1941 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

1941 Minnesota Golden Gophers football
1941 Minnesota Golden Gophers football
Consensus national champion; Big Ten champion
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 1
Record	8–0 (5–0 Big Ten)
Head coach	Bernie Bierman (10th season);
Offensive scheme	Single-wing
MVP	Bob Sweiger
Captain	Bruce Smith
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
	Seasons ← 1940 1942 →

1941 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 1 Minnesota $	5	–	0	–	0	8	–	0	–	0
No. 5 Michigan	3	–	1	–	1	6	–	1	–	1
No. 13 Ohio State	3	–	1	–	1	6	–	1	–	1
No. 11 Northwestern	4	–	2	–	0	5	–	3	–	0
Wisconsin	3	–	3	–	0	3	–	5	–	0
Iowa	2	–	4	–	0	3	–	5	–	0
Purdue	1	–	3	–	0	2	–	5	–	1
Indiana	1	–	3	–	0	2	–	6	–	0
Illinois	0	–	5	–	0	2	–	6	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1941 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 1941 Big Ten Conference football season. In their tenth year under head coach Bernie Bierman, the Golden Gophers compiled an undefeated 8–0 record and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 186 to 38.^[1] The team's national championship run in the days before the attack on Pearl Harbor was chronicled in journalist Danny Spewak's book, "From the Gridiron to the Battlefield: Minnesota's March to a College Football Title and into World War II," published in 2021 by Rowman & Littlefield.^[2]

The team was selected national champion by eleven NCAA-designated major selectors in Associated Press, Billingsley, Boand, DeVold, Dunkel, Football Research, Helms, Litkenhous, National Championship Foundation, Poling, Sagarin, Sagarin (ELO-Chess).^[3]^: 112

Halfback Bruce Smith was named an All-American by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, INS, Time-Life, United Press (UP), Associated Press (AP) and Look Magazine.^[4] Smith was also awarded the Heisman Trophy, the only Golden Gopher to win the award.^[5]

Tackle Dick Wildung was named an All-American by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, INS, Time Life, AP and UPI.^[4] Wildung, Smith, halfback Bill Daley, end Bob Fitch and guard Len Levy were named All-Big Ten.^[6]

Back Bob Sweiger was awarded the team most valuable player award.^[7]

Total attendance for the season was 239,227, which averaged to 47,845. The season high for attendance was against Northwestern.^[8]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 27	at Washington*		Husky Stadium Seattle, WA	W 14–6	43,000	^[9]
October 11	Illinois		Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	W 34–6	50,435	^[10]
October 18	Pittsburgh*	No. 1	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	W 39–0	35,000	^[11]
October 25	at No. 3 Michigan	No. 1	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (Little Brown Jug)	W 7–0	85,753	^[12]
November 1	No. 9 Northwestern	No. 1	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN	W 8–7	64,464	^[13]
November 8	Nebraska*	No. 2	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)	W 9–0	42,893	^[14]
November 15	at Iowa	No. 1	Iowa Stadium Iowa City, IA (rivalry)	W 34–13	43,200	^[15]
November 22	Wisconsin	No. 1	Memorial Stadium Minneapolis, MN (rivalry)	W 41–6	52,984	^[16]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
т = Tied with team above or below ( ) = First-place votes
	Week
Poll	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	Final
AP	1 (66)	1 (69)	1т (60)	2 (34.5)	1 (99)	1 (112)	1 (95)	1 (84.5)

Game summaries

Michigan

Week 5: Minnesota at Michigan

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Minnesota	0	7	0	0	7
Michigan	0	0	0	0	0

Date: October 25, 1941
Location: Michigan Stadium
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Game attendance: 85,753
Referee: Frank Birch (Earlham)

On October 25, 1941, Minnesota, ranked #1 in the AP Poll, played Michigan, ranked #3 in the country. Minnesota won the game by a 7 to 0 score on a five-yard touchdown run by halfback Herman Frickey in the second quarter. The touchdown was set up by a 78-yard punt and a 43-yard pass, both by 1941 Heisman Trophy winner Bruce Smith. Minnesota gained 179 rushing yards in the game, while Michigan tallied 135 rushing yards. In the fourth quarter, Michigan twice drove deep into Minnesota territory, but both drives ended with pass interceptions by Minnesota's quarterback Bill Garnaas. The loss was the eighth in a row for the Wolverines against the Golden Gophers. The crowd of 85,753 at Michigan Stadium was the largest to that date to see a football game between two Big Ten Conference teams.^[17]^[18]