1938 Duke Blue Devils football
SoCon champion
Rose Bowl, L 3–7 vs. USC
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Ranking
APNo. 3
Record9–1 (5–0 SoCon)
Head coach
Offensive schemeSingle-wing
MVPEric Tipton
CaptainDan Hill, Eric Tipton
Home stadiumDuke Stadium
Seasons
← 1937
1939 →
1938 Southern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 Duke $ 5 – 0 – 0 9 – 1 – 0
Clemson 3 – 0 – 1 7 – 1 – 1
VMI 4 – 0 – 3 6 – 1 – 4
North Carolina 4 – 1 – 0 6 – 2 – 1
Richmond 3 – 2 – 1 6 – 3 – 1
Washington and Lee 2 – 2 – 0 4 – 4 – 1
NC State 3 – 3 – 1 3 – 7 – 1
South Carolina 2 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 1
Wake Forest 3 – 4 – 1 4 – 5 – 1
VPI 2 – 3 – 2 3 – 5 – 2
The Citadel 2 – 3 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Maryland 1 – 2 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Davidson 2 – 6 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Furman 0 – 4 – 1 2 – 7 – 1
William & Mary 0 – 4 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
Captain Dan Hill, coach Wallace Wade, and captain Eric Tipton practicing in a Pasadena park ahead of the Rose Bowl

The 1938 Duke Blue Devils football team represented Duke University during the 1938 college football season. The Blue Devils were led by head coach Wallace Wade, who was in his eighth season at the school. Known as the "Iron Dukes", the 1938 Blue Devils went undefeated and unscored upon during the entire regular season, earning them the Southern Conference championship.

Duke was invited to the Rose Bowl against the USC Trojans. In what was the Blue Devils' first bowl game appearance, the contest was a scoreless defensive battle until early in the fourth quarter, when Duke kicked a field goal to take a 3–0 lead. However, USC threw a touchdown pass with one minute left to score the first and only points allowed by Duke during the season and win the game.

Schedule

DateTimeOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 248:00 p.m.VPI
W 18–013,000[1][2][3]
October 1Davidson
W 27–06,000[4]
October 8vs. Colgate*
W 7–023,950[5]
October 15Georgia Tech*dagger
  • Duke Stadium
  • Durham, NC
W 6–028,000[6]
October 22vs. Wake ForestNo. 9
W 7–010,000[7]
October 29at North CarolinaNo. 11
W 14–035,000[8]
November 12at Syracuse*No. 7
W 21–027,500[9]
November 19NC StateNo. 4
W 7–011,000[10]
November 26No. 4 PittsburghNo. 3
  • Duke Stadium
  • Durham, NC
W 7–049,138[11]
January 2at No. 8 USC*No. 3
L 3–793,000[12]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[13]

References

  1. ^ "Duke vs. V.P.I." VPI vs. Duke Football Program. 1938. p. 1. Retrieved October 10, 2017.
  2. ^ "Blue Devils Meet V.P.I. in Season Opener, Saturday". The Duke Chronicle. Duke University. September 20, 1938. p. 1. Retrieved August 14, 2016.
  3. ^ "Blue Devil Football Team Captures Season's Opener, 18–0". The Duke Chronicle. Duke University. September 27, 1938. p. 3. Retrieved August 11, 2016.
  4. ^ "Duke turns back Davidson, 27–0". The News and Observer. October 2, 1938. Retrieved September 5, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Duke batters down Colgate passing attack to win intersectional clash, 7 to 0". The Palm Beach Post-Times. October 9, 1938. Retrieved December 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Duke subdues Georgia Tech by 6–0 score". The Baltimore Sun. October 16, 1938. Retrieved December 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Duke beats Deacons 7–0". Winston-Salem Journal. October 23, 1938. Retrieved December 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Duke's eleven beats N.C. by 14-to-0 margin". The Baltimore Sun. October 30, 1938. Retrieved December 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Blue Devils do it again; Eric Tipton leads Duke to triumph". The News and Observer. November 13, 1938. Retrieved December 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Duke gets close call but stops State, 7–0". Daily News. November 20, 1938. Retrieved December 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Smith, Chester L. (November 27, 1938). "Duke blocks kick for touchdown to beat Pitt, 7 to 0". Pittsburgh Press. p. 1, sports.
  12. ^ "Trojans beat Duke, 7–3, on last minute pass". The Los Angeles Times. January 3, 1939. Retrieved December 19, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "1938 Duke Blue Devils". College Football at Sports-Reference.com.


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