1937 Sugar Bowl

1937 Sugar Bowl
1937 Sugar Bowl
Santa Clara Broncos	LSU Tigers
(7–1)	(9–0–1)
Independent	SEC
21	14
Head coach: ; Buck Shaw	Head coach: ; Bernie Moore
	AP
	6
	AP
	2
Date	January 1, 1937
Season	1936
Stadium	Tulane Stadium
Location	New Orleans, Louisiana
Favorite	LSU
Referee	Alvin Bell (SWC;; split crew: SWC, Pacific Coast, SEC)
Attendance	38,483
Sugar Bowl
< 1936	1938 >

Last updated February 12, 2024

The 1937 Sugar Bowl was the third edition of the Sugar Bowl and matched the LSU Tigers and the Santa Clara Broncos. It was played on Friday, January 1, 1937, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]

Background

LSU had allowed only 33 points during the regular season while cruising to a second straight Southeastern Conference championship with an undefeated regular season, with a non-conference tie at Texas early in the season. Santa Clara was an independent, which cost them an invite to the Rose Bowl due to not being a Pacific Coast Conference member; Washington won the PCC.

The Broncos were 7–0 when the Sugar invitation was made, but then were shut out 9–0 by Sammy Baugh and TCU on December 12 in San Francisco.^[6] LSU was spurned by the Rose Bowl committee as well, paving the way for Santa Clara's first bowl game and LSU's second straight Sugar Bowl.^[7]

In the final AP poll released in late November, LSU was second and Santa Clara was sixth.

Game summary

Rain that had started the previous day continued throughout the game, which contributed to sixteen turnovers and 25 punts. LSU could not overcome a sloppy first quarter in which they had no first downs and allowed the Broncos to score twice. Manny Gomez caught a touchdown pass from Nello Falaschi and Norman Finley caught a touchdown pass from Bruno Pellegrini, both in a span of seven minutes. LSU narrowed the lead in the second quarter on Gus Tinsley's touchdown catch from Bill Crass, and Santa Clara led 14–7 at halftime.^[2]^[3]^[4]

Falaschi scored on a touchdown run in the third quarter to give the Broncos a 21–7 lead. Rocky Reed caught a touchdown pass late in the game to close the margin to 21–14, but the game was already sealed as neither team threatened again, affected by the wet weather. Notably, Shaw loaned shoes from nearby Loyola University to give his team an advantage on the wet field in the second half.^[8]

Aftermath

LSU reached their third consecutive Sugar Bowl the following year, in a rematch with Santa Clara, and the Broncos won again in the rain.

Statistics

Statistics	Santa Clara	LSU
First Downs	10	7
Yards Rushing	108	44
Yards Passing	74	125
Total Yards	182	169
Punts-Average	12–42.0	13–36.0
Fumbles Lost	4	6
Interceptions	4	2
Penalty Yards	42	0

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References

↑ "L.S.U. is choice at Sugar Bowl". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 1, 1937. p. 11.
1 2 "Santa Clara whips L.S.U." Pittsburgh Press. United Press. January 2, 1937. p. 9.
1 2 "Santa Clara's passing upsets L.S.U., 21 to 14". Milwaukee Journal. United Press. January 2, 1937. p. 8.
1 2 "Santa Claras surprise L.S.U." Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 2, 1937. p. 9.
↑ "Santa Clara runs roughshod over L.S.U., 21 to 14". St. Petersburg Times. Associated Press. January 2, 1937. p. 11.
↑ Sullivan, James A. (December 13, 1936). "Texas Christian punctures Santa Clara's perfect record". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. p. 1, sports.
↑ "Reference at www.allstatesugarbowl.org".
↑ "Reference at www.allstatesugarbowl.org". Archived from the original on November 1, 2014. Retrieved January 9, 2015.

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[lsuisch-1] "L.S.U. is choice at Sugar Bowl". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 1, 1937. p. 11.

[whiscs-2] 1 2 "Santa Clara whips L.S.U." Pittsburgh Press. United Press. January 2, 1937. p. 9.

[psgupst-3] 1 2 "Santa Clara's passing upsets L.S.U., 21 to 14". Milwaukee Journal. United Press. January 2, 1937. p. 8.

[surprs-4] 1 2 "Santa Claras surprise L.S.U." Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 2, 1937. p. 9.

[rffsho-5] "Santa Clara runs roughshod over L.S.U., 21 to 14". St. Petersburg Times. Associated Press. January 2, 1937. p. 11.

[tc-6] Sullivan, James A. (December 13, 1936). "Texas Christian punctures Santa Clara's perfect record". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. p. 1, sports.

[7] "Reference at www.allstatesugarbowl.org".

[8] "Reference at www.allstatesugarbowl.org". Archived from the original on November 1, 2014. Retrieved January 9, 2015.

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v t e Sugar Bowl
History & conference tie-ins	History Tulane Stadium Georgia Dome Caesars Superdome College Football Playoff Broadcasters Southeastern Conference Big 12 Conference
Games	1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 (Jan) 1972 (Dec) 1973 1974 1975 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 (Jan) 1995 (Dec) 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 (Jan) 2022 (Dec) 2024
Notes	The 2006 game took place in Atlanta, Georgia due to Hurricane Katrina. The game was also the national title game for either the Bowl Coalition, Bowl Alliance, or Bowl Championship Series in 1993, 1997, 2000, and 2004. There was a Sugar Bowl in January and December in 1972, 1995 and 2022. The game was a College Football Playoff semifinal in its 2015, 2018, 2021, and 2024 editions.