We should claim the 1939 national title

#1

PlanetVolunteer

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#1
The fabled last college football team to finish the regular season undefeated, untied and unscored upon.

Wasn't named the national champion by any major poll

How?

Radical bias?

Stupidity?

Now we did lose the 39 rose bowl to USC (because all time great George Cafego was injured)

However, they awarded the national champion after the regular season

It's perplexing that they could first rob the 38 team of the unanimous national title over TCU, but then for us to continue to go undefeated the next season without giving up a point...and STILL they don't give us a title.

It went to Texas A&M and then one vote went to Cornell...who finished 4th in the AP poll and played two less games than us.

It's amazing how disregarded southern football was back then. I doubt you can find slight as egregious in the history of national championship voting.

The Vols won their last two games of 37

Turned that into an 11-0 38 season and a blowout win over Oklahoma

Went undefeated and unscored upon in 39

23 straight wins dating back to 37 no ties

Only gave up points in three games. 16 points given up all together.

Outscored opponents 538-16

20 of those games were shut outs

15 straight shut outs leading into that rose bowl.

Nope no national title

Unreal
 
#2
#2
There used to be a serious bias against Southern teams back then. Alot of Southern schools have unbeaten, untied seasons up through the 60's and the national championship was instead given to 9-1 Notre Dame, Ohio State or Michigan. That's why I'm a little old school in that I ordinarily like to see Southern teams beat the old Northern bluebloods arses in bowl games.
 
#4
#4
Teams in the Southeast were heavily discriminated against by the mostly northern media even into the early 2000s. They do it to some extent today. Tennessee is the only program in the traditional 10 that's never had a Heisman winner and Alabama hadn't managed one before 2009.

The 1956 season was just as bad. We were #3, beat #2 Ga Tech, went to #1 the week before the regular season ended. We blew out a 5-4 Vanderbilt the following week and dropped back to #2 in the final poll. Oklahoma played one team with a winning record all season that year. That was a 7 win Colorado team that they beat 27-19. Tennessee played multiple teams with winning records that season. Oklahoma didn't even play in a bowl game. They had a long winning streak at the time. They also didn't play in a bowl game after a 10-0 1954 season. The Big 7 at the time was known as Oklahoma and the 6 dwarfs. Their OOC games in 1956 were against a 3 win team and 3 2 win teams.
 
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#8
#8
There used to be a serious bias against Southern teams back then. Alot of Southern schools have unbeaten, untied seasons up through the 60's and the national championship was instead given to 9-1 Notre Dame, Ohio State or Michigan. That's why I'm a little old school in that I ordinarily like to see Southern teams beat the old Northern bluebloods arses in bowl games.

I remember those days as well in the 1970s and 80s when the networks gushed over Big 10 and PAC 10 teams. It was completely sickening.
 
#9
#9
The fabled last college football team to finish the regular season undefeated, untied and unscored upon.

Wasn't named the national champion by any major poll

How?

Radical bias?

Stupidity?

Now we did lose the 39 rose bowl to USC (because all time great George Cafego was injured)

However, they awarded the national champion after the regular season

It's perplexing that they could first rob the 38 team of the unanimous national title over TCU, but then for us to continue to go undefeated the next season without giving up a point...and STILL they don't give us a title.

It went to Texas A&M and then one vote went to Cornell...who finished 4th in the AP poll and played two less games than us.

It's amazing how disregarded southern football was back then. I doubt you can find slight as egregious in the history of national championship voting.

The Vols won their last two games of 37

Turned that into an 11-0 38 season and a blowout win over Oklahoma

Went undefeated and unscored upon in 39

23 straight wins dating back to 37 no ties

Only gave up points in three games. 16 points given up all together.

Outscored opponents 538-16

20 of those games were shut outs

15 straight shut outs leading into that rose bowl.

Nope no national title

Unreal
That title should always be claimed by UT. Even more than the 1967 one. Although I understand why they do
 
#13
#13
There used to be a serious bias against Southern teams back then. Alot of Southern schools have unbeaten, untied seasons up through the 60's and the national championship was instead given to 9-1 Notre Dame, Ohio State or Michigan. That's why I'm a little old school in that I ordinarily like to see Southern teams beat the old Northern bluebloods arses in bowl games.
Kind of like Heisman Trophies
 
#14
#14
The big asterixis of losing 14-0 to the USC Trojans in the Bowl game stands out though. I think several key players didn't make that trip but it still was a lost on that season.

There are several undefeated teams in the 1920s we could claim.
 
#15
#15
The fabled last college football team to finish the regular season undefeated, untied and unscored upon.

Wasn't named the national champion by any major poll

How?

Radical bias?

Stupidity?

Now we did lose the 39 rose bowl to USC (because all time great George Cafego was injured)

However, they awarded the national champion after the regular season

It's perplexing that they could first rob the 38 team of the unanimous national title over TCU, but then for us to continue to go undefeated the next season without giving up a point...and STILL they don't give us a title.

