🏈 The 1938 college football season
The champion and its path, the poll race week by week, the honours, the best games and every conference table.
Jump to any season1869–2026
1938 national champion
Named by the selectors, with the road it took.
The 1938 major bowls
No title game this year. The big bowls of the season, by date.
The 1938 poll race
Rank by poll week, 1 at the top, or Elo by week. A poll line breaks where a team was unranked.
How this is measured
Tap or drag on the chart to read a team's rank in any week.
AP rank, team by week
| Team | Oct17 | 24 | 31 | Nov7 | 14 | 21 | 28 | Dec5final |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TCU | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| Tennessee | 8 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 |
| Duke | 9 | 11 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Oklahoma | 14 | 10 | 11 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
| Notre Dame | 5 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Carnegie Tech | 13 | 16 | 19 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 6 |
| USC | 19 | 13 | 9 | 13 | 14 | 8 | 7 | |
| Pittsburgh | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 8 |
| Holy Cross | 14 | 13 | 11 | 10 | 11 | 9 | 9 | |
| Minnesota | 2 | 2 | 12 | 12 | 8 | 10 | 10 | |
| Texas Tech | 19 | 17 | 14 | 11 | ||||
| Cornell | 17 | 16 | 20 | 8 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |
| Alabama | 15 | 18 | 15 | 16 | 20 | 17 | 13 | |
| California | 3 | 3 | 3 | 14 | 9 | 9 | 12 | 14 |
| Fordham | 11 | 9 | 10 | 13 | 18 | 18 | 13 | 15 |
| Michigan | 12 | 13 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 12 | 16 | 16 |
| Northwestern | 18 | 12 | 7 | 17 | 16 | 15 | 19 | 17 |
| Villanova | 20 | 15 | 19 | 15 | 16 | 15 | 18 | |
| Tulane | 18 | 19 | ||||||
| Dartmouth | 4 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 14 | 13 | 20 | 20 |
| Santa Clara | 6 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 11 | 19 | ||
| Georgetown | 20 | |||||||
| Wisconsin | 15 | 12 | ||||||
| Iowa State | 18 | |||||||
| Texas A&M | 19 | |||||||
| Ohio State | 20 | |||||||
| Syracuse | 10 | |||||||
| Vanderbilt | 16 | |||||||
| Baylor | 17 | |||||||
| North Carolina | 19 |
Tap a rank to read it and highlight that team on the chart above.
1938 final polls
The last ranking of the season in each poll.
1938 final pollsAP, Elo
Final AP poll, Dec 5.
Show all 20 teams
Elo top 25
rating, z
The 1938 honours
The Heisman vote and the major awards side by side, then the All-Americans.
The 1938 honoursHeisman: Davey O’Brien
Heisman Trophy voting
Major awards
Consensus All-Americans
A star marks a unanimous selection.
- Ki AldrichTCU
- Vic BottariCalifornia
- Bob MacLeodDartmouth
- Marshall Goldberg★ unanimousPittsburgh
- Davey O’Brien★ unanimousTCU
Show all 5 positions
- Ed BockIowa State
- Ralph Heikkinen★ unanimousMichigan
- Ed Beinor★ unanimousNotre Dame
- Alvord WolffSanta Clara
- Ki AldrichTCU
- Vic BottariCalifornia
- Bob MacLeodDartmouth
- Marshall Goldberg★ unanimousPittsburgh
- Davey O’Brien★ unanimousTCU
- Ed BockIowa State
- Ralph Heikkinen★ unanimousMichigan
- Ed Beinor★ unanimousNotre Dame
- Alvord WolffSanta Clara
The best games of 1938
The ten best games of the season by Game Score. Switch to the Elo score for a second opinion.
How this is measured
The best games of 193810 games
Upsets of 1938
The results the ratings gave the winner the least chance of, lowest first.
How this is measured
Upsets of 193810 upsets
1938 standings by conference
Every conference at once: conference and overall record, and the final AP rank. A star marks the conference champion.
