1938–39 NCAA football bowl games

The 1938–39 NCAA football bowl games were the final games of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) 1938 college football season and featured five bowl games, each of which had been held the previous season. All five games were played on January 2, 1939, as New Year's Day fell on a Sunday. Contemporary polls selected different national champions, as the AP Poll named TCU, the Dunkel System chose Tennessee, and the Dickinson System designated Notre Dame.

1938–39 NCAA football bowl games
Number of bowl games per state
Season1938
Number of bowls5
All-star gamesBlue–Gray Football Classic
East–West Shrine Game
Bowl gamesJanuary 2, 1939
ChampionsTCU Horned Frogs (AP)
Tennessee Volunteers (Dunkel)
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Dickinson)
Bowl record by conference
Conference Bowls Record Final AP Poll
Independents 2 1–1 (0.500) 8
Border 2 0–2 (0.000) 1
Mountain States 1 1–0 (1.000) 0
Pacific Coast 1 1–0 (1.000) 2
SEC 1 1–0 (1.000) 3
SWC 1 1–0 (1.000) 1
Big Six 1 0–1 (0.000) 1
Southern 1 0–1 (0.000) 1
Big Ten 0 0–0 (–) 3
Number of bowl teams per state

Poll rankings

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The below table lists top teams (per the AP Poll taken after the completion of the regular season), their win–loss records (prior to bowl games), and the bowls they later played in.[1][2]

AP Team W–L Conf. Bowl
1
TCU Horned Frogs
10–0
SWC Sugar Bowl
2
Tennessee Volunteers
10–0
SEC Orange Bowl
3
Duke Blue Devils
9–0
Southern Rose Bowl
4
Oklahoma Sooners
10–0
Big Six Orange Bowl
5
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
8–1
Ind.
6
Carnegie Tech Tartans
6–1
Ind. Sugar Bowl
7
USC Trojans
8–2
PCC Rose Bowl
8
Pittsburgh Panthers
8–2
Ind.
9
Holy Cross Crusaders
8–1
Ind.
10
Minnesota Golden Gophers
6–2
Big Ten — †
11
Texas Tech Red Raiders
10–0
Border Cotton Bowl Classic
12
Cornell Big Red
5–1–1
Ind.
13
Alabama Crimson Tide
7–1–1
SEC
14
California Golden Bears
10–1
PCC
15
Fordham Rams
6–1–2
Ind.
16
Michigan Wolverines
6–1–1
Big Ten — †
17
Northwestern Wildcats
4–2–2
Big Ten — †
18
Villanova Wildcats
8–0–1
Ind.
19
Tulane Green Wave
7–2–1
SEC
20
Dartmouth Indians
7–2
Ind.

† The Big Ten Conference did not allow its members to participate in bowl games until the 1947 Rose Bowl.

Bowl schedule

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Rankings are from the final regular season AP Poll.

Date Game Site Teams Affiliations Results
Jan. 2 Rose Bowl Rose Bowl
Pasadena, California
#7 USC Trojans (8–2)
#3 Duke Blue Devils (9–0)
PCC
Southern
USC 7
Duke 3
Orange Bowl Burdine Stadium
Miami, Florida
#2 Tennessee Volunteers (10–0)
#4 Oklahoma Sooners (10–0)
SEC
Big Six
Tennessee 17
Oklahoma 0
Sugar Bowl Tulane Stadium
New Orleans, Louisiana
#1 TCU Horned Frogs (10–0)
#6 Carnegie Tech Tartans (6–1)
SWC
Independent
TCU 15
Carnegie Tech 7
Sun Bowl Kidd Field
El Paso, Texas
Utah Utes (6–1–2)
New Mexico Lobos (8–2)
Mountain States
Border
Utah 26
New Mexico 0
Cotton Bowl Classic Cotton Bowl
Dallas, Texas
Saint Mary's Gaels (5–2)
#11 Texas Tech Red Raiders (10–0)
Independent
Border
Saint Mary's 20
Texas Tech 13

Game recaps

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NOTE: Rankings used are the final regular season AP Rankings whenever noted

Rose Bowl

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1 2 3 4 Total
#7 USC 0 0 0 7 7
#3 Duke 0 0 0 3 3
Qtr. Team Scoring play Score
4 DUKE Ruffa 23 yard FG DUKE 3–0
USC Krueger 19 yard pass from Nave, Gaspar kick good USC 7–3
Source:[3]

Orange Bowl

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1 2 3 4 Total
#2 Tennessee 7 3 0 7 17
#4 Oklahoma 0 0 0 0 0
Qtr. Team Scoring play Score
1 TENN Foxx 8 yard rush, Wyatt kick good TENN 7–0
2 TENN Wyatt 22 yard FG TENN 10–0
4 TENN Wood 19 yard rush, Foxx kick good TENN 17–0
Source:[3]

Sugar Bowl

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1 2 3 4 Total
#1 TCU 0 6 6 3 15
#6 Carnegie Tech 0 7 0 0 7
Qtr. Team Scoring play Score
2 TCU Sparks 1 yard rush, kick failed TCU 6–0
CT Muha 37 yard pass from Moroz, Muha kick TECH 7–6
3 TCU Horner 44 pass from O'Brien, kick failed TCU 12–7
4 TCU O'Brien 19 yard FG TCU 15–7
Source:[3]

Sun Bowl

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1 2 3 4 Total
Utah 14 6 0 6 26
New Mexico 0 0 0 0 0
Qtr. Team Scoring play Score
1 UTAH Pace 15 yard rush, McGarry kick UTAH 7–0
UTAH Peterson 64 yard interception return, McGarry kick UTAH 14–0
2 UTAH Peterson 9 yard rush, kick failed UTAH 20–0
4 UTAH Gehrke 10 yard rush, kick failed UTAH 26–0
Source:[3]

Cotton Bowl Classic

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1 2 3 4 Total
Saint Mary's 7 7 6 0 20
#11 Texas Tech 0 0 0 13 13
Qtr. Team Scoring play Score
1 STM Heffernan 9 yard rush, Perrie kick good STM 7–0
2 STM Klotovich 1 yard rush, Marefos kick good STM 14–0
3 STM Smith 24 yard interception return, kick failed STM 20–0
4 TTU Tarbox 33 yard pass from Barnett, Marek kick STM 20–6
TTU McKnight 31 yard pass from Barnett, kick failed STM 20–13
Source:[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "T.C.U., Vols And Duke Rank 1-2-3 In Last AP Poll". Paducah Sun-Democrat. Paducah, Kentucky. December 6, 1938. p. 8. Retrieved December 7, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "1938 Final AP Football Poll". collegepollarchive.com. Archived from the original on October 27, 2014. Retrieved December 8, 2018 – via Wayback Machine.
  3. ^ a b c d e MacCambridge, Michael (2005). ESPN College Football Encyclopedia. New York, N.Y.: ESPN Books. pp. 1442, 1454, 1466, 1477, 1489. ISBN 1-4013-3703-1.