# 1934–35 NCAA football bowl games

The 1934–35 NCAA football bowl games were the final games of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) 1934 college football season, and featured the debut of the Sugar Bowl and the Orange Bowl, which complemented the only previous annual post-season game, the Rose Bowl. The Sun Bowl was also played for the first time, but with non-collegiate teams.
The Orange Bowl was hosted by the local team, the Miami Hurricanes, who faced the invited Bucknell Bison. Likewise, the Sugar Bowl was also hosted by the in-town team (the Tulane Green Wave), and also invited a Pennsylvania club as their opponents, the Temple Owls. The Rose Bowl featured two national powerhouses, the Stanford Indians of the West and the Alabama Crimson Tide from the South. Alabama's victory sealed their undefeated season and ended Stanford's, leaving Minnesota the only other undefeated team in the US.

## Poll rankings

The first AP poll for college football was taken in mid-November 1934; it did not become a regular occurrence until the 1936 season. The below table lists top teams, their win–loss records at the time the poll was taken, and the bowls they later played in. Contemporary polls later named different national champions; the Dickinson System chose Minnesota, while the Dunkel System selected Alabama.
| AP | Team | W–L | Conf. | Bowl |
| 1 | Minnesota Golden Gophers | 6–0 | Big Ten | — † |
| 2 | Stanford Indians | 7–0–1 | PCC | Rose Bowl |
| 3 | Alabama Crimson Tide | 7–0 | SEC | Rose Bowl |
| 4 | Pittsburgh Panthers | 6–1 | Ind. | — |
| 5 | Princeton Tigers | 6–0 | Ind. | — |
| 6 | Illinois Fighting Illini | 6–0 | Big Ten | — † |
| 7 | Navy Midshipmen | 7–0 | Ind. | — |
| 8 | Colgate Red Raiders | 4–1 | Ind. | — |
| 9 | Ohio State Buckeyes | 5–1 | Big Ten | — † |
| 10 | Syracuse Orangemen | 6–0 | Ind. | — |
† The Big Ten Conference did not allow its members to participate in bowl games until the 1947 Rose Bowl.

## Bowl schedule

| Date | Game | Site | Teams | Affiliations | Results |
| Jan. 1 | Rose Bowl | Rose Bowl Pasadena, California | Alabama Crimson Tide (9–0) Stanford Indians (9–0–1) | SEC PCC | Alabama 29 Stanford 13 |
| Jan. 1 | Sugar Bowl | Tulane Stadium New Orleans, Louisiana | Tulane Green Wave (9–1) Temple Owls (7–0–1) | SEC Independent | Tulane 20 Temple 14 |
| Jan. 1 | Orange Bowl | Miami Field Miami, Florida | Bucknell Bison (7–2–2) Miami Hurricanes (5–2–1) | Independent Independent | Bucknell 26 Miami 0 |
| Jan. 1 | Sun Bowl | Jones Stadium El Paso, Texas | El Paso All-Stars (N/A) Ranger Bulldogs (5–1) | † | El Paso 25 Ranger 21 |
† The inaugural Sun Bowl was contested between high school teams.

### Conference performance in bowl games

| Conference | Games | Record | Record | Record | Bowls | Bowls |
| Conference | Games | W | L | Pct. | Won | Lost |
| Independents | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 | Orange | Orange, Sugar |
| SEC | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | Rose, Sugar | — |
| Pacific Coast | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | — | Rose |

## Game recaps
### Rose Bowl

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Alabama | 0 | 22 | 0 | 7 | 29 |
| Stanford | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 13 |
| Qtr. | Team | Scoring play | Score |
| 1 | STAN | Grayson 1 yard rush, Moscrip kick good | STAN 7–0 |
| 2 | BAMA | Howell 5 yard rush, kick failed | STAN 7–6 |
| 2 | BAMA | Smith 27 yard FG | BAMA 9–7 |
| 2 | BAMA | Howell 67 yard rush, Smith kick good | BAMA 16–7 |
| 2 | BAMA | Huston 46 yard pass from Riley, kick failed | BAMA 22–7 |
| 3 | STAN | VanDellen 12 yard rush | BAMA 22–13 |
| 4 | BAMA | Huston 59 yard pass from Howell, Smith kick good | BAMA 29–13 |
| Source: ||||

### Sugar Bowl

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Tulane | 0 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 20 |
| Temple | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 |
| Qtr. | Team | Scoring play | Score |
| 1 | TEM | Tester 7 yard pass from Smukler, Smukler kick good | TEM 7–0 |
| 2 | TEM | Smukler 3 yard rush, Smukler kick good | TEM 14–0 |
| 2 | TUL | Simons 85 yard kickoff return, Mintz kick good | TEM 14–7 |
| 3 | TUL | Hardy 11 yard pass from Bryan, Mintz kick good | TIED 14–14 |
| 4 | TUL | Hardy 25 yard pass from Mintz, kick failed | TUL 20–14 |
| Source: ||||

### Orange Bowl

| | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| Bucknell | 0 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 26 |
| Miami (FL) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Qtr. | Team | Scoring play | Score |
| 2 | BUCK | Smith 23 yard pass from Jenkins, Dobie kick good | BUCK 7–0 |
| 3 | BUCK | Miller 4 yard rush, kick failed | BUCK 13–0 |
| 4 | BUCK | Smith 8 yard rush, Dobie kick good | BUCK 20–0 |
| 4 | BUCK | Reznichak 10 yard rush, kick failed | BUCK 26–0 |
| Source: ||||