The teams ranked highest in the final Associated Press poll in December 1943: Quarterback Angelo Bertelli of Notre Dame won the Heisman Trophy, and halfback Bob O'Dell of Penn won the Maxwell Award.

The statistical leaders for 1943 included Robert Hoernschemeyer of Indiana with 1,648 yards of total offense, Creighton Miller of Notre Dame with 911 rushing yards, Paul Rickards of Pittsburgh with 997 passing yards, Marion Flanagan of Texas A&M with 403 receiving yards, and Steve Van Buren of LSU with 98 points scored.

A number of universities suspended their football programs for the 1943 season, including Alabama, Auburn, Boston College, Duquesne, Florida, Fordham, Harvard, Kentucky, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Mississippi State, Oregon State, Stanford, Syracuse, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Washington State, and William & Mary.

September 17 Georgia beat Presbyterian College 25–7.

The next day, September 18, Michigan won at Camp Grant, 26–0.

September 25 Ohio State lost to Iowa Pre-Flight 28–13.

Georgia Tech beat North Carolina 20–7.

Army defeated Colgate 42–0, and Navy beat Cornell 46–7.

2 matchup in the seven-year history of the AP Poll.

3 Army registered another shutout, defeating Temple 51–0.

4 Penn beat the Lakehurst Naval Air Station 74–6.

5 Purdue beat Ohio State 30–7 at a game in Cleveland.

Penn and Purdue swapped spots in the next AP Poll, but Notre Dame, Army, and Navy remained the top three.

2 Army yielded its first points, but won at Yale, 39–7.

3 Navy beat Georgia Tech 28–14 in Baltimore.

5 Penn won at Columbia, 33–0, but dropped from the Top Five.

7 USC stayed unbeaten, untied, and unscored upon with a 6–0 win over No.

5 USC beat California, 13–0, for its sixth straight shutout.

8 Iowa Pre-Flight continued its unbeaten streak with a 46–19 win at Marquette on November 7, and became the first “service team” to ever reach the AP's Top Five, ranking No.

5 Iowa Pre-Flight beat Camp Grant 28–13.

3 Purdue closed its season undefeated (9–0–0) with a 7–0 win at Indiana.

4 Michigan closed its season at 8–1–0 with a 45–7 win over Ohio State.

6 Duke closed its season at 8–1–0 with a 27–6 win over North Carolina and was raised to No.

5 in the next AP Poll behind Notre Dame, Iowa Pre-Flight, Michigan, and Purdue.

1 Notre Dame closed its season with a 19–14 loss to Great Lakes NTC, 19–14, but still finished No.

2 after its close loss to Notre Dame, beat Minnesota, 32–0, to finish at 9–1–0.

7 Army in the Army–Navy Game, which took place at West Point.

4 in the final poll, behind Notre Dame, Iowa Pre-Flight, and Michigan.

5, Great Lakes NTC entered the poll at No.

Del Monte Pre-Flight - 31.5 points per game 6.