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1939 Iowa

6–⁠1–⁠1 (4–⁠1–⁠1 Western Conference), coached by Edward Anderson, finished No. 9 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Iowa in 1939, game by game: won vs. South Dakota 41–0; won vs. Indiana 32–29; lost at Michigan 7–27; won at Wisconsin 19–13; won at Purdue 4–0; won vs. No. 3 Notre Dame 7–6; won vs. No. 20 Minnesota 13–9; tied at Northwestern 7–7+41−20Won 41–0 vs. South Dakota+41South DakotaWon 32–29 vs. Indiana+3IndianaLost 7–27 at Michigan-20MichiganWon 19–13 at Wisconsin+6WisconsinWon 4–0 at Purdue+4PurdueWon 7–6 vs. No. 3 Notre Dame+1No. 3 Notre DameWon 13–9 vs. No. 20 Minnesota+4No. 20 MinnesotaTied 7–7 at Northwestern0Northwestern
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 30vsSouth DakotaW 41–⁠089%
Oct 7vsIndianaW 32–⁠2950%
Oct 14atMichiganL 7–⁠2723%
Oct 28atWisconsinW 19–⁠1338%
Nov 4atPurdueW 4–⁠026%
Nov 11vs3Notre DameW 7–⁠628%
Nov 18vs20MinnesotaW 13–⁠941%
Nov 25atNorthwesternT 7–⁠737%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Tied Northwestern 7–⁠7; No. 9 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Western Conference.

In program history: The 76th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 133 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 5: 15
  2. Wk 6: 9
  3. Wk 7: 9
  4. Wk 8: 8
  5. Final: 9

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1939.

Led the nationNile Kinnick: kickoff return yards (377 yds), kickoff return average (25.1)

Heisman TrophyNile Kinnick, RB/QB; also the Maxwell

Consensus All-AmericanNile Kinnick, RB/QB

Record
6–⁠1–⁠1
Conference
4–⁠1–⁠1 2nd in Western Conference
AP final
No. 9 peak No. 8
Points
130–⁠91
Coach
Edward Anderson
Elo
1500 +92 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
4.4 No. 44 of 124 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Most valuable player
Nile Kinnick

Drafted in 1940

The 1940 draft
Rd 2Nile Kinnick BBrooklyn Dodgers

All-Big Ten

3 first team

First team

  • Erwin PrasseEAP-1
  • Mike EnichOTAP-2; UP-1
  • Nile KinnickRBAP-1; UP-1

From Wikipedia’s 1939 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1939 Western Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Ohio State5–⁠16–⁠215
Iowa4–⁠1–⁠16–⁠1–⁠19
Michigan3–⁠26–⁠220
Purdue2–⁠1–⁠23–⁠3–⁠2
Northwestern3–⁠2–⁠13–⁠4–⁠1
Illinois3–⁠33–⁠4–⁠1
Minnesota2–⁠3–⁠13–⁠4–⁠1
Indiana2–⁠32–⁠4–⁠2
Wisconsin0–⁠5–⁠11–⁠6–⁠1
Chicago0–⁠32–⁠6

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.