1940 Michigan
7–1 (3–1 Western Conference), coached by Fritz Crisler, finished No. 3 in the AP poll. Share
Schedule and results
- Best winBeat No. 8 Pennsylvania 14–0Oct 26
Over the best-ranked team it beat, at home.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 28 | at California | W 41–0 | 51% |
| Oct 5 | vs Michigan State | W 21–14 | 67% |
| Oct 12 | at Harvard | W 26–0 | 60% |
| Oct 19 | vs Illinois | W 28–0 | 77% |
| Oct 26 | vs 8Pennsylvania | W 14–0 | 70% |
| Nov 9 | at 2Minnesota | L 6–7 | 46% |
| Nov 16 | vs 10Northwestern | W 20–13 | 64% |
| Nov 23 | at Ohio State | W 40–0 | 54% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Beat Ohio State 40–0; No. 3 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Western Conference.
In program history: The 41st-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 140 on file).
AP poll, week by week
- Wk 1: 3
- Wk 2: 3
- Wk 3: 3
- Wk 4: 3
- Wk 5: 6
- Wk 6: 7
- Wk 7: 5
- Final: 3
Players on this team
Tom HarmonRunning back
Bob WestfallFullback
Bill DaleyFullback
Al WistertOffensive tackle
Elmer MadarEnd
Forest EvashevskiQuarterback
John GreeneOffensive tackle
Ed FrutigEnd- Jack CarpenterOffensive tackle
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 1940.
Led the nationTom Harmon: rushing touchdowns (15 TD), points (117 pts), points per game (14.63), total offense per game (168.3)
Heisman TrophyTom Harmon, RB; also the Maxwell
Consensus All-AmericanTom Harmon, RB
Tom Harmon won the Heisman Trophy in his senior season.
- Record
- 7–1
- Conference
- 3–1 2nd in Western Conference
- AP final
- No. 3 peak No. 3
- Points
- 196–34
- Coach
- Fritz Crisler
- Elo
- 1706 +146 this season
- SP+ rating
- —
- SRS
- 29.2 No. 1 of 121 major-college teams
- Recruiting class
- —
- Captain
- Forest Evashevski
- Most valuable player
- Tom Harmon
- Offense
- Single-wing
Drafted in 1941
The 1941 draft| Rd 1 | Tom Harmon RB | Chicago Bears |
| Rd 1 | Forest Evashevski QB | Washington Redskins |
| Rd 5 | Ed Frutig E | Green Bay Packers |
All-Big Ten
4 first team, 2 second teamFirst team
- Ed FrutigEAP-1; UP-1
Ralph FritzOGAP-1; UP-1- Forest EvashevskiQBAP-1; UP-2
- Tom HarmonRBAP-1; UP-1
Second team
- Al WistertOTAP-2
- Bob WestfallFBUP-2
From Wikipedia’s 1940 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).
1940 Western Conference standings
| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minnesota | 6–0 | 8–0 | 1 |
| Michigan | 3–1 | 7–1 | 3 |
| Northwestern | 4–2 | 6–2 | 8 |
| Ohio State | 3–3 | 4–4 | |
 Wisconsin | 3–3 | 4–4 | |
 Iowa | 2–3 | 4–4 | |
 Indiana | 2–3 | 3–5 | |
 Purdue | 1–4 | 2–6 | |
| Illinois | 0–5 | 1–7 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.