1939 Sun Bowl

American college football game December 2025 August 2023 1939 Sun Bowl 5th Sun Bowl Sun Bowl logo used prior to corporate sponsorship 1938 Utah Utes University of Utah New Mexico Lobos University of New Mexico 6–1–2 Mountain States 8–2 Border Conference Ike Armstrong Ted Shipkey 14 6 0 6 0 0 0 0 January 2 Kidd Field El Paso, Texas Cooper Kinney 13,000 This fifth annual Sun Bowl featured the Utah Utes and the New Mexico Lobos in a postseason bowl game for both teams and the final game of the 1938 college football season. Background New Mexico was champion of the Border Conference while Utah was champion of the Mountain States Conference. The game was touted as the most evenly matched of the five major bowl games of the 1938 season. This was also the first meeting between the two schools and the first bowl game for either school. Game summary Nevertheless, the Utes dominated from the start, scoring three first-half touchdowns, with a Tom Pace touchdown run and two Ray Peterson touchdowns, including a 1-yard run on fourth-down. In the second half, New Mexico had numerous opportunities to close the gap following Utah turnovers but their aerial attack couldn't capitalize, being held to 59 yards passing and four interceptions, not even reaching Utah's 40 the whole game. Utah, on the other hand, racked up 366 yards rushing, and outgained the Lobos 384–212, adding in a Clarance Gehrke touchdown late to make the final score 26–0, the first ever shutout in Sun Bowl history.http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/utah/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/06-mediaguide-k.pdf 2006 Utah Football Media Guide University of Utah Athletic Department 177 March 30, 2007 May 22, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110522193659/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/utah/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/06-mediaguide-k.pdf dead http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/nm/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/06-mg-section9.pdf 2006 Lobo Football Media Guide University of New Mexico Athletic Department 172 March 30, 2007 May 22, 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20110522193712/http://grfx.cstv.com/photos/schools/nm/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/06-mg-section9.pdf dead Scoring summary First quarter Utah: Tom Pace 15-yard run (Bernard McGarry kick) Utah: Ray Peterson 60-yard interception return (Bernard McGarry kick) Second quarter Utah: Ray Peterson 1-yard run (kick failed) Fourth quarter Utah: Clarence Gehrke 10-yard run (kick failed) Statistics Statistics New Mexico UtahFirst downs 12 16Rushing yards 179 379Passing yards 59 18Passing 4–11–4 1–4–1Total offense 212 384Fumbles–lost 3–1 1–1Penalties–yards 5–35 9–55Punts–average 9–40.8 8–30.5 Aftermath New Mexico returned to the Sun Bowl twice in the next decade (1944 and 1946). Utah did not return to the Sun Bowl until 2011. References Sun Bowl Category:Sun Bowl Category:New Mexico Lobos football bowl games Category:Utah Utes football bowl games Category:January 1939 sports events in the United States Sun Bowl