1940 Cornell Big Red football team

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1940 Cornell Big Red football
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
APNo. 15
Record6–2
Head coach
Offensive schemeSingle-wing
CaptainWalter Matuszczak
Home stadiumSchoellkopf Field
1940 Eastern college football independents records
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
No. 5 Boston College – 11–0–0
Duquesne – 7–1–0
No. 14 Penn – 6–1–1
Penn State – 6–1–1
No. 12 Fordham – 7–2–0
No. 15 Cornell – 6–2–0
La Salle – 6–2–0
Princeton – 5–2–1
Columbia – 5–2–2
Brown – 6–3–1
Bucknell – 4–2–2
Boston University – 5–3–0
Colgate – 5–3–0
Hofstra – 4–3–0
Harvard – 3–2–3
Dartmouth – 5–4–0
Temple – 4–4–1
Tufts – 4–4–0
Vermont – 4–4–0
Villanova – 4–5–0
Pittsburgh – 3–4–1
Syracuse – 3–4–1
Buffalo – 3–5–0
Carnegie Tech – 3–5–0
Manhattan – 3–6–0
Providence – 3–6–0
NYU – 2–7–0
Yale – 1–7–0
Army – 1–7–1
CCNY – 1–5–1
Massachusetts State – 1–8–0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1940 Cornell Big Red football team was an American football team that represented Cornell University during the 1940 college football season. In their fifth season under head coach Carl Snavely, the Big Red compiled a 6–2 record and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 201 to 38.[1]

Cornell was ranked at No. 7 (out of 697 college football teams) in the final rankings under the Litkenhous Difference by Score system for 1940.[2]

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
October 5Colgate
W 34–015,000[3]
October 12at Army
W 45–027,917[4]
October 19SyracuseNo. 1
  • Schoellkopf Field
  • Ithaca, NY
W 33–618,000[5]
October 26Ohio StateNo. 1
  • Schoellkopf Field
  • Ithaca, NY
W 21–734,500[6]
November 2ColumbiaNo. 1
  • Schoellkopf Field
  • Ithaca, NY (rivalry)
W 27–013,500[7]
November 9at YaleNo. 1
W 21–030,000[8]
November 16at DartmouthNo. 2
L 0–310,000[9][10][11]
November 23at No. 12 PennNo. 5
L 20–2280,000[12]
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
Week
Poll1234567Final
AP1 (90)1 (83)1 (81.5)1 (119)2 (45.33)5 (6)1315

Dartmouth game controversy

Bill Murphy scored a touchdown in the last few seconds of the Dartmouth game, resulting in a 7–3 win for Cornell being officially recorded.[13] However, observers felt that an illegal fifth down had occurred, and therefore the touchdown was invalid.[13][14] After developing and reviewing filmed footage of the game, the referee agreed.[13][14][9] Cornell coach Carl Snavely agreed to give up the win, and thus the official score was revised to 3–0 in favor of Dartmouth.[13][14][9] The loss broke Cornell's 18-game winning streak.[13] As of 2024, it is believed to be the "only collegiate sporting contest to be decided off the field after its completion."[13]

References

  1. "1940 Cornell Big Red Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved December 10, 2015.
  2. Dr. E. E. Litkenhous (December 19, 1940). "Final 1940 Litkenhous Ratings". The Boston Globe. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. "West Point Game Next for Cornell; Colgate Humbled". The Ithaca Journal. October 7, 1940. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. Gene Ward (October 13, 1940). "Cornell 45, Army 0". New York Daily News. p. 89 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Cornell Steamrollers Syracuse, 33-6". New York Daily News. October 20, 1946. p. C42 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Cornell's Last Minute Drive Defeats Ohio State in Thrilling Battle". The Spokesman-Review. Associated Press. October 27, 1940. p. 2B. Retrieved October 20, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Jack Smith (November 3, 1940). "Cornell Slashes Columbia, 27-0". New York Daily News. p. 91 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. Jack Mahon (November 10, 1940). "Cornell Batters Yale, 21-0". New York Daily News. p. 97 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Cornell Nips Dartmouth, 7-3, With 5 Sec. to Go". New York Daily News. November 17, 1940. p. 96 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Richardson, William D. (November 17, 1940). "Disputed Cornell Play Tops Dartmouth, 7-3, at Finish; Pass Halts Green". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
  11. Daley, Arthur J. (November 19, 1940). "Dartmouth 3, Cornell 0, Official Score as Ithacans Refuse Victory". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. 31.
  12. Cy Peterman (November 24, 1940). "80,000 See Penn Beat Cornell, 22 to 20". The Philadelphia Inquirer. pp. S1, S4 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. Wilensky, Joe (November 27, 2024). "How a 1940 Football Game Became an Icon of Good Sportsmanship". Ithaca, New York: Cornell University. Archived from the original on December 13, 2024. Retrieved December 15, 2024.
  14. "The 1940 "Fifth Down" game: Cornell vs. Dartmouth" (Video). YouTube. Cornellians Publication. November 16, 1940. Retrieved December 15, 2024.