Best Season: TCU

TCU was oh so close this past season. The Horned Frogs reached the national championship game for the first time in history, and they had everyone rooting for them. They unfortunately got destroyed in that game, but they can build and work to get back. While last year was the first National Championship game that they appeared in, it would not have been their first title. TCU has won 2 titles, one in 1935 and 1938.

That 1938 team will be the focus of our article today. This team was led by a quarterback so good that the best college quarterback is awarded a trophy in his namesake: Davey O'Brien. O'Brien was a backup for the 1935 championship team, which had lost the SWC championship game, but won the Sugar bowl and was awarded the championship. 1935 was the last season without the AP poll, so many teams claim that year's title. The 1938 team would not have that same issue.

During the 1938 college football season, the TCU Horned Frogs football team competed in the Southwest Conference (SWC). Dutch Meyer was the head coach entering his fifth year. The Horned Frogs ended the season with a perfect 11-0 record, winning the SWC championship and finishing as the No. 1 team in the AP Poll. They outscored their opponents by a total of 269 to 60 and won the 1939 Sugar Bowl against Carnegie Tech. This performance led to them being the consensus national football champions of 1938.

At the end of the 1938 season, TCU quarterback Davey O'Brien won both the Heisman Trophy and the Maxwell Award as the outstanding football player in the United States. He became the fourth player to receive the Heisman Trophy and the first from outside the Midwest or East. Throughout the season, O'Brien threw 93 passes for 1,509 yards and 19 touchdowns.

Two TCU players, Davey O'Brien and center Ki Aldrich, were consensus first-team picks on the 1938 All-America college football team. Below is a chart of their games played that season:

If you appreciated this story, and you enjoy college football's rich history, please subscribe below!