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1938–39 NCAA football bowl games

{{short description|College football postseason game series}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}

{{Infobox College football bowl games

| season = 1938

| image = 300px

| image_caption = Number of bowl games per state

| regular_season =

| number_of_bowls = 5

| all_star_games = Blue–Gray Football Classic
East–West Shrine Game

| bowl_start = January 2, 1939

| bowl_end =

| championship_bowl =

| championship_location =

| champions = TCU Horned Frogs (AP)
Tennessee Volunteers (Dunkel)
Notre Dame Fighting Irish (Dickinson)

| bowl_record_link = #Conference performance in bowl games

| conference1 = Independents

| conference1_teams = 2

| conference1_wins = 1

| conference1_losses = 1

| conference1_ap_poll = 8

| conference2 = Border

| conference2_teams = 2

| conference2_wins = 0

| conference2_losses = 2

| conference2_ap_poll = 1

| conference3 = Mountain States

| conference3_teams = 1

| conference3_wins = 1

| conference3_losses = 0

| conference3_ap_poll = 0

| conference4 = Pacific Coast

| conference4_teams = 1

| conference4_wins = 1

| conference4_losses = 0

| conference4_ap_poll = 2

| conference5 = SEC

| conference5_teams = 1

| conference5_wins = 1

| conference5_losses = 0

| conference5_ap_poll = 3

| conference6 = SWC

| conference6_teams = 1

| conference6_wins = 1

| conference6_losses = 0

| conference6_ap_poll = 1

| conference7 = Big Six

| conference7_teams = 1

| conference7_wins = 0

| conference7_losses = 1

| conference7_ap_poll = 1

| conference8 = Southern

| conference8_teams = 1

| conference8_wins = 0

| conference8_losses = 1

| conference8_ap_poll = 1

| conference9 = Big Ten

| conference9_teams = 0

| conference9_wins = 0

| conference9_losses = 0

| conference9_ap_poll = 3

}}

File:1938 Bowl Teams-USA-states.png

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.

Poll rankings

{{see also|1938 college football rankings}}

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.{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/26028087/tcu_vols_and_duke_rank_123_in/ |title=T.C.U., Vols And Duke Rank 1-2-3 In Last AP Poll |newspaper=Paducah Sun-Democrat |location=Paducah, Kentucky |page=8 |date=December 6, 1938 |accessdate=December 7, 2018 |via=newspapers.com}}{{cite web |url=http://www.collegepollarchive.com/football/ap/seasons.cfm?seasonid=1938 |title=1938 Final AP Football Poll |website=collegepollarchive.com |accessdate=December 8, 2018 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20141027070925/http://www.collegepollarchive.com/football/ap/seasons.cfm?seasonid=1938 |archivedate=October 27, 2014 |via=Wayback Machine}}

class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:90%;"

! AP !! Team !! W–L !! Conf. !! Bowl

{{center|1}}TCU Horned Frogs{{center|10–0}}SWCSugar Bowl
{{center|2}}Tennessee Volunteers{{center|10–0}}SECOrange Bowl
{{center|3}}Duke Blue Devils{{center|9–0}}SouthernRose Bowl
{{center|4}}Oklahoma Sooners{{center|10–0}}Big SixOrange Bowl
{{center|5}}Notre Dame Fighting Irish{{center|8–1}}Ind.—
{{center|6}}Carnegie Tech Tartans{{center|6–1}}Ind.Sugar Bowl
{{center|7}}USC Trojans{{center|8–2}}PCCRose Bowl
{{center|8}}Pittsburgh Panthers{{center|8–2}}Ind.—
{{center|9}}Holy Cross Crusaders{{center|8–1}}Ind.—
{{center|10}}Minnesota Golden Gophers{{center|6–2}}Big Ten— {{dagger}}
{{center|11}}Texas Tech Red Raiders{{center|10–0}}BorderCotton Bowl Classic
{{center|12}}Cornell Big Red{{center|5–1–1}}Ind.—
{{center|13}}Alabama Crimson Tide{{center|7–1–1}}SEC—
{{center|14}}California Golden Bears{{center|10–1}}PCC—
{{center|15}}Fordham Rams{{center|6–1–2}}Ind.—
{{center|16}}Michigan Wolverines{{center|6–1–1}}Big Ten— {{dagger}}
{{center|17}}Northwestern Wildcats{{center|4–2–2}}Big Ten— {{dagger}}
{{center|18}}Villanova Wildcats{{center|8–0–1}}Ind.—
{{center|19}}Tulane Green Wave{{center|7–2–1}}SEC—
{{center|20}}Dartmouth Indians{{center|7–2}}Ind.—

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

Bowl schedule

Rankings are from the final regular season AP Poll.

class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%;"
Date

!Game

!Site

!Teams

!Affiliations

!Results

style=white-space:nowrap rowspan=5| 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

=Conference performance in bowl games=

class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center; font-size: 95%;"
rowspan=2|Conference

! rowspan=2|Games

! colspan=3|Record

! colspan=2|Bowls

W || L || Pct.

! class=unsortable|Won || class=unsortable|Lost

Independents2{{WinLossPct|1|1}}

| Cotton

| Sugar

Border2{{WinLossPct|0|2}}

| {{mdash}}

| Cotton, Sun

Mountain States1{{WinLossPct|1|0}}

| Sun

| {{mdash}}

Pacific Coast1{{WinLossPct|1|0}}

| Rose

| {{mdash}}

SEC1{{WinLossPct|1|0}}

| Orange

| {{mdash}}

SWC1{{WinLossPct|1|0}}

| Sugar

| {{mdash}}

Big Six1{{WinLossPct|0|1}}

| {{mdash}}

| Orange

Southern1{{WinLossPct|0|1}}

| {{mdash}}

| Rose

Game recaps

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

=Rose Bowl=

{{main|1939 Rose Bowl}}

{{Linescore Amfootball|

|Road=#7 USC

|R1=0|R2=0|R3=0|R4=7

|Home=#3 Duke

|H1=0|H2=0|H3=0|H4=3

}}

class="wikitable"
Qtr.

