1941 Mississippi State Maroons football team
American college football season
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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 | |
|---|---|
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]
Through the 2025 season, this remains the only conference championship for Mississippi State, as they haven't won one since, and the closest they have come was in 1998, when they played in the SEC Championship Game, but lost to Tennessee.
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
| Week | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Final |
| AP | 19 | — | 17т | 15 | 13 (0.5) | — | — | 16 |
