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1939 Notre Dame

7–⁠2, coached by Elmer Layden, finished No. 13 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Notre Dame in 1939, game by game: won vs. Purdue 3–0; won vs. Georgia Tech 17–14; won vs. SMU 20–19; won vs. Navy 14–7; won at Carnegie Mellon 7–6; won vs. Army 14–0; lost at Iowa 6–7; won vs. Northwestern 7–0; lost vs. No. 4 USC 12–20+14−8Won 3–0 vs. Purdue+3PurdueWon 17–14 vs. Georgia Tech+3Georgia TechWon 20–19 vs. SMU+1SMUWon 14–7 vs. Navy+7NavyWon 7–6 at Carnegie Mellon+1Carnegie MellonWon 14–0 vs. Army+14ArmyLost 6–7 at Iowa-1IowaWon 7–0 vs. Northwestern+7NorthwesternLost 12–20 vs. No. 4 USC-8No. 4 USC
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 30vsPurdueW 3–⁠066%
Oct 7vsGeorgia TechW 17–⁠1475%
Oct 14vsSMUW 20–⁠1972%
Oct 21vsNavyW 14–⁠765%
Oct 28atCarnegie MellonW 7–⁠657%
Nov 4vsArmyW 14–⁠065%
Nov 11atIowaL 6–⁠772%
Nov 18vsNorthwesternW 7–⁠075%
Nov 25vs4USCL 12–⁠2055%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to USC 20–⁠12; No. 13 in the final AP poll.

In program history: The 72nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 131 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 2
  2. Wk 2: 2
  3. Wk 3: 4
  4. Wk 4: 3
  5. Wk 5: 9
  6. Wk 6: 7
  7. Wk 7: 11
  8. Wk 8: 11
  9. Final: 13

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.

Record
7–⁠2
Conference
—
AP final
No. 13 peak No. 2
Points
100–⁠73
Coach
Elmer Layden
Elo
1664 +31 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
8.3 No. 29 of 124 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Johnny Kelly