This fifth annual Sun Bowl featured the

Utah Utes The Utah Utes are the intercollegiate athletics teams that represent the University of Utah, located in Salt Lake City. The athletic department is named after the Ute tribe of Native Americans. The men's basketball team is known as the Runnin' ...

and the

New Mexico Lobos The New Mexico Lobos are the athletic teams that represent the University of New Mexico, located in Albuquerque. The university participates in the NCAA Division I in the Mountain West Conference (MW) since 1999, after leaving the Western Athle ...

in a

postseason The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

for both teams and the final game of the

1938 college football season The 1938 college football season ended with the Horned Frogs of Texas Christian University (TCU) being named the nation's No. 1 team by 55 of the 77 voters in the final Associated Press writers' poll in early December. Tennessee was also chosen b ...

Background

New Mexico was champion of the

Border Conference The Border Conference, officially known as the Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association, was an National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA-affiliated college athletic conference founded in 1931 that disbanded following the 1961–62 season. ...

while Utah was champion of the

Mountain States Conference A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher ...

. The game was touted as the most evenly matched of the five major bowl games of the 1938 season. This was also the first meeting between the two schools and the first bowl game for either school.

Game summary

Nevertheless, the Utes dominated from the start, scoring three first-half touchdowns, with a Tom Pace touchdown run and two Ray Peterson touchdowns, including a 1-yard run on fourth-down. In the second half, New Mexico had numerous opportunities to close the gap following Utah turnovers but their aerial attack couldn't capitalize, being held to 59 yards passing and four interceptions, not even reaching Utah's 40 the whole game. Utah, on the other hand, racked up 366 yards rushing, and outgained the Lobos 384–212, adding in a Clarance Gehrke touchdown late to make the final score 26–0, the first ever shutout in Sun Bowl history.

Scoring summary

First quarter *Utah: Tom Pace 15-yard run (Bernard McGarry kick) *Utah: Ray Peterson 60-yard interception return (Bernard McGarry kick) Second quarter *Utah: Ray Peterson 1-yard run (kick failed) Fourth quarter *Utah: Clarence Gehrke 10-yard run (kick failed)

Statistics

Aftermath

New Mexico returned to the Sun Bowl twice in the next decade (1944 and 1946). Utah did not return to the Sun Bowl until 2011.

References

Sun Bowl The Sun Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played since 1935 in the southwestern United States at El Paso, Texas. Along with the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl, it is the second-oldest bowl game in the country, behind the Rose Bowl. ...

Sun Bowl New Mexico Lobos football bowl games Utah Utes football bowl games January 1939 sports events

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