The teams ranked highest in the final Associated Press poll in December 1940 were: The year's statistical leaders included Al Ghesquiere of Detroit with 958 rushing yards,[4] Johnny Knolla of Creighton with 1,420 yards of total offense,[5] Johnny Supulski of Manhattan with 1,190 passing yards,[6] Hank Stanton of Arizona with 820 receiving yards, and Tom Harmon with 117 points scored.

USC and Washington State played to a 14–14 tie.

Tulane lost to Boston College 27–7.

Minnesota defeated Washington 19–14 in Minneapolis.

October 5 In San Antonio, Texas A&M beat Tulsa 41–6.

October 12 Cornell won at Army 45–0.

In Los Angeles, Texas A&M beat UCLA 7–0.

The top five in the year's first AP Poll were No.

6 Notre Dame beat Carnegie Tech 61–0.

Despite a 27–7 win at Wisconsin, Northwestern fell from 4th to 7th; previous No.

7 Minnesota moved up one spot with a 13-7 win over No.

2 Notre Dame won at Illinois 26–0.

Cornell, Notre Dame, and Michigan remained as the top three, followed by Minnesota and Texas A&M.

2 Notre Dame beat Army 7–0 at Yankee Stadium.

The next AP Poll ranked Cornell, Minnesota, Michigan, Texas A&M, and Tennessee as the top five.

7 after their close win over a weak Army team (the Cadets would finish 1-7-1).

1 Cornell beat Yale 21–0, but dropped to second in the next poll.

3 Michigan, both unbeaten (5–0–0), met in Minneapolis, with the Gophers winning by one point, 7–6.

5 Tennessee won at Rhodes College 41–0.

2 Cornell lost at Dartmouth 3–0 in the famous "Fifth Down" game.

1 Minnesota closed its season with a 22–13 win at Wisconsin.

4 Boston College beat Auburn 33–7.

7 Michigan won at Ohio State to close its season at 7–1–0 and moved into fifth place behind Minnesota, Texas A&M, Stanford, and Boston College.

3 Stanford closed its season with a 13–7 win at California, No.

4 Boston College defeated Holy Cross 7–0, and No.

The top five of the final AP Poll were No.

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