1938 McMNC: Tennessee Volunteers

AP Top 10: Final Record -- Key Bowl Results
1. TCU: 11-0-0 -- W, Sugar, 15-7
2. Tennessee: 11-0-0 -- W, Orange, 17-0
3. Duke: 9-1-0 -- L, Rose, 3-7
4. Oklahoma: 10-1-0 -- L, Orange, 0-17
5. Notre Dame: 8-1-0 -- None
6. Carnegie Tech: 7-2-0 -- L, Sugar, 7-15
7. USC: 9-2-0 -- W, Rose, 7-3
8. Pittsburgh: 8-2-0 -- None
9. Holy Cross: 8-1-0 -- None
10. Minnesota: 6-2-0 -- None

Side note: Texas Tech finished the regular season ranked #11 with a 10-0-0 record, but lost the Cotton Bowl to unranked St. Mary's, 20-13. I'm not ignoring them, but since they lost their bowl game, they're out of consideration, anyway. This is just a note for posterity.

This really comes down to two undefeated, untied teams which won their bowl games: TCU and Tennessee. No one else is in the running. So let's look at the facts:

1) Tennessee had the better bowl win, dominating #4 Oklahoma which entered the game undefeated and untied as well. With a 17-0 shutout, Tennessee made it clear they were a damn good team. On the contrary, TCU only beat the #6 team, Carnegie Tech, by a 15-7 score. That's a weaker win over a weaker team, period;

2) TCU got a lot of voter love in 1938 thanks to Davey O'Brien, the Heisman Trophy winner. We cannot underestimate that love in considering the AP voters' mindset;

3) TCU played in the SWC, and Tennessee played in the SEC. The SWC had no other teams in the AP Top 20 in 1938; its second-place team, SMU, finished 6-4. The SEC placed Alabama (7-1-1, #13) and Tulane (7-2-1, #19) in the AP Top 20. Arguably, the SEC was the better conference. For what it's worth, Tennessee beat Alabama, 13-0, on the road in 1938, and they didn't play Tulane;

4) The teams had no common opponents in 1938;

All things considered, Tennessee looks like the better team in 1938, where the voters were clearly swayed by Davey O'Brien's presence on the Horned Frogs' roster. This sucks for TCU, since it would have been great to see them get a chance to face Tennessee head-to-head. Arguably, this is the first year where a true playoff would have been a great idea.

And in the 69 years since, we're still getting shafted by college football.

McMNC Revisions
1. Tennessee
2. TCU
3. California (10-1-0, with a bowl win)
4. Oklahoma
5. Texas Tech

RUNNING SCORECARD:
Tennessee: +1938
California: +1937
Pittsburgh: +1936, -1937
Minnesota: -1936
TCU: -1938