The 1941 Mississippi State Maroons football team was an American football team that represented Mississippi State College in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1941 college football season. In their third season under head coach Allyn McKeen, the Maroons compiled an 8–1–1 record (4–0–1 against SEC opponents), won the only SEC championship in school history, outscored opponents by a total of 191 to 55, and were ranked No. 16 in the final AP Poll.[1]
1941 Mississippi State Maroons football | |
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SEC champion | |
Conference | Southeastern Conference |
Ranking | |
AP | No. 16 |
Record | 8–1–1 (4–0–1 SEC) |
Head coach |
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Home stadium | Scott Field |
Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 16 Mississippi State $ | 4 | – | 0 | – | 1 | 8 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 18 Tennessee | 3 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 20 Alabama | 5 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 14 Georgia | 3 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 9 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No. 17 Ole Miss | 2 | – | 1 | – | 1 | 6 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Vanderbilt | 3 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 8 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
LSU | 2 | – | 2 | – | 2 | 4 | – | 4 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Tulane | 2 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Georgia Tech | 2 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Florida | 1 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 4 | – | 6 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kentucky | 0 | – | 4 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Auburn | 0 | – | 4 | – | 1 | 4 | – | 5 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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After losing eight of eleven starters from the undefeated 1940 team, the Maroons were picked to finish at or near the bottom of the SEC in 1941.[2] Yet, they won games against conference opponents, Florida, Alabama, Auburn, and Ole Miss, and played a scoreless tie against LSU. The sole loss of the season was to No. 10 Duquesne.[1] The 1941 season was the second consecutive season in which Mississippi State went undefeated against SEC opponents.
Two Mississippi State players were named to the 1941 All-SEC football team. Tackle Bill Arnold received first-team honors from the Associated Press (AP) and second-team honors from the United Press (UP). Halfback Johnnie "Blondy" Black was picked by the UP for the second team.[3][4][5]
Mississippi State was ranked at No. 19 (out of 681 teams) in the final rankings under the Litkenhous Difference by Score System for 1941.[6]
Schedule
editDate | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
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September 27 | Florida | W 6–0 | 13,000 | [7] | ||
October 4 | at Alabama | W 14–0 | 20,000 | [8][9] | ||
October 11 | at LSU | T 0–0 | 30,000 | [10] | ||
October 25 | Union (TN)* |
| W 56–7 | 14,000 | [11] | |
November 1 | at Southwestern* | No. 17 | W 20–6 | [12] | ||
November 8 | at Auburn | No. 15 | W 14–7 | 11,000 | [13] | |
November 15 | at No. 10 Duquesne* | No. 13 | L 0–16 | 31,483 | [14] | |
November 22 | Millsaps* |
| W 49–6 | [15] | ||
November 29 | at No. 14 Ole Miss | W 6–0 | 28,000 | [16] | ||
December 6 | at San Francisco* | No. 16 | W 26–13 | 25,000 | [17] | |
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Rankings
editWeek | ||||||||
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Poll | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Final |
AP | 19 | — | 17т | 15 | 13 (0.5) | — | — | 16 |
References
edit- ^ a b "1941 Mississippi State Bulldogs Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 17, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Two Jackson Youths Given Mississippi State Letters". Clarion-Ledger. December 18, 1941. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "All-Southeastern Team Is Selected". The Odessa American. December 1, 1941. p. 8. Retrieved June 6, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Sinkwich, Nelson, Jenkins and Hapes Selected on All-Southeastern Eleven". The Palm Beach Post. December 2, 1941.
- ^ "Eight Teams Represented On UP Grid Squad". Bradford Evening Star. November 25, 1941. p. 12. Retrieved May 29, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Dr. E. E. Litkenhous (December 26, 1941). "Gophers Grid Kings Over 6-Year Span: Tennessee 2d, Pitt 3d Over Period Litkenhous Ratins Are Published". The Courier-Journal. p. Sports 4 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Bob Hartley (September 28, 1941). "Miss. State Beats Florida With 4th Period Touchdown". Clarion-Ledger. p. II-2 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Sam Adams (October 5, 1941). "Mississippi State Tramples Alabama By 14-0 Triumph". The Montgomery Advertiser. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Fast Maroon eleven out-plays Alabama Tide for 14–0 victory". The Tuscaloosa News. Google News Archives. October 5, 1941. p. 6. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
- ^ Norman Walker (October 12, 1941). "Ole Lou Bengals Battle Maroons of Mississippi State to 0-0 Draw". The Shreveport Times. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Maroons Play Brilliantly In Swamping Union Squad 56-7 Before 14,000 Fans". Clarion-Ledger. October 26, 1941. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Purser Hewitt (November 2, 1941). "State Breezes Over Lynx". Clarion-Ledger. pp. 1, 8 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Zipp Newman (November 9, 1941). "Blondy Black Rallies Mississippi State To 14-7 Victory Over Auburn". The Birmingham News. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Harry Keck (November 16, 1941). "Dukes Beat Mississippi State, 16-0: Bluff Eleven Closes First Undefeated, Untied Season". The Pittsburgh Press. p. III-2 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Bob Hartley (November 23, 1941). "Ole Miss Beats Arkansas 18-0; State Swamps Millsaps 49-6 In Pre-Classic Windup Conflicts". Clarion-Ledger. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Purser Hewitt (November 30, 1941). "Fighting Maroons Smash Rebel Bowl Hopes 6 To 0: Moates' Quarterback Sneak Is Telling Blow In State's 71-Yard Drive For Victory". Clarion-Ledger. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Harry Borba (December 7, 1941). "Dons Trounced, 26-13: Blondy Black Sprints 82 Yards to Score". The San Francisco Examiner. p. Sports 3 – via Newspapers.com.