1938 Carnegie Tech Tartans football team

The 1938 Carnegie Tech Tartans football team represented the Carnegie Institute of Technology during the 1938 college football season. The Tartans were led by second-year head coach Bill Kern and played their home games at Pitt Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

1938 Carnegie Tech Tartans football
Sugar Bowl, L 7–15 vs. TCU
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
APNo. 6
Record7–2
Head coach
Home stadiumPitt Stadium
Seasons
← 1937
1939 →
1938 Eastern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Worcester Tech     6 0 0
No. 18 Villanova     8 0 1
No. 9 Holy Cross     8 1 0
Boston College     6 1 2
No. 15 Fordham     6 1 2
No. 12 Cornell     5 1 1
Army     8 2 0
No. 8 Pittsburgh     8 2 0
No. 6 Carnegie Tech     7 2 0
No. 20 Dartmouth     7 2 0
Vermont     4 2 1
Brown     5 3 0
Bucknell     5 3 0
Syracuse     5 3 0
CCNY     4 3 0
Penn     3 2 3
Manhattan     5 4 0
Harvard     4 4 0
La Salle     4 4 0
NYU     4 4 0
Boston University     3 4 1
Penn State     3 4 1
Princeton     3 4 1
Hofstra     2 3 1
Duquesne     4 6 0
Temple     3 6 1
Providence     3 5 0
Columbia     3 6 0
Massachusetts State     3 6 0
Colgate     2 5 0
Buffalo     2 6 0
Yale     2 6 0
Tufts     1 6 1
Rankings from AP Poll

The team first came to national attention after winning a close game against Northeastern power Holy Cross, who were on a 13-game unbeaten streak.[1] Another big win came when the Tartans upset cross-town rival and defending national champion Pittsburgh, snapping their 22-game winning streak.[2]

They finished the regular season at 7–1 and were ranked sixth in the final AP Poll,[3] the only Carnegie Tech team to ever finish ranked.[4] The Tartans were awarded the third ever Lambert Trophy, distinguishing them as the best college football team in the East.[5] They were invited to their first and only bowl game in school history, the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans,[6] where they led at halftime but lost to national champion TCU, 15–7.[7][8]

Schedule

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DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
October 1Davis & ElkinsW 49–0
October 8Wittenberg
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 32–13
October 15Holy Cross
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 7–6
October 22at No. 5 Notre DameNo. 13L 0–725,934
October 29AkronNo. 16
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 27–13
November 5vs. No. 1 PittsburghNo. 19
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 20–10
November 12vs. DuquesneNo. 6
  • Pitt Stadium
  • Pittsburgh, PA
W 21–0
November 26at NC StateNo. 7W 14–0
January 2, 1939vs. No. 1 TCUNo. 6L 7–1544,308[9]
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[10]

References

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  1. ^ "Carnegie Tech Knocks Holy Cross From Undefeated in Pittsburgh Thriller, Winning Out, 7 to 6". Daily Boston Globe. October 16, 1938.
  2. ^ "Carnegie Tech Upsets Pitt, 20-10". The Atlanta Constitution. November 6, 1938. p. 1B.
  3. ^ "1938 Final AP Football Poll". College Poll Archive. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  4. ^ "Carnegie Mellon Tartans School History". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 13, 2017.
  5. ^ "Carnegie Tech Officially Awarded Lambert Trophy". The Christian Science Monitor. Boston, MA. December 6, 1938. p. 12.
  6. ^ Smith, Chester L. (January 1, 1939). "Tartans primed for Sugar Bowl victory over TCU". Pittsburgh Press. p. 1, sports.
  7. ^ Smith, Chester L. (January 3, 1939). "'Too much O'Brien,' story of Tech's downfall". Pittsburgh Press. p. 22.
  8. ^ "52,000 see T.C.U. beat Tech, 15-7". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 3, 1939. p. 1.
  9. ^ Amos Melton (January 3, 1939). "Carnegie Tech Greatest Foe, Say Frogs". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "1938 Carnegie Mellon Tartans Schedule and Results". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 13, 2017.