With the country in the midst of World War II, college football took on a much different feel in the first part of the 1940s.
Half of the AP's final top 20 featured service teams plus two service academies, West Point and Annapolis as fielding rosters at traditional colleges proved difficult.
In fact, despite FDR encouraging football for morale purposes, some college football programs suspended play altogether while others were forced to field teams largely comprised of freshmen as the NCAA temporarily allowed them to play varsity ball since age limits typically kept them from serving in the war.