The 1939 Texas Tech vs. Centenary football game was an American

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

game played between the

Texas Tech Red Raiders The Texas Tech Red Raiders and Lady Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, Texas. The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders, while the school's other women's teams use the "Red Raide ...

and

Centenary Gentlemen The Centenary Gentlemen and Ladies are composed of 20 teams representing Centenary College of Louisiana in intercollegiate athletics, including men and women's basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, and swimming. Men's sports include football, ...

on November 11, 1939, at Centenary College Stadium in

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...

. In "one of the weirdest games in NCAA History," torrential downpour and muddy field conditions prevented either Texas Tech or Centenary from advancing the ball by running or passing. To cope with the conditions, both teams resorted to repetitive and immediate punting. Both teams combined to punt 77 times. With each punt, both teams hoped to recover a fumble at the other end of the field. 6 of 14 fumbles were lost, but none of the turnovers led to a score. 42 punts were returned, 19 went out of bounds, 10 were downed, 1 went into the end zone for a touchback, 4 were blocked, and 1 was fair caught. 67 punts (34 by Texas Tech, 33 by Centenary) occurred on first down, including 22 consecutively in the third and fourth quarters. The game ended in a 0–0 tie with Centenary owning a statistical edge with 31 yards of total offense compared with a one-yard loss for Texas Tech.

Historical significance

The 1939 Texas Tech vs Centenary game is referenced in the 2013 edition of the NCAA Football Records Book 14 times. More NCAA single-game records (13 total) were set in the 1939 Texas Tech vs Centenary game than any other game played in NCAA history. Steve Boda, a former associate director of NCAA statistics, researched the record in 1987. Stunned by the brief wire-service report of the game, he used a play-by-play account to confirm the details. All NCAA records set during the game have remained unbroken. Boda claims three modern football factors guard against a repeat of these records: Better field surfaces, easier to handle footballs, and advanced gloves and footwear.

NCAA records

Individual records

1939 Centenary College Gents Football Team

Team records

NCAA Records Reference (Last referenced for 2013 season)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Texas Tech vs. Centenary football game 1939 1939 college football season vs. Texas Tech 1939 vs. Centenary 1939 November 1939 sports events 1939 in sports in Louisiana