1938 standings by conference10 groups
Big Six
6 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | AP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oklahoma★ conference champion | 5-0 | 10-1 | #4 |
| 2 | Iowa State | 3-1-1 | 7-1-1 | |
| 3 | Missouri | 2-3 | 6-3 | |
| 4 | Nebraska | 2-3 | 3-5-1 | |
| 5 | Kansas State | 1-3-1 | 4-4-1 | |
| 6 | Kansas | 1-4 | 3-6 |
Big Ten
10 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | AP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Minnesota★ conference champion | 4-1 | 6-2 | #10 |
| 2 | Michigan | 3-1-1 | 6-1-1 | #16 |
| 3 | Purdue | 3-1-1 | 5-1-2 | |
| 4 | Northwestern | 2-1-2 | 4-2-2 | #17 |
| 5 | Wisconsin | 3-2 | 5-3 | |
| 6 | Ohio State | 3-2-1 | 4-3-1 | |
| 7 | Illinois | 2-3 | 3-5 | |
| 8 | Iowa | 1-3-1 | 1-6-1 | |
| 9 | Indiana | 1-4 | 1-6-1 | |
| 10 | Chicago | 0-4 | 1-6-1 |
Border
7 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | AP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas Tech | 2-0 | 10-1 | #11 |
| 2 | New Mexico State★ conference champion | 4-1 | 7-2 | |
| 3 | New Mexico★ conference champion | 4-2 | 8-3 | |
| 4 | Texas Western | 3-2 | 6-3 | |
| 5 | Northern Arizona | 1-2 | 2-6-1 | |
| 6 | Arizona | 0-3 | 3-6 | |
| 7 | Arizona State | 0-4 | 3-6 |
Missouri Valley
7 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Washburn | 1-0 | 6-3 | |
| 2 | Creighton | 1-0-1 | 6-1-1 | |
| 3 | Tulsa★ conference champion | 3-1 | 4-5-1 | |
| 4 | Washington University | 2-1-1 | 6-3-1 | |
| 5 | Drake | 1-1-1 | 5-4-1 | |
| 6 | Saint Louis | 0-1-1 | 3-5-2 | |
| 7 | Oklahoma A&M | 0-4 | 2-8 |
Mountain States
7 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Utah★ conference champion | 4-0-2 | 7-1-2 | |
| 2 | BYU | 3-2-1 | 4-3-1 | |
| 3 | Denver | 3-2-1 | 4-4-1 | |
| 4 | Colorado | 3-2-1 | 3-4-1 | |
| 5 | Utah State | 3-3 | 4-4 | |
| 6 | Wyoming | 1-4-1 | 2-5-1 | |
| 7 | Colorado A&M | 0-4-2 | 1-5-2 |
Pacific Coast
10 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | AP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California★ conference champion | 6-1 | 10-1 | #14 |
| 2 | USC★ conference champion | 6-1 | 9-2 | #7 |
| 3 | UCLA | 4-3-1 | 7-4-1 | |
| 4 | Oregon State | 4-3-1 | 5-3-1 | |
| 5 | Oregon | 4-4 | 4-5 | |
| 6 | Washington | 3-4-1 | 3-5-1 | |
| 7 | Idaho | 2-3-1 | 6-3-1 | |
| 8 | Stanford | 2-5 | 3-6 | |
| 9 | Washington State | 1-7 | 2-8 | |
| 10 | Montana | 0-1 | 5-3-1 |
Southeastern
13 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | AP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tennessee★ conference champion | 7-0 | 11-0 | #2 |
| 2 | Alabama | 4-1-1 | 7-1-1 | #13 |
| 3 | Tulane | 4-1-1 | 7-2-1 | #19 |
| 4 | Mississippi | 3-2 | 9-2 | |
| 5 | Georgia Tech | 2-1-3 | 3-4-3 | |
| 6 | Vanderbilt | 4-3 | 6-3 | |
| 7 | Auburn | 3-3-1 | 4-5-1 | |
| 8 | Florida | 2-2-1 | 4-6-1 | |
| 9 | Georgia | 1-2-1 | 5-4-1 | |
| 10 | LSU | 2-4 | 6-4 | |
| 11 | Mississippi State | 1-4 | 4-6 | |
| 12 | Kentucky | 0-4 | 2-7 | |
| 13 | Sewanee | 0-6 | 1-8 |
Southern
15 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | AP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Duke★ conference champion | 5-0 | 9-1 | #3 |
| 2 | Clemson | 3-0-1 | 7-1-1 | |
| 3 | North Carolina | 4-1 | 6-2-1 | |
| 4 | VMI | 4-0-3 | 6-1-4 | |
| 5 | Richmond | 3-2-1 | 6-3-1 | |
| 6 | South Carolina | 2-2 | 6-4-1 | |
