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1939 Wake Forest

7–⁠3 (3–⁠3 Southern Conference), coached by D.C. Walker.

Schedule and results

Wake Forest in 1939, game by game: won vs. Elon 34–0; won vs. South Carolina 19–7; lost at North Carolina 6–36; won at Miami 33–0; won at NC State 32–0; won vs. McDaniel 66–0; lost at No. 12 Duke 0–6; won at Marshall 14–13; lost at Clemson 7–20; won vs. Davidson 46–7+66−30Won 34–0 vs. Elon+34ElonWon 19–7 vs. South Carolina+12South CarolinaLost 6–36 at North Carolina-30North CarolinaWon 33–0 at Miami+33MiamiWon 32–0 at NC State+32NC StateWon 66–0 vs. McDaniel+66McDanielLost 0–6 at No. 12 Duke-6No. 12 DukeWon 14–13 at Marshall+1MarshallLost 7–20 at Clemson-13ClemsonWon 46–7 vs. Davidson+39Davidson
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 16vsElonW 34–⁠087%
Sep 23vsSouth CarolinaW 19–⁠752%
Sep 30atNorth CarolinaL 6–⁠3624%
Oct 6atMiamiW 33–⁠065%
Oct 14atNC StateW 32–⁠049%
Oct 21vsMcDanielW 66–⁠088%
Oct 28at12DukeL 0–⁠622%
Nov 4atMarshallW 14–⁠1386%
Nov 11atClemsonL 7–⁠2027%
Nov 30vsDavidsonW 46–⁠774%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Davidson 46–⁠7; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 7th in the Southern Conference.

In program history: The 27th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 119 on file).

Led the nationJohn Polanski: rushing yards (882 yds)

Record
7–⁠3
Conference
3–⁠3 tied for 7th in Southern Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
257–⁠89
Coach
D.C. Walker
Elo
1521 +85 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
11.3 No. 20 of 124 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Rupert Pate

All-Southern Conference

1 first team, 2 second team

First team

  • Rupert PateOTAP-1; UP-1

Second team

  • John PolanskiBUP-2
  • Frank KaprivaOGUP-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 Southern Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Duke5–⁠08–⁠18
Clemson4–⁠09–⁠112
North Carolina5–⁠18–⁠1–⁠1
William & Mary2–⁠0–⁠16–⁠2–⁠1
Richmond3–⁠1–⁠17–⁠1–⁠2
VMI3–⁠1–⁠16–⁠3–⁠1
Wake Forest3–⁠37–⁠3
Furman3–⁠35–⁠4
NC State2–⁠42–⁠8
Washington and Lee1–⁠23–⁠4–⁠1
Virginia Tech1–⁠4–⁠14–⁠5–⁠1
South Carolina1–⁠33–⁠6–⁠1
Davidson1–⁠72–⁠7
The Citadel0–⁠43–⁠8
Maryland0–⁠12–⁠7

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