! Team

! Scoring play

! Score

rowspan=2|4

|style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Duke Blue Devils|border=0}}; text-align:center"|DUKE

|Ruffa 23 yard FG

|DUKE 3–0

style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|USC Trojans|border=0}}; text-align:center"|USC

|Krueger 19 yard pass from Nave, Gaspar kick good

|USC 7–3

colspan=4|Source:{{cite book |last1=MacCambridge |first1=Michael |title=ESPN College Football Encyclopedia |date=2005 |publisher=ESPN Books |location=New York, N.Y. |isbn=1-4013-3703-1 |pages=1442, 1454, 1466, 1477, 1489 }}

{{Clear}}

=Orange Bowl=

{{main|1939 Orange Bowl}}

{{Linescore Amfootball|

|Road=#2 Tennessee

|R1=7|R2=3|R3=0|R4=7

|Home=#4 Oklahoma

|H1=0|H2=0|H3=0|H4=0

}}

class="wikitable"
Qtr.

! Team

! Scoring play

! Score

1

|style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Tennessee Volunteers|border=0|color=white}}; text-align:center"|TENN

|Foxx 8 yard rush, Wyatt kick good

|TENN 7–0

2

|style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Tennessee Volunteers|border=0|color=white}}; text-align:center"|TENN

|Wyatt 22 yard FG

|TENN 10–0

4

|style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Tennessee Volunteers|border=0|color=white}}; text-align:center"|TENN

|Wood 19 yard rush, Foxx kick good

|TENN 17–0

colspan=4|Source:

{{Clear}}

=Sugar Bowl=

{{main|1939 Sugar Bowl}}

{{Linescore Amfootball|

|Road=#1 TCU

|R1=0|R2=6|R3=6|R4=3

|Home=#6 Carnegie Tech

|H1=0|H2=7|H3=0|H4=0

}}

class="wikitable"
Qtr.

! Team

! Scoring play

! Score

rowspan=2|2

|style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|TCU Horned Frogs|border=0}}; text-align:center"|TCU

|Sparks 1 yard rush, kick failed

|TCU 6–0

style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Carnegie Mellon Tartans|border=0|color=white}}; text-align:center"|CT

|Muha 37 yard pass from Moroz, Muha kick

|TECH 7–6

3

|style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|TCU Horned Frogs|border=0}}; text-align:center"|TCU

|Horner 44 pass from O'Brien, kick failed

|TCU 12–7

4

|style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|TCU Horned Frogs|border=0}}; text-align:center"|TCU

|O'Brien 19 yard FG

|TCU 15–7

colspan=4|Source:

{{Clear}}

=Sun Bowl=

{{main|1939 Sun Bowl}}

{{Linescore Amfootball|

|Road=Utah

|R1=14|R2=6|R3=0|R4=6

|Home=New Mexico

|H1=0|H2=0|H3=0|H4=0

}}

class="wikitable"
Qtr.

! Team

! Scoring play

! Score

rowspan=2|1

|style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Utah Utes|border=0|color=white}}; text-align:center"|UTAH

|Pace 15 yard rush, McGarry kick

|UTAH 7–0

style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Utah Utes|border=0|color=white}}; text-align:center"|UTAH

|Peterson 64 yard interception return, McGarry kick

|UTAH 14–0

2

|style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Utah Utes|border=0|color=white}}; text-align:center"|UTAH

|Peterson 9 yard rush, kick failed

|UTAH 20–0

4

|style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Utah Utes|border=0|color=white}}; text-align:center"|UTAH

|Gehrke 10 yard rush, kick failed

|UTAH 26–0

colspan=4|Source:

{{Clear}}

=Cotton Bowl Classic=

{{main|1939 Cotton Bowl Classic}}

{{Linescore Amfootball|

|Road=Saint Mary's

|R1=7|R2=7|R3=6|R4=0

|Home=#11 Texas Tech

|H1=0|H2=0|H3=0|H4=13

}}

class="wikitable"
Qtr.

! Team

! Scoring play

! Score

1

|style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Saint Mary's Gaels|border=0|color=white}}; text-align:center"|STM

|Heffernan 9 yard rush, Perrie kick good

|STM 7–0

2

|style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Saint Mary's Gaels|border=0|color=white}}; text-align:center"|STM

|Klotovich 1 yard rush, Marefos kick good

|STM 14–0

3

|style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Saint Mary's Gaels|border=0|color=white}}; text-align:center"|STM

|Smith 24 yard interception return, kick failed

|STM 20–0

rowspan=2|4

|style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Texas Tech Red Raiders|border=0}}; text-align:center"|TTU

|Tarbox 33 yard pass from Barnett, Marek kick

|STM 20–6

style="{{CollegePrimaryStyle|Texas Tech Red Raiders|border=0}}; text-align:center"|TTU

|McKnight 31 yard pass from Barnett, kick failed

|STM 20–13

colspan=4|Source:

{{Clear}}

See also

References

{{Reflist}}

{{1938 bowl game navbox}}

{{NCAA football bowl season navbox}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:1938-39 NCAA football bowl games}}