1935–36 NCAA football bowl games

The 1935–36 NCAA football bowl games were the final games of the 1935 college football season, and included the debut of the Sun Bowl being played with collegiate teams, which complemented the Orange, Rose, and Sugar Bowl as the fourth post-season game. Both Southeastern Conference (SEC) teams, LSU and Ole Miss, suffered single-point defeats.

1935–36 NCAA football bowl games
Number of bowl games per state
Season	1935
Regular season	September 21–November 30
Number of bowls	4
All-star games	East–West Shrine Game
Bowl games	January 1, 1936
National Championship	none
Location of Championship	N/A
Champions	SMU Mustangs (Dickinson) Princeton Tigers (Dunkel)
Bowl record by conference Conference Bowls Record Final AP Poll Independents 2 1–0–1 (0.750) note[1] SWC 2 1–1 (0.500) SEC 2 0–2 (0.000) Pacific Coast 1 1–0 (1.000) Border 1 0–0–1 (0.500) Big Six 0 0–0 (–) Big Ten 0 0–0 (–) Rocky Mountain 0 0–0 (–) Southern 0 0–0 (–)

What may be striking about these bowl games, from a historical perspective, is three of the eight participating teams. As of December 2018, two of the teams—the Catholic University Cardinals and Hardin–Simmons Cowboys—compete in the NCAA's lowest level of competition, Division III. Another team, the New Mexico State Aggies, still compete at the highest level but they have one of the lowest winning percentages in the Football Bowl Subdivision.

Poll rankings

No AP Poll for college football was taken this season; it would not become a regular occurrence until the 1936 season. Contemporary polls named different national champions; the Dickinson System chose SMU,[2] while the Dunkel System selected Princeton.

Bowl schedule

Date	Game	Site	Teams	Affiliations	Results[3]
Jan. 1	Rose Bowl	Rose Bowl Pasadena, California	Stanford Indians (7–1) SMU Mustangs (12–0)	PCC SWC	Stanford 7 SMU 0
	Sugar Bowl	Tulane Stadium New Orleans, Louisiana	TCU Horned Frogs (11–1) LSU Tigers (9–1)	SWC SEC	TCU 3 LSU 2
	Orange Bowl	Miami Field Miami, Florida	Catholic University Cardinals (7–1) Ole Miss Rebels (9–2)	Independent SEC	Catholic 20 Ole Miss 19
	Sun Bowl	Jones Stadium El Paso, Texas	New Mexico State Aggies (6–1–2) Hardin–Simmons Cowboys (6–3)	Border Independent	New Mexico State 14 Hardin–Simmons 14

Number of bowl teams per state. The Catholic University Cardinals are from Washington, D.C.

References

1. There was no AP Poll this season.
2. "Southern Methodist Receives Trophy Emblematic Of National Gridiron Trophy". Lubbock Morning Avalanche. Lubbock, Texas. December 24, 1935. p. 4. Retrieved December 8, 2018 – via newspapers.com.
3. "New Year's Grid Game Results". Lubbock Morning Avalanche. Lubbock, Texas. January 2, 1936. p. 2. Retrieved December 7, 2018 – via newspapers.com.