1940 Hardin–Simmons Cowboys football team

The 1940 Hardin–Simmons Cowboys football team represented Hardin–Simmons University as an independent during the 1940 college football season. In its sixth and final season under head coach Frank Kimbrough, the team compiled a perfect 9–0 record, outscored opponents by a total of 235 to 76, and was ranked No. 17 in the final AP Poll.^[1] In January 1941, Coach Kimbrough left Hardin–Simmons to become head football coach at Baylor University. Kimbrough compiled a 47–8–3 in six seasons at Hardin-Simmons.^[2]

1940 Hardin–Simmons Cowboys football
Conference	Independent
Ranking
AP	No. 17
Record	9–0
Head coach	Frank Kimbrough (6th season)
Seasons ← 1939 1941 →

1940 Southern college football independents records

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 17 Hardin–Simmons			–					9	–	0	–	0
No. 13 Georgetown			–					8	–	2	–	0
Navy			–					6	–	2	–	1
Delaware			–					5	–	3	–	0
East Carolina			–					5	–	3	–	0
Western Maryland			–					5	–	3	–	0
George Washington			–					5	–	3	–	1
Catholic University			–					4	–	3	–	1
West Virginia			–					4	–	4	–	1
Virginia			–					4	–	5	–	0
Georgia Teachers			–					3	–	5	–	0
Roanoke			–					2	–	6	–	0
Oklahoma City			–					1	–	7	–	3
William & Mary Norfolk			–					0	–	6	–	0
Rankings from AP Poll

Hardin–Simmons was ranked at No. 55 (out of 697 college football teams) in the final rankings under the Litkenhous Difference by Score system for 1940.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 14	Daniel Baker		Abilene, TX	W 33–0		^[4]
September 21	at Centenary		Centenary Field Shreveport, LA	W 15–13	6,000	^[5]
October 5	vs. Arizona State		Texas Rose Festival Tyler, TX	W 17–0	12,500	^[6]
October 12	vs. Texas Mines		Fly Field Odessa, TX	W 14–6	3,000	^[7]
November 2	at West Texas State		Canyon, TX	W 28–7		^[8]
November 8	at Loyola (CA)		Gilmore Stadium Los Angeles, CA	W 40–6	10,000	^[9]
November 16	at Catholic University		Brookland Stadium Washington, DC	W 27–19	4,000	^[10]
November 23	San Francisco		Abilene, TX	W 28–18	3,000	^[11]
November 30	at Howard Payne	No. 20	Brownwood, TX (rivalry)	W 27–7		^[12]
Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References

1. "1940 Hardin-Simmons Cowboys Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 20, 2018.
2. "Kimbrough New Coach at Baylor: Leaves Great Mark Behind". The Abilene Reporter-News. February 25, 1941. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
3. Dr. E. E. Litkenhous (December 19, 1940). "Final 1940 Litkenhous Ratings". The Boston Globe. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Hardin-Simmons Downs Daniel Baker Team, 33-0". Waco Sunday Herald-Tribune. September 15, 1940. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Hardin-Simmons Beats Centenary With Field Goal". Valley Sunday Star-Monitor-Herald. September 22, 1940. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Hardin-Simmons Topples Tempe: Bulldogs Fall Before Power Attack, 17-0". Arizona Republic. October 6, 1940. p. 4-1 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Cowboys Turn Back Miners, 14 to 6". The Odessa American. October 13, 1940. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Hardin-Simmons Beats Buffaloes". Star-Monitor-Herald. November 3, 1940. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Hardin-Simmons Passes Rout Loyola Eleven, 40 to 6". Los Angeles Times. November 9, 1940. p. 9 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Hardin-Simmons Tops Catholic U. By 27-19 Score". The Austin American-Statesman. November 17, 1940. p. 16 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Hardin-Simmons Cowboys Beat San Francisco Dons". Star-Monitor-Herald. November 24, 1940. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Hardin-Simmons Gets 13th Win". Valley Sunday Star-Monitor-Herald. December 1, 1940. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.