It went to Texas A&M and then one vote went to Cornell...who finished 4th in the AP poll and played two less games than us.

It's amazing how disregarded southern football was back then. I doubt you can find slight as egregious in the history of national championship voting.

The Vols won their last two games of 37

Turned that into an 11-0 38 season and a blowout win over Oklahoma

Went undefeated and unscored upon in 39

23 straight wins dating back to 37 no ties

Only gave up points in three games. 16 points given up all together.

Outscored opponents 538-16

20 of those games were shut outs

15 straight shut outs leading into that rose bowl.

Nope no national title

Unreal
Left the pic in remembrance of that team. Nuked my comments made over a lack of reading skills. Apologies to the OP. Now I'm off to Amazon to buy a book on crow recipes. Seems to be my preferred protein of late.
1940_Football-Championship_001_2.jpg
 
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#16
#16
As it's been pointed out, the national champion was determined prior to bowl games - what I find interesting is that following A&M's final game, we were ranked 1st in the December 4th poll (though second in 1st place votes to A&M). It seems like there wasn't a consistent number of voters each week in the AP voting, but the following week Tennessee beat a .500 Auburn only 7-0 and a whole new slew of voters voted A&M which led to them passing us.

1674157042765.png
 
#17
#17
The fabled last college football team to finish the regular season undefeated, untied and unscored upon.

Wasn't named the national champion by any major poll

How?

Radical bias?

Stupidity?

Now we did lose the 39 rose bowl to USC (because all time great George Cafego was injured)

However, they awarded the national champion after the regular season

It's perplexing that they could first rob the 38 team of the unanimous national title over TCU, but then for us to continue to go undefeated the next season without giving up a point...and STILL they don't give us a title.

It went to Texas A&M and then one vote went to Cornell...who finished 4th in the AP poll and played two less games than us.

It's amazing how disregarded southern football was back then. I doubt you can find slight as egregious in the history of national championship voting.

The Vols won their last two games of 37

Turned that into an 11-0 38 season and a blowout win over Oklahoma

Went undefeated and unscored upon in 39

23 straight wins dating back to 37 no ties

Only gave up points in three games. 16 points given up all together.

Outscored opponents 538-16

20 of those games were shut outs

15 straight shut outs leading into that rose bowl.

Nope no national title

Unreal
 
#19
#19
The fabled last college football team to finish the regular season undefeated, untied and unscored upon.

Wasn't named the national champion by any major poll

How?

Radical bias?

Stupidity?

Now we did lose the 39 rose bowl to USC (because all time great George Cafego was injured)

However, they awarded the national champion after the regular season

It's perplexing that they could first rob the 38 team of the unanimous national title over TCU, but then for us to continue to go undefeated the next season without giving up a point...and STILL they don't give us a title.

It went to Texas A&M and then one vote went to Cornell...who finished 4th in the AP poll and played two less games than us.

It's amazing how disregarded southern football was back then. I doubt you can find slight as egregious in the history of national championship voting.

The Vols won their last two games of 37

Turned that into an 11-0 38 season and a blowout win over Oklahoma

Went undefeated and unscored upon in 39

23 straight wins dating back to 37 no ties

Only gave up points in three games. 16 points given up all together.

Outscored opponents 538-16

20 of those games were shut outs

15 straight shut outs leading into that rose bowl.

Nope no national title

Unreal
Well! Bama fans try to claim every national championship to them, so yes, why not?
 
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#20
#20
Racial bias? Take a look at this pic and tell me how that works again? Look, I get that everyone is looking for racism along with a dozen other "isms" behind every damned blade of grass these days, but let's at least try to use just a little bit of common sense.
1940_Football-Championship_001_2.jpg

He said RADICAL.
 
#24
#24
The fabled last college football team to finish the regular season undefeated, untied and unscored upon.

Wasn't named the national champion by any major poll

How?

Radical bias?

Stupidity?

Now we did lose the 39 rose bowl to USC (because all time great George Cafego was injured)

However, they awarded the national champion after the regular season

It's perplexing that they could first rob the 38 team of the unanimous national title over TCU, but then for us to continue to go undefeated the next season without giving up a point...and STILL they don't give us a title.

It went to Texas A&M and then one vote went to Cornell...who finished 4th in the AP poll and played two less games than us.

It's amazing how disregarded southern football was back then. I doubt you can find slight as egregious in the history of national championship voting.

The Vols won their last two games of 37

Turned that into an 11-0 38 season and a blowout win over Oklahoma

Went undefeated and unscored upon in 39

23 straight wins dating back to 37 no ties

Only gave up points in three games. 16 points given up all together.

Outscored opponents 538-16

20 of those games were shut outs

15 straight shut outs leading into that rose bowl.

Nope no national title

Unreal

This one has always confused me... UT claims a title in 1938 & 1940 (proceeding and following years) but does not in 1939 when they accomplished the amazing feat of going undefeated and unscored upon (regular season). As folks have pointed out, titles were determined prior to bowl games. Of those three seasons, I have never understood how that year is excluded.
 

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