1938 Orange Bowl The 1938 Orange Bowl was a college football bowl game between the Auburn Tigers and Michigan State Spartans at the Miami Orange Bowl in Miami , Florida on January 1 , 1938 . It was the fourth Orange Bowl , and the first held in the stadium . The Tigers won 6 – 0 , scoring the game ' s only points in the second quarter on a short touchdown run by Ralph O ' Gwynne . The game holds the Orange Bowl record for the fewest points scored by both teams . Pre - game buildup . The 1937 Orange Bowl was the fourth game in the annual series . It was the first to be played in the Miami Orange Bowl stadium , which had been built at a cost of $ 360 , 000 after the first three games were held in Miami Stadium . A total of 18 , 972 people attended the contest , more than doubling the event ' s highest attendance to that point . At a meeting of college football coaches , 10 were asked by the Associated Press to pick winners of bowl games . Of the eight coaches who responded , all but one selected Auburn to win the Orange Bowl . Michigan State . Michigan State , coached by Charlie Bachman , began the 1937 college football season with a 34 – 6 home victory over Wayne State . The Spartans then traveled to Ann Arbor and defeated Michigan by a score of 19 – 14 . One week later , the Spartans lost 3 – 0 to Manhattan in a game played in New York City . Michigan State then went on a six - game winning streak to end the regular season , which included victories against Missouri , Kansas , and Temple . Four of the Spartans ' eight wins during the season were by a margin of at least 14 points . The Spartans were invited to the Orange Bowl , and agreed to participate on November 30 . Auburn . Auburn , coached by Jack Meagher , started the season by defeating Birmingham - Southern 45 – 0 . That game was followed by consecutive scoreless ties against Tulane and Villanova . The Tigers then won in Birmingham against Mississippi State , 33 – 7 , and at Georgia Tech , 21 – 0 , to improve to 3 – 0 – 2 on the season . On October 30 , the Tigers lost for the first time in 1937 , falling 13 – 7 to Rice . In their remaining four games , Auburn defeated Tennessee 20 – 7 , lost at LSU 9 – 7 , tied 0 – 0 with Georgia , and won 14 – 0 over Florida . Auburn accepted its invitation six days after Michigan State , having gained permission from the rest of its athletic conference , the Southeastern Conference ( SEC ) . The Tigers needed a change in SEC rules to participate in the Orange Bowl because the conference had instituted a ban on postseason participation in games other than the Rose Bowl or Sugar Bowl earlier in 1937 . On December 10 , the SEC dropped its ban , provided that a majority of the conference ' s membership voted in favor of a team ' s bowl appearance . Game summary . In the first quarter , Auburn threatened twice to score the game ' s first points , but could not convert on either occasion . First , the Tigers used running plays by halfbacks Spec Kelly and Jimmy Fenton to go into Michigan State ' s half of the field , ultimately reaching the Spartans ' 12 - yard - line ; the drive included a 25 - yard rush by Fenton . Following three runs , the Tigers faced a fourth down play , and elected to go for a first down or touchdown . Fenton attempeted a pass , but it was incomplete , and Auburn lost possession to Michigan State . The Spartans punted back to the Tigers , and John Pingel ' s kick went out of bounds at Auburn ' s 37 - yard - line . Kelly picked up one first down with a 17 - yard rush , and a second on a pass to Dutch Heath . Auburn , however , turned the ball over on a Tom McShannock interception of a Kelly pass attempt . McShannock returned the interception 29 yards downfield , but the Spartans were unable to gain a first down during the subsequent drive . Late in the quarter , Kelly gained 26 yards on a running play , giving the Tigers a field position advantage . At the beginning of the second quarter , Meagher pulled Auburn ' s starters from the game , and inserted the team ' s backups . The Spartans took out their defensive starters as well . After Michigan State regained possession of the ball , the Spartans were forced to punt again . George Kenmore , who had been put into the game at quarterback , fielded the punt from Gene Ciolek and returned it to the Spartans ' 36 - yard - line . The Tigers ran a running play for Pelham Sitz ; accounts of the game differ on how much yardage he gained , varying from five to nine yards . A penalty was called on Auburn for offside , followed by a Kenmore pass attempt , which he completed to Ralph O ' Gwynne . The wide receiver caught the ball at the Spartans ' 15 , and was tackled inside the 10 ; the tackle location ranges in published reports from the two - to - five yard lines . Either two or three rushing attempts followed , which ended up short of the end zone . The following play was a run by O ' Gwynne , who crossed the goal line for a touchdown while being tackled by Ed Pearce . The Tigers took a 6 – 0 lead on the play , and the score remained unchanged when placekicker Garth Thorpe failed to convert an extra point attempt . There was no further scoring in the second quarter , and Auburn held its lead entering halftime . During the third quarter , Pearce gained 29 yards on a rush , giving the Spartans their first first down of the game . The drive stalled with Michigan State unable to reach Auburn ' s half of the field . The Spartans prevented the Tigers ' offense from scoring , and writer H . J . Aronstam commented that " The Spartans played their best in the third period . " Near the end of the quarter , Michigan State had possession and Pingel attempted a pass to Ernie Bremer . Heath , however , intercepted the pass off a deflection . The Tigers quickly advanced down the field , and a 17 - yard pass completion from Kenmore to Heath placed the ball in the Spartans ' red zone . No points were scored on the drive , as a fourth - down pass into the end zone was unsuccessful . Auburn entered the fourth quarter still leading 6 – 0 . The team attempted to increase its lead with a 50 - yard drive , which advanced the ball to the Spartans ' 26 - yard - line . Again , Michigan State ' s defense held , and the Tigers were unable to pad the lead . Auburn again threatened to score later in the quarter , moving the ball inside the Spartans ' 30 - yard - line , but was turned away once more without scoring . Meanwhile , the Spartans gained their second first down of the contest in the middle of the quarter when Pingel completed a 23 - yard pass . Michigan State was later forced to punt once more without crossing the 50 - yard - line . Aronstam wrote that " The Spartans opened a shoot - the - works offensive in the final quarter , but could not penetrate Auburn ' s stout line with any degree of consistency . " The game ended without further scoring , resulting in a 6 – 0 victory for the Tigers . Statistical summary . Auburn gained 13 first downs during the game , 11 more than Michigan State , and had a large advantage in total offense , 278 yards to 67 . The Tigers ran for 197 yards on the day ; Fenton led the team with 76 yards rushing , and Kelly , Heath , and Sitz added 61 , 37 , and 31 yards respectively . O ' Gwynne , who scored the game ' s only points with his second - quarter touchdown , had 13 rushing yards . For the Spartans , Pearce gained 29 of the team ' s 40 rushing yards . Pingel , who was named an All - America halfback for his performance during 1937 , carried the ball seven times for 12 yards . In the passing game , the Tigers had the advantage in yards gained , 81 – 27 . Both teams were unsuccessful on more than half their pass attempts . however , and there were nearly as many interceptions ( five ) as passes completed ( six ) . The game ' s total of six points remains the fewest scored by both teams in an Orange Bowl . Auburn holds the Orange Bowl record for the fewest points scored by a winning team , and the Spartans were one of seven teams to be shut out in an Orange Bowl .