Surf Wiki
Save to docs
sports

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

1941 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

American college football season

American college football season

FieldValue
year1941
teamMinnesota Golden Gophers
sportfootball
conferenceBig Ten Conference
short_confBig Ten
APRank1
record8–0
conf_record5–0
head_coachBernie Bierman
hc_year10th
off_schemeSingle-wing
mvpBob Sweiger
captainBruce Smith
stadiumMemorial Stadium
championAP Poll national champion
Big Ten champion

Big Ten champion The 1941 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 1941 Big Ten Conference football season. In their tenth year under head coach Bernie Bierman, the Golden Gophers compiled an undefeated 8–0 record and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 186 to 38. The team's national championship run in the days before the attack on Pearl Harbor was chronicled in journalist Danny Spewak's book, "From the Gridiron to the Battlefield: Minnesota's March to a College Football Title and into World War II," published in 2021 by Rowman & Littlefield.

The team was selected national champion by eleven NCAA-designated major selectors in Associated Press, Billingsley, Boand, DeVold, Dunkel, Football Research, Helms, Litkenhous, National Championship Foundation, Poling, Sagarin, Sagarin (ELO-Chess).

Halfback Bruce Smith was named an All-American by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, INS, Time-Life, United Press (UP), Associated Press (AP) and Look Magazine.

Tackle Dick Wildung was named an All-American by the Walter Camp Football Foundation, INS, Time Life, AP and UPI. Wildung, Smith, halfback Bill Daley, end Bob Fitch and guard Len Levy were named All-Big Ten.

Back Bob Sweiger was awarded the team most valuable player award.

Total attendance for the season was 239,227, which averaged to 47,845. The season high for attendance was against Northwestern.

Schedule

|{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w |{{CFB schedule entry | w/l = w

Rankings

Game summaries

Michigan

Ann Arbor, Michigan

On October 25, 1941, Minnesota, ranked #1 in the AP Poll, played Michigan, ranked #3 in the country. Minnesota won the game by a 7 to 0 score on a five-yard touchdown run by halfback Herman Frickey in the second quarter. The touchdown was set up by a 78-yard punt and a 43-yard pass, both by 1941 Heisman Trophy winner Bruce Smith. Minnesota gained 179 rushing yards in the game, while Michigan tallied 135 rushing yards. In the fourth quarter, Michigan twice drove deep into Minnesota territory, but both drives ended with pass interceptions by Minnesota's quarterback Bill Garnaas. The loss was the eighth in a row for the Wolverines against the Golden Gophers. The crowd of 85,753 at Michigan Stadium was the largest to that date to see a football game between two Big Ten Conference teams.

References

References

  1. "1941 Minnesota Golden Gophers Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC.
  2. Danny Spewak. (2021). "From the Gridiron to the Battlefield: Minnesota's March to a College Football Title and into World War II". Rowman.com.
  3. (August 2018). "2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records". National Collegiate Athletic Association.
  4. Keiser, Jeff. (March 2018). ["2007 Media Guide"](http://www.gophersports.com//pdf6/80499.pdf?SPSID=39281&SPID=3280&DB_OEM_ID=8400 }}{{dead link).
  5. Keiser, Jeff. (March 2018). ["2007 Media Guide"](http://www.gophersports.com//pdf6/80499.pdf?SPSID=39281&SPID=3280&DB_OEM_ID=8400 }}{{dead link).
  6. Keiser, Jeff. (March 2018). ["2007 Media Guide"](http://www.gophersports.com//pdf6/80499.pdf?SPSID=39281&SPID=3280&DB_OEM_ID=8400 }}{{dead link).
  7. Keiser, Jeff. (March 2018). ["2007 Media Guide"](http://www.gophersports.com//pdf6/80499.pdf?SPSID=39281&SPID=3280&DB_OEM_ID=8400 }}{{dead link).
  8. Keiser, Jeff. (July 2018). ["2007 Media Guide"](http://www.gophersports.com//pdf3/80498.pdf?SPSID=39281&SPID=3280&DB_OEM_ID=8400 }}{{Dead link).
  9. Charles Johnson. (September 28, 1941). "Smith and Daley Star as Gophers Rip Huskies, 14–6: Halfback Scoots to 2 Scores". Minneapolis Sunday Tribune and Star Journal.
  10. Charles Johnson. (October 12, 1941). "Gophers Crush Illini, 34–6: Minnesota Tallies 4 Times in First Half". Minneapolis Sunday Tribune and Star Journal.
  11. Charles Johnson. (October 19, 1941). "Gophers Pound Pitt, 39–0: Higgins Is Sensation in Victory". Minneapolis Sunday Tribune and Star Journal.
  12. John N. Sabo. (October 26, 1941). "Minnesota Edges Out Michigan on Second-Period Score, 7 to 0, as Crowd of 85,753 Looks On". Detroit Free Press.
  13. Charles Johnson. (November 2, 1941). "Gophers Cage Wildcats, 8–7". Minneapolis Sunday Tribune and Star Journal.
  14. Charles Johnson. (November 9, 1941). "Gophers Held To 9–0 Win". Minneapolis Sunday Tribune and Star Journal.
  15. Bert McGrane. (November 16, 1941). "Minnesota Mauls Iowa, 34–13". The Des Moines Register.
  16. Charles Johnson. (November 23, 1941). "Gophers Tip Badgers, 41–6, Win Big Ten, U.S. Titles: Smith Heroic in Last Game". Minneapolis Sunday Tribune and Star Journal.
  17. Arch Ward. (October 26, 1941). "Minnesota Bears Michigan, 7–0: Gophers Score Touchdown in Second Period; 85,753 See Losers' Line Outplayed". Chicago Tribune.
  18. Allison Danzig. (October 26, 1941). "85,753 See Gophers; Bruce Smith Hurt After Punting 78 Yards and Hurling Pass for 43". The New York Times.
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

1941-big-ten-conference-football-season minnesota-golden-gophers-football-seasons college-football-national-champions big-ten-conference-football-champion-seasons college-football-undefeated-seasons 1941-in-sports-in-minnesota
Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about 1941 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report