The AP Poll started in 1936. From then through 1941 or 1942 the Gophers were really THE dominant team.
AP Poll NC's, 1936-1942:
- 3 Minnesota (1936, 1940, 1941)
- 1 Ohio State (1942)
- 1 Texas A&M (1939)
- 1 TCU (1938)
- 1 Pittsburgh (1937)
AP Poll total Appearances, 1936-1942 (55 total polls):
- 48 Notre Dame
- 46 Minnesota
- 43 Duke
- 40 Bama
- 39 Tennessee
- 39 Fordham (NY)
- 39 Santa Clara (CA)
- 38 Michigan
- 33 Northwestern
- 32 Ohio State
AP Poll top-10 appearances, 1936-1942 (55 polls):
- 39 Notre Dame
- 37 Minnesota
- 27 Tennessee
- 26 Michigan
- 24 Texas A&M
- 23 Pittsburgh
- 23 Northwestern
- 22 Alabama
- 22 Duke
- 20 Fordham (NY)
AP Poll top-5 appearances, 1936-1942 (55):
- 27 Minnesota
- 20 Pittsburgh
- 20 Texas A&M
- 20 Notre Dame
- 19 Tennessee
- 14 Alabama
- 14 Michigan
- 13 Cornell (NY)
- 13 Duke
- 12 Fordham (NY)
AP Poll #1 appearances, 1936-1942 (55):
- 15 Minnesota
- 8 Pittsburgh
- 4 Cornell (NY)
- 4 Ohio State
- 4 Tennessee
- 4 Texas A&M
- 3 California
- 3 Georgia
- 3 Northwestern
- 3 Notre Dame
- 2 TCU
- 2 Texas
- 1 Boston College
- 1 USC
Up until
the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor and for a short time thereafter the Gophers were THE dominant team in the Country.
Things got wonky for a lot of teams during WWII but most of the top teams got back to being top teams once the war was over, not Minnesota. Here is a short version of their seasons from 1943-1960:
- 1943 ranked in 3/9 polls, finished 5-4 and unranked
- 1944 not ranked at all, finished 5-3-1
- 1945 ranked in 5/9 polls, finished 4-5 and unranked
- 1946 not ranked at all, finished 5-4
- 1947 ranked in 4/10 polls, finished 6-3 and unranked
- 1948 ranked in 9/9 polls, finished 7-2 and #16
- 1949 ranked in 8/9 polls, finished 7-2 and #8
- 1950 ranked in 1/10 polls, finished 1-7-1 and unranked
- 1951 not ranked at all, finished 2-6-1
- 1952 not ranked at all, finished 4-3-2
- 1953 ranked in 3/11 polls, finished 4-4-1 and unranked
- 1954 ranked in 7/12 polls, finished 7-2 and unranked
- 1955 not ranked at all, finished 3-6
- 1956 ranked in 7/12 polls, finished 6-1-2 and #12
- 1957 ranked in 6/12 polls, finished 4-5 and unranked
- 1958 not ranked at all, finished 1-8
- 1959 not ranked at all, finished 2-7
- 1960 ranked in 10/12 polls, finished 8-2 and #1
The 1960 NC is highly dubious especially by modern standards. The top-6 each had one blemish:
- Minnesota was 8-1 with a loss to #19 Purdue
- Ole Miss was 9-0-1 with a tie with unranked LSU
- Iowa was 8-1 with a loss to #1 Minnesota
- Navy was 8-1 with a loss to #10 Duke
- Mizzou was 9-1 with a loss to #11 Kansas
- Washington was 9-1 with a loss to #4 Navy
Back then the final poll was BEFORE the bowls. After the final poll came out:
- Minnesota lost 17-7 to #6 Washington in the Rose Bowl
- Ole Miss beat unranked Rice 14-6 in the Sugar Bowl
- Iowa had no bowl
- Navy beat unranked Army then lost 21-14 to #5 Mizzou in the Orange Bowl
- Mizzou beat #4 Navy 21-14 in the Orange Bowl
- Washington beat #1 Minnesota 17-7 in the Rose Bowl
In a modern context the final poll would probably be Washington then Mizzou then Ole Miss but that is debatable. What is NOT debatable is that #1 would absolutely not be Minnesota after their bowl loss to Washington.
The reason I went through all of this is because a lot of people see Minnesota's "NC" in 1960 and assume that they were good up through 1960 THEN fell apart. My assertion is that the 1960 MNC was both a flash in the pan as opposed to representing sustained success AND highly dubious at least by modern standards. Thus, Minnesota wasn't good up through 1960, they stopped being a serious contender long before WWII ended and they never really recovered thereafter.
