Harmon | |
| 3 | Northwestern | Pappy Waldorf |
|
| 6–2 | 4–2 | 21.3 | 8.0 | Paul Hiemenz | |
| 4 (tie) | Ohio State | Francis Schmidt | NR |
| 4–4 | 3–3 | 12.4 | 14.1 | Claude White | |
| 4 (tie) | Wisconsin | Harry Stuhldreher | NR | NR | 4–4 | 3–3 | 15.6 | 16.8 | George Paskvan | |
| 6 (tie) | Iowa | Eddie Anderson | NR |
| 4–4 | 2–3 | 15.6 | 12.3 | Mike Enich | |
| 6 (tie) | Indiana | Bo McMillin | NR | NR | 3–5 | 2–3 | 8.6 | 12.5 | Dwight Gahm | |
| 8 | Purdue | Mal Elward | NR | NR | 2–6 | 1–4 | 12.0 | 13.3 | Dave Rankin | |
| 9 | Illinois | Robert Zuppke | NR | NR | 1–7 | 0–5 | 8.9 | 18.0 | George Bernhardt |
On September 28, 1940, four Big Ten football teams opened their seasons with non-conference games. Those games resulted in four victories. Northwestern, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, and Illinois had bye weeks.
On October 5, 1940, the Big Ten football teams played one conference game and seven non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in six wins and one loss, bringing the Big Ten's non-conference record to 10–1.
On October 12, 1940, the Big Ten football teams played two conference games and four non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in one win and three losses, bringing the Big Ten's non-conference record to 11–4. Minnesota had a bye week.
On October 19, 1940, the Big Ten football teams played four conference games. Purdue had a bye week.
On October 26, 1940, the Big Ten football teams played three conference games and three non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in one win and two losses, bringing the Big Ten's non-conference record to 12–6.
On November 2, 1940, the Big Ten football teams played four conference games. Michigan had a bye week.
On November 9, 1940, the Big Ten football teams played two conference games and four non-conference games. The non-conference games resulted in one win and three losses, bringing the Big Ten's non-conference record to 13–9. Indiana had a bye week.
On November 16, 1940, the Big Ten football teams played four conference games and one non-conference game. The non-conference game ended in a victory, bringing the Big Ten's non-conference record to 14–9.
On November 23, 1940, the Big Ten football teams played four conference games and one non-conference game. The non-conference game ended in a victory, bringing the Big Ten's non-conference record to 15–9.
During the 1940 season, the Big Ten maintained its long-standing ban on postseason games.[3] Accordingly, no Big Ten teams participated in any bowl games.
The following players were picked by the Associated Press (AP) and/or the United Press (UP) as first-team players on the 1940 All-Big Ten Conference football team.[4] [5]
At the end of the 1940 season, Big Ten players secured five of the 12 consensus first-team picks for the 1940 College Football All-America Team.[6] The Big Ten's consensus All-Americans were:
Other Big Ten players who were named first-team All-Americans by at least one selector were:
The following Big Ten players were selected in the 10th round of the 1941 NFL draft:[7]
| Name | Position | Team | Round | Overall pick |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Harmon | Halfback | Michigan | 1 | 1 |
| George Franck | Halfback | Minnesota | 1 | 6 |
| George Paskvan | Center | Wisconsin | 1 | 7 |
| Don Scott | Quarterback | Ohio State | 1 | 9 |
| Forest Evashevski | Quarterback | Michigan | 1 | 10 |
| Bob Paffrath | Back | Minnesota | 3 | 21 |
| Ed Frutig | End | Michigan | 5 | 37 |
| Eddie Rucinski | End | Indiana | 6 | 49 |
| Dave Rankin | End | Purdue | 8 | 62 |
| Bill Kuusisto | Guard | Minnesota | 8 | 66 |
| Ralph Fritz | Guard | Michigan | 10 | 82 |
| Mike Byelene | Back | Purdue | 10 | 86 |
| Jim Langhurst | Back | Ohio State | 10 | 89 |