1939 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team

The 1939 Minnesota Golden Gophers football team represented the University of Minnesota in the 1939 Big Ten Conference football season. In their eighth year under head coach Bernie Bierman, the Golden Gophers compiled a 3–4–1 record and outscored their opponents by a combined total of 154 to 82.[1]

1939 Minnesota Golden Gophers football
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
1939 record3–4–1 (2–3–1 Big Ten)
Head coach
Offensive schemeSingle-wing
MVPHal Van Every
CaptainWin Pedersen
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
1939 Big Ten Conference football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 15 Ohio State $ 5 –1 –0  6 –2 –0
No. 9 Iowa 4 –1 –1  6 –1 –1
No. 20 Michigan 3 –2 –0  6 –2 –0
Purdue 2 –1 –2  3 –3 –2
Northwestern 3 –2 –1  3 –4 –1
Illinois 3 –3 –0  3 –4 –1
Minnesota 2 –3 –1  3 –4 –1
Indiana 2 –3 –0  2 –4 –2
Wisconsin 0 –5 –1  1 –6 –1
Chicago 0 –3 –0  2 –6 –0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

Tackle Win Pederson was named All-Big Ten first team.[2] Halfback Hal Van Every was awarded the Team MVP Award.[3]

Total attendance for the season was 229,954, which averaged to 45,991. The season high for attendance was against Northwestern.[4]

Schedule
DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendance
September 30Arizona*
W 62–042,875
October 7at Nebraska*
L 0–633,000
October 14Purdue
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Minneapolis
T 13–1335,000
October 21No. 10 Ohio State
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Minneapolis
L 20–2355,000
November 4Northwestern
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Minneapolis
L 7–1453,200
November 11at No. 10 Michigan
W 20–766,572
November 18at No. 15 IowaNo. 20
L 13–960,100
November 25Wisconsin
  • Memorial Stadium
  • Minneapolis (rivalry)
W 23–640,000
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Game summaries

Michigan
Week 6: Minnesota at Michigan
1 234Total
• Minnesota 7 067 20
Michigan 0 007 7

On November 11, 1939, Minnesota defeated Michigan by a 20 to 7 score. The game was the 30th between the programs, with Minnesota having won the previous five games under head coach Bernie Bierman.[5] Minnesota jumped to a 20 to 0 lead with touchdowns in the first, third and fourth quarters. Minnesota's touchdown in the third quarter came on a 59-yard run by halfback George Franck. In the fourth quarter, Michigan finally scored on touchdown pass from Tom Harmon to Paul Kromer. Harmon kicked for the PAT.[6][7]

Michigan's starting lineup against Minnesota was Joe Rogers (left end), Roland Savilla (left tackle), Ralph Fritz (left guard), Archie Kodros (center), Milo Sukup (right guard), William Smith (right tackle), John Nicholson (right end), Ingalls (quarterback), Paul Kromer (left halfback), Harmon (right halfback), and Bob Westfall (fullback).[6]

References
  1. "1939 Minnesota Golden Gophers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
  2. Keiser, Jeff (2007), 2007 Media Guide (PDF), p. 180
  3. Keiser, Jeff (2007), 2007 Media Guide (PDF), p. 181
  4. Keiser, Jeff (2007), 2007 Media Guide (PDF), p. 160
  5. "Michigan vs. Minnesota". College Football Data Warehouse. David DeLassus. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
  6. "Minnesota Triumphs and Drops Michigan Out of Running for Big Ten Title: 64,945 See Gophers Spring Upset, 20-7". The New York Times. November 12, 1939.
  7. Wilfrid Smith (November 12, 1939). "Gophers Rout Michigan on Power, 20-7". Chicago Tribune. p. 2-1.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.