The 1939–40 NCAA football bowl games were the final games of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) 1939 college football season and featured five bowl games, each of which had been held the previous season. All five bowls were played on January 1, 1940. The national championship, according to recognized selectors, was split by Texas A&M and USC.
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 Texas A&M Aggies SWC Sugar Bowl Tennessee Volunteers SEC Rose Bowl USC Trojans PCC Rose Bowl Cornell Big Red Ind. — Tulane Green Wave SEC Sugar Bowl Missouri Tigers Big Six Orange Bowl UCLA Bruins PCC — Duke Blue Devils Southern — Iowa Hawkeyes Big Ten — Duquesne Dukes Ind. — Boston College Eagles Ind. Cotton Bowl Classic Clemson Tigers Southern Cotton Bowl Classic Notre Dame Fighting Irish Ind. — Santa Clara Broncos Ind. — Ohio State Buckeyes Big Ten — Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets SEC Orange Bowl Fordham Rams Ind. — Nebraska Cornhuskers Big Six — Oklahoma Sooners Big Six — Michigan Wolverines Big Ten — The Big Ten Conference did not allow its members to participate in bowl games until the 1947 Rose Bowl.
Bowl schedule DateGameSiteTeamsAffiliationsResults Jan. 1Rose BowlRose BowlPasadena, California#3 USC Trojans (7–0–2) #2 Tennessee Volunteers (10–0)PCCSEC USC 14Tennessee 0Sugar BowlTulane StadiumNew Orleans, Louisiana#1 Texas A&M Aggies (10–0) #5 Tulane Green Wave (8–0–1)SWCSECTexas A&M 14Tulane 13Orange BowlBurdine StadiumMiami, Florida#16 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (7–2) #6 Missouri Tigers (8–1)SEC Big SixGeorgia Tech 21Missouri 7Sun BowlKidd FieldEl Paso, TexasCatholic University (8–1) Arizona State Bulldogs (8–2) IndependentBorderCatholic 0Arizona State 0Cotton Bowl ClassicCotton BowlDallas, Texas#12 Clemson Tigers (8–1) #11 Boston College Eagles (9–1)SouthernIndependentClemson 6Boston College 3 Source:
Conference performance in bowl games ConferenceGamesRecordBowls W L T Pct.Won Lost Tied SEC 3 Orange Rose, Sugar Independents 2 Cotton Sun Pacific Coast 1 Rose Southern 1 Cotton SWC 1 Sugar Border 1 Sun Big Six 1 Orange
Game recaps Rose Bowl
Qtr. Team Scoring play Score2USCSchindler 1 yard rush, Jones kick goodUSC 7–04USCKrueger 1 yard pass from Schindler, Gaspar kick goodUSC 14–0Source:
Sugar Bowl
Qtr. Team Scoring play Score1A&MKimbrough 1 yard rush, Price kick goodA&M 7–03TULKellogg 75 yard punt return, Thibaut kick goodTIED 7–74TULBaker 2 yard rush, kick failedTUL 13–7A&MKimbrough 18 yard pass from Smith, Price kick goodA&M 14–13Source:
Orange Bowl
Qtr. Team Scoring play Score1MOChristman 1 yard rush, Cunningham kick goodMO 7–0GTEctor 1 yard rush, Goree kick goodTIED 7–72GTIson 31 yard rush, Goree kick goodGT 14–73GTWheby 59 yard rush, Goree kick goodGT 21–7Source:
Cotton Bowl Classic
Qtr. Team Scoring play Score2BCLukachik 36 yard FGBC 3–0CLEMTimmons 1 yard rush, kick failedCLEM 6–3Source:
Sun Bowl
Qtr. Team Scoring play ScoreNo scoringSource:
See also Prairie View Bowl
References