1939 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team

The 1939 Texas Tech Red Raiders football team represented Texas Technological College—now known as Texas Tech University—as a member of the Border Conference during the 1939 college football season. Led by tenth-year head coach Pete Cawthon, the Red Raiders compiled an overall record of 5–5–1 with a mark of 2–1 in conference play, placing third in the Border Conference. The team outscored its opponents by a total of 150 to 74 on the season. Texas Tech played home games at Tech Field in Lubbock, Texas.

1939 Texas Tech Red Raiders football
1939 Texas Tech football team
Conference	Border Conference
Record	5–5–1 (2–1 Border)
Head coach	Pete Cawthon (10th season)
Offensive scheme	Single-wing
Base defense	6–2
Home stadium	Tech Field
Seasons ← 1938 1940 →

1939 Border Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Arizona State $	4	–	0	–	0			8	–	2	–	1
New Mexico	4	–	2	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
Texas Tech	2	–	1	–	0			5	–	5	–	1
Texas Mines	3	–	2	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Arizona	1	–	2	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
New Mexico A&M	1	–	4	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
Arizona State–Flagstaff	0	–	4	–	0			1	–	6	–	1
$ – Conference champion

On November 11, Texas Tech played Centenary to a scoreless tie in a game in which the two teams combined for an NCAA-record 77 punts.

Texas Tech was ranked at No. 90 (out of 609 teams) in the final Litkenhous Ratings for 1939.^[1]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 23		at Texas Mines	Kidd Field El Paso, TX	L 2–7
September 30		Texas Wesleyan*	Tech Field Lubbock, TX	W 30–0
October 7		Gonzaga*	Tech Field Lubbock, TX	L 0–6
October 14		Arizona State–Flagstaff	Tech Field Lubbock, TX	W 54–0
October 21		New Mexico	Tech Field Lubbock, TX	W 19–7
October 27		at No. 11 Duquesne*	Forbes Field Pittsburgh, PA	L 0–13
November 3	7:15 p.m.	at Miami (FL)*	Burdine Stadium Miami, FL	L 0–19	11,337	[2][3][4]
November 11		at Centenary*	Centenary College Stadium Shreveport, LA	T 0–0		[5]
November 18		Marquette*	Tech Field Lubbock, TX	L 19–22	8,000	[6]
November 25		Montana*	Tech Field Lubbock, TX	W 13–0
December 1		at Loyola (LA)*	Loyola University Stadium New Orleans, LA	W 13–0	3,500	[7]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[8]

Game summaries

At Centenary

See also: 1939 Centenary Gentlemen football team

Main article: 1939 Texas Tech vs. Centenary football game

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Red Raiders	0	0	0	0	0
Gentlemen	0	0	0	0	0

Texas Tech Red Raiders at Centenary Gentlemen – Game summary

at Centenary College Stadium, Shreveport, LA

• Date: November 11
• Game weather: Heavy rain

The game was played in a torrential downpour that led to muddy field conditions that prevented either team from effectively running or passing the ball. To cope with the poor conditions, the teams resorted to punting in hopes of recovering a turnover on the other end of the field. Both teams combined for 77 punts (39 for Texas Tech and 38 for Centenary), with 67 occurring on first down. 42 punts were returned, 19 went out of bounds, 10 were downed, 1 went into the end zone for a touchback, 4 were blocked, and 1 was fair caught. The Gentlemen managed to finish with 31 yards of total offense, while the Red Raiders finished with a one-yard loss.^[9] Texas Tech punter Charlie Calhoun punted the ball 36 times for 1,318 yards, both of which still stand as NCAA records.^[10]

References

1. E. E. Litkenhous (December 31, 1939). "Vols Second In Final Litkenhous Grid Rankings; Southern California Tenth". Johnson City Sunday Press. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
2. Clay, Everett (November 3, 1939). "Texas Tech 8-To-5 Favorite Over Miami". Miami Herald. Miami, Florida. p. 8C. Retrieved July 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
3. Clay, Everett (November 4, 1939). "Miami Comes to Life And Upsets Texas Tech". Miami Herald. Miami, Florida. p. 2B. Retrieved July 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
4. Clay, Everett (November 4, 1939). "Miami Upsets Texas Tech (continued)". Miami Herald. Miami, Florida. p. 4B. Retrieved July 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com .
5. "Tech, Gents tie in punt duel". The Tyler Courier-Times. November 12, 1939. Retrieved July 25, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
6. Collier Parris (November 19, 1939). "Marquette Takes Tech, 22 To 19, In Homecoming Thriller". The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Tech uses breaks to beat Loyola, 13 to 0". Lubbock Morning Avalanche. December 2, 1939. p. 4. Retrieved January 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "1939 Texas Tech Red Raiders Schedule and Results". Sports Reference. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
9. "When Punts Rained from the Sky". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved April 28, 2021.
10. "2013 Football Records Book - FBS" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved April 28, 2021.