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1938 TCU

11–⁠0 (6–⁠0 Southwest Conference), coached by Dutch Meyer, finished No. 1 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

TCU in 1938, game by game: won vs. Centenary (LA) 13–0; won vs. Arkansas 21–14; won at Temple 28–6; won at Texas A&M 34–6; won at Marquette 21–0; won vs. Baylor 39–7; won at Tulsa 21–0; won vs. Texas 28–6; won at Rice 29–7; won at SMU 20–7; won vs. No. 6 Carnegie Mellon 15–7+32Won 13–0 vs. Centenary (LA)+13Centenary (LA)Won 21–14 vs. Arkansas+7ArkansasWon 28–6 at Temple+22TempleWon 34–6 at Texas A&M+28Texas A&MWon 21–0 at Marquette+21MarquetteWon 39–7 vs. Baylor+32BaylorWon 21–0 at Tulsa+21TulsaWon 28–6 vs. Texas+22TexasWon 29–7 at Rice+22RiceWon 20–7 at SMU+13SMUWon 15–7 vs. No. 6 Carnegie Mellon+8No. 6 Carnegie Mellon
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 24vsCentenary (LA)W 13–⁠071%
Oct 1vsArkansasW 21–⁠1456%
Oct 8atTempleW 28–⁠660%
Oct 15atTexas A&MW 34–⁠652%
Oct 22atMarquetteW 21–⁠072%
Oct 29vsBaylorW 39–⁠772%
Nov 5atTulsaW 21–⁠066%
Nov 12vsTexasW 28–⁠692%
Nov 19atRiceW 29–⁠767%
Nov 26atSMUW 20–⁠765%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs6Carnegie MellonSugar BowlW 15–⁠775%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Carnegie Mellon 15–⁠7 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 1 in the final AP poll; Southwest Conference champions.

In program history: The 2nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 7
  2. Wk 2: 4
  3. Wk 3: 2
  4. Wk 4: 1
  5. Wk 5: 2
  6. Wk 6: 2
  7. Wk 7: 2
  8. Final: 1

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1938.

National championsNo. 1 in the final AP poll, and a title the school claims

Southwest Conference champions6–⁠0 in the conference

Led the nationDavey O’Brien: passing yards (1,457 yds), passing touchdowns (19 TD), total offense (1,847 yds)

Heisman TrophyDavey O’Brien, QB/DB; also the Maxwell

2 consensus All-AmericansKi Aldrich, C; Davey O’Brien, QB/DB

Record
11–⁠0
Conference
6–⁠0 first in Southwest Conference
AP final
No. 1 peak No. 1
Points
269–⁠60
Coach
Dutch Meyer
Elo
1786 +194 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
19.8 No. 4 of 122 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Offense
Meyer spread

Drafted in 1939

The 1939 draft
Rd 1Ki Aldrich CChicago Cardinals
Rd 1Davey O’Brien QBPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 1I.B. Hale OTWashington Redskins

All-Southwest Conference

5 first team, 4 second team

First team

Second team

  • E. ClarkBAP-2
  • Don LooneyEAP-2
  • Durwood HornerEAP-2
  • Allie WhiteOTAP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1938 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1938 Southwest Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
TCU6–⁠011–⁠01
SMU4–⁠26–⁠4
Baylor3–⁠2–⁠17–⁠2–⁠1
Rice3–⁠34–⁠6
Texas A&M2–⁠3–⁠14–⁠4–⁠1
Arkansas1–⁠52–⁠7–⁠1
Texas1–⁠51–⁠8

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.