# 1937–38 NCAA football bowl games

The 1937–38 NCAA football bowl games were the final games of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) 1937 college football season and featured five bowl games, down one from the prior season, as the Bacardi Bowl was not held. All five bowls were played on January 1, 1938. Notably, the Orange Bowl was first held in Burdine Stadium, which was later renamed for the bowl game itself in 1959. The national championship, according to recognized selectors, was split by Pittsburgh and California.

## Poll 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.
| AP | Team | W–L | Conf. | Bowl |
| 1 | Pittsburgh Panthers | 9–0–1 | Ind. | — |
| 2 | California Golden Bears | 9–0–1 | PCC | Rose Bowl |
| 3 | Fordham Rams | 7–0–1 | Ind. | — |
| 4 | Alabama Crimson Tide | 9–0 | SEC | Rose Bowl |
| 5 | Minnesota Golden Gophers | 6–2 | Big Ten | — † |
| 6 | Villanova Wildcats | 8–0–1 | Ind. | — |
| 7 | Dartmouth Indians | 7–0–2 | Ind. | — |
| 8 | LSU Tigers | 9–1 | SEC | Sugar Bowl |
| T9 | Notre Dame Fighting Irish | 6–2–1 | Ind. | — |
| T9 | Santa Clara Broncos | 8–0 | Ind. | Sugar Bowl |
| 11 | Nebraska Cornhuskers | 6–1–2 | Big Six | — |
| 12 | Yale Bulldogs | 6–1–1 | Ind. | — |
| 13 | Ohio State Buckeyes | 6–2 | Big Ten | — † |
| T14 | Arkansas Razorbacks | 6–2–2 | SWC | — |
| T14 | Holy Cross Crusaders | 8–0–2 | Ind. | — |
| 16 | TCU Horned Frogs | 4–4–2 | SWC | — |
| 17 | Colorado Buffaloes | 8–0 | RMAC | Cotton Bowl Classic |
| 18 | Rice Owls | 4–3–2 | SWC | Cotton Bowl Classic |
| 19 | North Carolina Tar Heels | 7–1–1 | Southern | — |
| 20 | Duke Blue Devils | 7–2–1 | Southern | — |
† 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.
| Date | Game | Site | Teams | Affiliations | Results |
| Jan. 1 | Rose Bowl | Rose Bowl Pasadena, California | #2 California Golden Bears (9–0–1) #4 Alabama Crimson Tide (9–0) | PCC SEC | California 13 Alabama 0 |
| Jan. 1 | Sugar Bowl | Tulane Stadium New Orleans, Louisiana | #9 Santa Clara Broncos (8–0) #8 LSU Tigers (9–1) | Independent SEC | Santa Clara 6 LSU 0 |
| Jan. 1 | Orange Bowl | Burdine Stadium Miami, Florida | Auburn Tigers (5–2–3) Michigan State Spartans (8–1) | SEC Independent | Auburn 6 Michigan State 0 |
| Jan. 1 | Sun Bowl | Kidd Field El Paso, Texas | West Virginia Mountaineers (7–1–1) Texas Tech Red Raiders (8–3) | Independent Border | West Virginia 7 Texas Tech 6 |
| Jan. 1 | Cotton Bowl Classic | Cotton Bowl Dallas, Texas | #18 Rice Owls (5–3–2) #17 Colorado Buffaloes (8–0) | SWC Rocky Mountain | Rice 28 Colorado 14 |

### Conference performance in bowl games

| Conference | Games | Record | Record | Record | Bowls | Bowls |
| Conference | Games | W | L | Pct. | Won | Lost |
| Independents | 3 | 2 | 1 | .667 | Sugar, Sun | Orange |
| SEC | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 | Orange | Rose, Sugar |
| Pacific Coast | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | Rose | — |
| SWC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | Cotton | — |
| Border | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | — | Sun |
| Rocky Mountain | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | — | Cotton |