Year-by-Year: 1939
November 24, 1939 10:00 AM
OB Declared "Major Bowl"
Tennessee 17
Oklahoma 0
A match-up of undefeated Tennessee and Oklahoma propelled the Orange Bowl into the "major bowl" arena in 1939.
It took some marketing and public relations moves by the OBC's Earnie Seiler to bring the Sooners to South Florida. Seiler went to Norman and covered the campus with posters of palm trees, beaches and Miami's young women. After a stirring pep talk to the OU squad, the Sooners voted to accept the Orange Bowl offer over more lucrative ones from the Cotton, Rose and Sugar Bowls.
Seiler then asked Oklahoma head coach Tom Stidham to call his friend, head coach Bob Neyland at Tennessee, to set up the match-up. When Neyland accepted, the Orange had the game of the year. Oklahoma had recorded eight shutouts in its 10-0 season, while the Volunteers had seven in their 10-0 campaign.
Tennessee dominated the game, racking up 268 yards of offense and limiting the Sooners to 81. Play was rough in this contest as the teams racked up a total of 242 yards in penalties, and several players were ejected from the game.
GAME STATISTICS
Tennessee Oklahoma
First Downs 16 5
Rushing Plays 48 15
Rushing Yards 217 25
Passes Attempted 16 26
Passes Completed 5 9
Had Intercepted 0 1
Passing Yards 51 56
Total Offense 268 81
Punting/Avg. 12/37.1 13/40.6
Fumbles/Lost 2/2 2/2
Penalties/Yards 17/157 9/85
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Tennessee 7 3 0 7 17
Oklahoma 0 0 0 0 0
SCORING SUMMARY
UT: Foxx 8 run (Wyatt kick); UT: Watt 22 FG; UT: B. Wood 19 run on reverse (Foxx kick)
Tennessee Head Coach- General Robert Neyland
Oklahoma Head Coach- Tom Stidham