8-0 under Bernie Bierman, No. 1 in the final AP poll, the Gophers' second straight AP title. The NCAA Records Book lists Minnesota as the 1941 national poll champion.
Minnesota’s 1941 schedule1941 National Champion: And Who Else Claims It
MULTIPLEDISPUTEDMinnesota finishes 8-0 and takes the AP poll outright; Alabama's title is a retroactive claim built on the Houlgate System despite a 9-2 season and a No. 20 AP finish.
The case for each side
Claimed by the program: no recognized selector picked them
9-2, finished No. 20 in the AP poll, but won the Cotton Bowl over Texas A&M. Alabama's athletics site counts 1941 among its claimed national championships based on the retroactive Houlgate System selection. Winsipedia keeps it as a school claim; no major selector named Alabama champion in 1941.
Alabama’s 1941 scheduleNo national title game was played after the 1941 season: before 1998 there was no mechanism to play one, which is why so many of these seasons were settled by vote instead.