In his second season in Fort Worth, Dutch Meyer coached the Texas Christian Horned Frogs to an 11-1 record. A battle of unbeatens for the Southwest Conference championship on Novem­ber 30 resulted in a 20-14 SMU victory that sent the Mustangs to the Rose Bowl and the Frogs to the Sugar. It was TCU's first post-season game. Dickin­son's final standings — he didn't recal­culate after the bowl games — pegged TCU #8. Amazingly, the Frogs didn't make the Top 25 in the UPI vote. Known as an innovator in the passing game, Meyer had the ideal quarterback to run his system. Sammy Baugh threw for 1,293y on 101 completions and 19 touchdowns.

TCU boasted an All-American center in husky Darrell Lester, who had been selected to the mythical team for the second time.

Bernie Moore became LSU head coach because of Senator Huey Long's meddling in the football program. Huey criticized Coach Biff Jones publicly when the 1934 Tigers lost back-to-back games to Tulane and Tennessee. At halftime of the season finale, the Tigers trailed visi­ting Oregon 13-0. As Jones prepared to explain to his squad what they had to do to get back in the game, Long barged into the locker room and demanded to talk to the team. Jones told him no and stood his ground. Huey said, "I'm sick of losing and tying games. You'd better win this one." Flushed with anger, Biff told him, "Senator, get this: win, lose, or draw, I quit." An assistant on Jones's staff, Moore had coached the LSU track team to the 1933 national championship. Long was assassinated in the State Capitol Building in Baton Rouge September 10, 18 days be­fore Bernie's first game as head coach.

Moore's first LSU squad lost its opener to Rice, 10-7, then won the remaining nine games to claim the Southeastern Conference crown. The Tigers pitched five shutouts: Manhattan (32-0 at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn), Auburn (6-0), at Georgia (13-0), South­western Louisiana (56-0), and at Tulane (41-0).

Moore's offensive star was triple-threat TB Abe Mickal, who would soon become LSU's first NFL draftee. The undisputed defensive star for the Tigers was E Gaynell "Gus" Tin­sley. Bernie was effusive in his praise. "He's the greatest lineman I ever saw, someone who could have made All-America at any position. He was so tough he made blockers quit."

The mathematical system of economics professor Frank Dickinson ranked the Tigers #4. The United Press International sportswriters' poll placed LSU #7. (The Associated Press would start its poll the following season.)

As a result, LSU received the school's first bowl bid. They would play their second straight game at Tulane Stadium, this one on New Year's Day against TCU in the second annual Sugar Bowl.

Even if the heavy rains that had fallen for three days stopped before the 1:30 kickoff, the field would at least be sloppy, which concerned Meyer. "It's going to be a great game. I hate for us to have to play on a slippery field—and we haven't played in the mud in two seasons. I am afraid the wet ball will hurt our chances. Sam Baugh may be able to throw them, but the catching will be tough."

Bernie Moore also commented on the strong possibility of challenging conditions. "I feel that under such conditions, neither team will be retarded more than the other. If we are called upon to decide the game in the rain or on such a field that the ball becomes wet, muddy and slippery, there is little question that the attacks of both teams will suffer fully 50 per cent."

TCU averaged three pounds more per man than LSU. However, the Tigers fielded the deeper squad, with "three first rate backfields and two lines of near equal strength." On the other side, only 16 of TCU's 27 players saw regular action.

With hundreds of extra seats added to Tulane Stadium, 37,000 were anticipated for the game. But the chilly, damp weather cut the number to 35,000, but that was still the largest crowd ever for a sporting event in Louisiana.

The estimated 4,000 Texans in their 10-gallon hats and high-heeled boots were easily distin­guishable from the Tiger fans with their purple and gold colors displayed on coat lapels. Rain began falling late in the first half and continued throughout the rest of the contest. As the Sugar Bowl's web site says, "Considering everything, the crowd may have witnessed the finest touch­down-less game ever played, complete with multiple goal-line stands."

TCU showed more offense than LSU in the scoreless first quarter. Abe Mickal dropped the kickoff into HB Jim Lawrence's hands on the two, and he returned it 15y. After three runs gained only a few yards, Sam Baugh, one of the greatest punters in football history, launched a rocket that J. T. "Rock" Reed tracked down on the 19, and Drew Ellis upended him on the 23. It was the first of 27 punts the teams would boot during the soggy afternoon.

