The 1939 college football season concluded with the Aggies of The Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (Texas A&M) being named as the national champions by the voters in the Associated Press writers' poll.

Led by consensus All-American fullback John Kimbrough, the Aggies went undefeated at 11–0 and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 212 to 31, with the defense allowing just 54 first downs and 763 yards all season, or 1.71 yards per play.

On New Year's Day, Texas A&M defeated Tulane, 14–13 in the Sugar Bowl.

This is the Aggies' sole national championship in football.

The Volunteers of the University of Tennessee were 10–0 and unscored upon in the regular season.

In the 1940 Rose Bowl, the Volunteers faced the University of Southern California, who scored two touchdowns to defeat them, 14–0.

One of that year’s seven contemporary math system selectors,[2] Frank Dickinson, named 8–0–2 USC as his No.

In 2004, USC decided to recognize this selection to claim a share of the 1939 title.

[2] The first AP Poll of the season was taken after four weeks of play, starting with October 16.

Each writer listed his choice for the top ten teams, and points were tallied based on 10 for first place, 9 for second, etc., and the AP then ranked the twenty teams with the highest number of points.

Fordham defeated Waynesburg 34–7 in the first-ever televised football game.

The first AP Poll of the year listed Pittsburgh, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Tulane, and Tennessee as the top five.

1 Pittsburgh lost to cross-town rival Duquesne, 21–13.

3 Oklahoma beat Kansas 27–7, but still fell to sixth in the next AP Poll.

6 Michigan visited the Windy City and handed the University of Chicago an 85–0 defeat.

The AP selected Tennessee, Notre Dame, Michigan, Texas A&M, and Ohio State as its top five.

2 Notre Dame edged Carnegie Tech, 7–6.

Nebraska defeated Kansas State in the second televised football game 25–9.

1, while Michigan and Cornell moved ahead of Notre Dame (the Irish were 5-0-0, but each win was by a touchdown or less) and Texas A&M stayed at No.

3 Notre Dame, after several close calls in previous games, finally lost at unranked Iowa, 7–6.

Tennessee and Texas A&M remained first and second in the next poll, followed by USC, Cornell, and Oklahoma.

1 Tennessee extended its shutout streak, beating Vanderbilt 13–0.

Having outscored its opposition, 186–0, Tennessee had a record of 8–0–0, but fell to second in the poll that followed.

20 Dartmouth, 35–6, to stay unbeaten, and they swapped spots with USC in the next poll.

3 Cornell closed its season with a 26–0 win over Penn, to finish unbeaten and untied at 8–0–0.

In the next round of voting, Texas A&M and USC tied for first place, with 939 points apiece.

Cornell led all teams with 34 first-place votes (A&M received 27 and USC 25), but their 909 overall points put them in third place.

1 Texas A&M had finished its season and accepted a bid to the Sugar Bowl.

5 Tulane had both completed their seasons, and the top five remained unchanged.

The Heisman Trophy is given to the year's most outstanding player