# 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.

## 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 | 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

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 |
| Jan. 2 | Orange Bowl | Burdine Stadium Miami, Florida | #2 Tennessee Volunteers (10–0) #4 Oklahoma Sooners (10–0) | SEC Big Six | Tennessee 17 Oklahoma 0 |
| Jan. 2 | 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 |
| Jan. 2 | 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 |
| Jan. 2 | 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

| Conference | Games | Record | Record | Record | Bowls | Bowls |
| Conference | Games | W | L | Pct. | Won | Lost |
| Independents | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | Cotton | Sugar |
| Border | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | — | Cotton, Sun |
| Mountain States | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | Sun | — |
| Pacific Coast | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | Rose | — |
| SEC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | Orange | — |
| SWC | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | Sugar | — |
| Big Six | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | — | Orange |
| Southern | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | — | Rose |

## Game recaps

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

### Rose Bowl

| | 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 |
| 4 | USC | Krueger 19 yard pass from Nave, Gaspar kick good | USC 7–3 |
| Source: ||||

### Orange Bowl

| | 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: ||||

### Sugar Bowl

| | 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 |
| 2 | 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: ||||

### Sun Bowl

| | 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 |
| 1 | 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: ||||

### Cotton Bowl Classic

| | 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 |
| 4 | TTU | McKnight 31 yard pass from Barnett, kick failed | STM 20–13 |
| Source: ||||