1939 Minnesota
3–4–1 (2–3–1 Western Conference), coached by Bernie Bierman. Share
Schedule and results
- Biggest upsetBeat No. 10 Michigan 20–7Nov 11
Michigan was ranked No. 10, above it.
| Date | Opponent | Result | Elo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 30 | vs Arizona | W 62–0 | 77% |
| Oct 7 | at Nebraska | L 0–6 | 55% |
| Oct 14 | vs Purdue | T 13–13 | 65% |
| Oct 21 | vs 10Ohio State | L 20–23 | 61% |
| Nov 4 | vs Northwestern | L 7–14 | 67% |
| Nov 11 | at 10Michigan | W 20–7 | 38% |
| Nov 18 | at 15Iowa | L 9–13 | 59% |
| Nov 25 | vs Wisconsin | W 23–6 | 78% |
Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.
How it ended: Beat Wisconsin 23–6; unranked in the final AP poll; 7th in the Western Conference.
In program history: The 46th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 135 on file).
AP poll, week by week
- Wk 5: 20
Players on this team
George FranckRunning back
Bruce SmithRunning back
Bill DaleyFullback
Len LevyGuard- Urban OdsonOffensive tackle
- Bob SweigerBack
- Bob PaffrathBack
- Gordon PaschkaGuard
- Marty ChristiansenBack
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.
- Record
- 3–4–1
- Conference
- 2–3–1 7th in Western Conference
- AP final
- Unranked peak No. 20
- Points
- 154–82
- Coach
- Bernie Bierman
- Elo
- 1590 −28 this season
- SP+ rating
- —
- SRS
- 9.2 No. 25 of 124 major-college teams
- Recruiting class
- —
- Captain
- Win Pedersen
- Most valuable player
- Hal Van Every
- Offense
- Single-wing
Drafted in 1940
The 1940 draft| Rd 1 | Hal Van Every RB | Green Bay Packers |
| Rd 5 | Marty Christiansen B | Chicago Cardinals |
All-Big Ten
1 first team, 3 second teamFirst team
Win PedersenOTAP-1
Second team
- John MariucciEAP-2
Hal Van EveryRBAP-2- George FranckRBAP-2
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
| Team | Conf. | Overall | AP final |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio State | 5–1 | 6–2 | 15 |
| Iowa | 4–1–1 | 6–1–1 | 9 |
| Michigan | 3–2 | 6–2 | 20 |
| Purdue | 2–1–2 | 3–3–2 | |
| Northwestern | 3–2–1 | 3–4–1 | |
 Illinois | 3–3 | 3–4–1 | |
| Minnesota | 2–3–1 | 3–4–1 | |
 Indiana | 2–3 | 2–4–2 | |
| Wisconsin | 0–5–1 | 1–6–1 | |
| Chicago | 0–3 | 2–6 |
Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.