CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1939 Tulane

8–⁠1–⁠1 (5–⁠0 Southeastern Conference), coached by Red Dawson, finished No. 5 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Tulane in 1939, game by game: won vs. Clemson 7–6; won vs. Auburn 12–0; won vs. Fordham 7–0; tied vs. No. 14 North Carolina 14–14; won vs. No. 14 Ole Miss 18–6; won vs. No. 20 Alabama 13–0; won at Columbia 25–0; won vs. Sewanee 52–0; won vs. LSU 33–20; lost vs. No. 1 Texas A&M 13–14+52−1Won 7–6 vs. Clemson+1ClemsonWon 12–0 vs. Auburn+12AuburnWon 7–0 vs. Fordham+7FordhamTied 14–14 vs. No. 14 North Carolina0No. 14 North CarolinaWon 18–6 vs. No. 14 Ole Miss+12No. 14 Ole MissWon 13–0 vs. No. 20 Alabama+13No. 20 AlabamaWon 25–0 at Columbia+25ColumbiaWon 52–0 vs. Sewanee+52SewaneeWon 33–20 vs. LSU+13LSULost 13–14 vs. No. 1 Texas A&M-1No. 1 Texas A&M
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 30vsClemsonW 7–⁠661%
Oct 7vsAuburnW 12–⁠063%
Oct 14vsFordhamW 7–⁠060%
Oct 21vs14North CarolinaT 14–⁠1456%
Oct 28vs14Ole MissW 18–⁠656%
Nov 11vs20AlabamaW 13–⁠063%
Nov 18atColumbiaW 25–⁠070%
Nov 25vsSewaneeW 52–⁠091%
Dec 2vsLSUW 33–⁠2078%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs1Texas A&MSugar BowlL 13–⁠1446%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Texas A&M 14–⁠13 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 5 in the final AP poll; Southeastern Conference champions.

In program history: The 3rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 4
  2. Wk 2: 9
  3. Wk 3: 8
  4. Wk 4: 7
  5. Wk 5: 6
  6. Wk 6: 5
  7. Wk 7: 5
  8. Wk 8: 5
  9. Final: 5

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 1939.

Southeastern Conference champions5–⁠0 in the conference, shared with Georgia Tech and Tennessee

Consensus All-AmericanHarley McCollum, OT

Record
8–⁠1–⁠1
Conference
5–⁠0 shared first in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 5 peak No. 4
Points
194–⁠60
Coach
Red Dawson
Elo
1701 +108 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
20.9 No. 2 of 124 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Paul Krueger

Drafted in 1940

The 1940 draft
Rd 2Ralph Wenzell EPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 3Buddy Banker BWashington Redskins
Rd 5Bill Kirchem OTWashington Redskins
Rd 7Millard White OTGreen Bay Packers

All-SEC

2 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

  • Ralph WenzelEAP-2; UP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1939 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1939 Southeastern Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Tennessee6–⁠010–⁠12
Georgia Tech6–⁠08–⁠216
Tulane5–⁠08–⁠1–⁠15
Mississippi State3–⁠28–⁠2
Auburn3–⁠3–⁠15–⁠5–⁠1
Ole Miss2–⁠27–⁠2
Kentucky2–⁠2–⁠16–⁠2–⁠1
Alabama2–⁠3–⁠15–⁠3–⁠1
Georgia1–⁠35–⁠6
LSU1–⁠54–⁠5
Vanderbilt1–⁠62–⁠7–⁠1
Florida0–⁠3–⁠15–⁠5–⁠1
Sewanee0–⁠33–⁠5

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