The Tigers took to the air on their first play. Mickal tossed down the slot to Barrett, but Baugh came up from his safety position to knock it down. Indispensable on both sides of the ball, Sammy would play all 60 minutes. Despite an offside penalty on the defense, LSU couldn't gain a first down. So Mickal, another excellent kicker, banged a punt to the TCU 20 where Baugh grab­bed it and returned just 3y before T Justin Rukas downed him.
After an offside penalty nullified a completion, Baugh, who was subjected to a fierce Tiger rush all afternoon, passed to L. D. Meyer, the coach's nephew, for 16y to the Frog 37. Then Law­rence dashed 26y to put the ball on the LSU 37. Following three short line bucks, Reed inter­cepted the fourth down pass and returned it 7y to the 24.

On 2nd-and-12, Reed bolted for 21y in what would be LSU's longest run from scrimmage. But after two runs moved to the ball to midfield, Mickal quick-kicked to the Frog seven.

Continuing the game of "I don't want it, you can have it," Baugh immediately booted the ball to the LSU 32, Reed returning it 3y. On 3rd-and-4, Mickal kicked into the end zone.

After two plunges gained nothing, Baugh quick-kicked 68y to LSU's 12. LSU moved out to the 33 as the period ended. End of the first quarter: LSU 0 TCU 0

Rain started falling heavily late in the half and continued the rest of the game, but only a hand­ful of fans left their seats. Fans donned raincoats and raised umbrellas in all sections of the stadi­um. Others piled newspapers and programs over their hats and shoulders and stayed and shiv­ered. Reporters in the press box must have had a hard time deciphering what was happening on the field through the rain, especially as sunset drew nearer. Newspaper accounts differ on details such as who fumbled the ball, who recovered it, where a punt went out of bounds, and so on.

The day's only points were put on the scoreboard in the second period. The punting duel con­tinued with LSU enjoying field position advantage. With Mickal resting to start the period, Bill Crass booted into the end zone. On the next series, Bowman ran back Baugh's third down punt 3y to the LSU 48. Jesse Fatherree ripped off 11 into TCU territory. But the Frogs stopped three straight runs to force a punt, Bob Crass's boot going out of bounds on the six.

Not taking any chances, Baugh immediately punted back to George "Junior" Bowman, who caught the ball at midfield and returned it all the way to the 18 to give LSU an excellent early scoring opportunity.

After Bowman gained two, Fatherree tried to pass but was dropped back at the 24. With bet­ter protection, Crass tossed a beautiful pass to E Jeff Barrett who caught it on the seven and was pulled down on the two by Baugh to prevent a touchdown. That would prove to be a game-saving tackle. Crass hurled himself at the TCU line, but 168 lb G Tracy Kellow and All-American C Darrell Lester stopped him at the one. Lester broke his collar bone on the play and left the game. Jack Tittle, "a midget in comparison with the giant Lester" and older brother of future LSU star quarterback Y. A. Tittle, performed admirably the rest of the way. Bob crashed into the line again but fell short. This time, Tittle made the stop. Facing 4th down from inside the 1y line, Coach Moore didn't bother with a field goal try, presumably because of the wet conditions. In­stead, Crass plunged one more time, but when the pileup was unraveled, the officials placed the ball on the 6" line and signaled first down TCU.

With everyone expecting him to punt out of danger, Baugh instead tried to catch the defense off guard with a long pass. Taking the snap near the back of the end zone as Tinsley and Barrett bore down on him, he tried to throw the ball, but it appeared to slip from his hand and drop to the ground in the end zone. The referee ruled a safety. LSU 2 TCU 0

TCU chose a place kick that traveled to the LSU 30, where Bowman caught it and returned 15y. But the key break of the game occurred on the next play when Crass fumbled, and Willie Walls recovered for TCU on the LSU 40.

Finally free from the shadow of their own goal, the Frogs struck quickly. Lawrence crossed up the Tiger defense by taking a handoff on a reverse and passing to Walls who was tackled by Bowman on the 13. After LSU called timeout, FB Taldon "Tilly" Manton fumbled but recovered for a 3y loss. Then Tinsley threw Baugh for a loss of 1y. So Manton kicked a field goal from the 26 into the teeth of a brisk northern wind. TCU 3 LSU 2

Baugh explained years later: "I held the ball, and I believe I was more nervous than Taldon was. The kick was ... on the order of a line drive ... at first I thought it might go wide to the right ... but it stayed inside the posts."

Manton had kicked the winning field goal in the Frogs' last regular season game to beat Santa Clara 10-7. Ironically, Tilly attended LSU before transferring to TCU.

Bowman returned the kickoff from the 10 to the 24. Following a short run and an incomplete pass, Crass punted to the TCU 34, Baugh returning it to the 43. Lawrence got loose again, this time for 15. Manton added four before Baugh hit Lawrence to the 29. A delay of game penalty cost TCU 5y. Sammy failed to connect on a long pass as the half ended.

END OF FIRST HALF: TCU 3 LSU 2