| 7 | Washington & Lee | 2-2 | 4-4-1 | |
| 8 | North Carolina State | 3-3-1 | 3-7-1 | |
| 9 | Wake Forest | 3-4-1 | 4-5-1 | |
| 10 | Virginia Tech | 2-3-2 | 3-5-2 | |
| 11 | Citadel | 2-3 | 6-5 | |
| 12 | Maryland | 1-2 | 2-7 | |
| 13 | Davidson | 2-6 | 4-6 | |
| 14 | Furman | 0-4-1 | 2-7-1 | |
| 15 | William & Mary | 0-4 | 3-7 |
Southwest
7 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | AP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TCU★ conference champion | 6-0 | 11-0 | #1 |
| 2 | SMU | 4-2 | 6-4 | |
| 3 | Baylor | 3-2-1 | 7-2-1 | |
| 4 | Rice | 3-3 | 4-6 | |
| 5 | Texas A&M | 2-3-1 | 4-4-1 | |
| 6 | Arkansas | 1-5 | 2-7-1 | |
| 7 | Texas | 1-5 | 1-8 |
Independent
40 teams| # | Team | Conf | All | AP |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Georgetown | - | 8-0 | |
| 2 | Villanova | - | 8-0-1 | #18 |
| 3 | Holy Cross | - | 8-1 | #9 |
| 4 | Notre Dame | - | 8-1 | #5 |
| 5 | Army | - | 8-2 | |
| 6 | Miami (FL) | - | 8-2 | |
| 7 | Pittsburgh | - | 8-2 | #8 |
| 8 | Cornell | - | 5-1-1 | #12 |
| 9 | Boston College | - | 6-1-2 | |
| 10 | Carnegie Tech | - | 7-2 | #6 |
| 11 | Dartmouth | - | 7-2 | #20 |
| 12 | Fordham | - | 6-1-2 | #15 |
| 13 | Santa Clara | - | 6-2 | |
| 14 | St. Mary's | - | 6-2 | |
| 15 | San Francisco | - | 5-2-1 | |
| 16 | Michigan State | - | 6-3 | |
| 17 | Centenary | - | 7-4 | |
| 18 | Brown | - | 5-3 | |
| 19 | Bucknell | - | 5-3 | |
| 20 | Syracuse | - | 5-3 | |
| 21 | Detroit | - | 6-4 | |
| 22 | Pennsylvania | - | 3-2-3 | |
| 23 | George Washington | - | 5-4 | |
| 24 | Manhattan | - | 5-4 | |
| 25 | Navy | - | 4-3-2 | |
| 26 | Harvard | - | 4-4 | |
| 27 | NYU | - | 4-4 | |
| 28 | Virginia | - | 4-4-1 | |
| 29 | West Virginia | - | 4-5-1 | |
| 30 | Loyola Marymount | - | 4-5 | |
| 31 | Penn State | - | 3-4-1 | |
| 32 | Princeton | - | 3-4-1 | |
| 33 | Duquesne | - | 4-6 | |
| 34 | Temple | - | 3-6-1 | |
| 35 | Columbia | - | 3-6 | |
| 36 | Colgate | - | 2-5 | |
| 37 | Hampden-Sydney | - | 2-6 | |
| 38 | Yale | - | 2-6 | |
| 39 | Gonzaga | - | 1-7 | |
| 40 | Marquette | - | 1-7 |
1938 bowls
One line per game, latest first. A tag marks the playoff and the other major bowls.
1938 bowls6 bowls
Where these numbers come from
Enough to disbelieve this page on purpose rather than by accident.
Champions, polls, standings, bowls, honours and games are read from the Citizen of Nowhere college football database, built from its own workbook one season at a time. Team colours and crests are the current programs’, so a school is drawn the way it looks today even where it played under another name.
The AP poll begins in 1936, so earlier seasons have no poll race and no final poll, but they do have an Elo race, and their champions are those the selectors named. Before 1992 there was no title game, so those seasons list the major bowls instead; from 1992 the title game is shown with the other major bowls, and from 2014 the playoff bracket. Where the database has no entry for a section, the section is left out rather than shown empty.
Elo ratings, the upsets and the best games come from the site’s college football Elo, which rates every game since 1869 and counts games against lower-level opponents. Each season’s ratings are shown on a scale where the average major team ends the season at 1500; z is the distance from that average in standard deviations.