The 1935 TCU Horned Frogs football team represented

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private research university in Fort Worth, Texas. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark as the Add-Ran Male & Female College. It is affiliated with the Christian Church (Disciple ...

(TCU) in the

1935 college football season The 1935 college football season was the last one before the Associated Press writers' poll was used in selecting the national champion. There were seven contemporary math system selectors that year who are informally recognized by the NCAA as "n ...

. The Williamson System, recognized by the NCAA as a "major selector" of national championships, ranked TCU number one in its final post-bowl rankings. TCU was led by second-year head coach

Dutch Meyer Leo Robert "Dutch" Meyer (January 15, 1898 – December 3, 1982) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Texas Christian University (TCU) from 1934 to 1952, compiling a record ...

. TCU and SMU again met to decide not only the SWC title but the first trip to the Rose Bowl for a team from the SWC. Grantland Rice of the

New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...

called it the "Game of the Century" and reported the following:

In a TCU Stadium that seated 30,000 spectators, over 36,000 wildly excited Texans and visitors from every corner of the map packed, jammed, and fought their way into every square foot of standing and seating space to see one of the greatest football games ever played…this tense, keyed up crowd even leaped the wire fences from the top of automobiles…"

SMU scored the first 14 points of the game. TCU, led by All-American quarterback

Sammy Baugh Samuel Adrian Baugh (March 17, 1914 – December 17, 2008) was an American professional football player and coach. During his college and professional careers, he most notably played quarterback, but also played as a safety and punter. He ...

, tied the game at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Then, with seven minutes left in the game SMU, on a 4th and 4 on the Frogs' 37 yard-line, lined up to punt. Quarterback

Bob Finley Robert Edward Finley (November 25, 1915 – January 2, 1986) was an American professional baseball catcher, who was an SMU back drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1943 and ...

threw a 50-yard pass to running back Bob Wilson who made what is described as a "jumping, twisting catch that swept him over the line for the touchdown." TCU would lose the game 20–14, but would be invited to play the

LSU Tigers The LSU Tigers and Lady Tigers are the athletic teams representing Louisiana State University (LSU), a state university located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. LSU competes in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Associat ...

in the

1936 Sugar Bowl The 1936 Sugar Bowl, part of the 1935–36 bowl game season, took place on January 1, 1936, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana. The competing teams were the LSU Tigers, representing the Southeastern Conference (SEC), and the TCU Horned ...

, where the Frogs would be victorious 3–2 at messy and muddy

Tulane Stadium Tulane Stadium was an outdoor football stadium that stood in New Orleans from 1926 to 1980. It was officially the Third Tulane Stadium and replaced the "Second Tulane Stadium", which was located where the Telephone Exchange Building is now. Th ...

. Even with the loss to SMU, who later lost to Stanford in the 1936 Rose Bowl, After the bowls, TCU ended the season ranked number one in the Williamson System final rankings. However, the system's creator wrote "there was no undisputable national champion in 1935" in his column accompanying the final rankings. SMU finished second and LSU third in the final Williamson rankings. The NCAA records book erroneously credits TCU and LSU as Williamson System co-national champions for the season.

Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = "The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affiliation = United Methodist Church , president = R. Gerald Turner , ...

and the University of Minnesota were selected as national champions by other selectors.

Schedule

References

TCU TCU Horned Frogs football seasons Sugar Bowl champion seasons

TCU Horned Frogs football The TCU Horned Frogs football team represents Texas Christian University (TCU) in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The Horned Frogs play their home games in Amon G. Carter Stadium, which is located on the ...

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