The 1939 Texas Aggies

[Texas Aggie]

So-called? What kind of idiocy is that?

It appears that you looked (briefly, if that) at Tennessee's schedule, didn't include relevent information, yet didn't even bother to check out A&M's schedule that year. Let's break it down:

1. Tenn. indeed wasn't scored upon until their loss to USC, but against the teams they played, I'm not sure that's really much of an accomplishment. Aside from USC, the only teams they played with winning records were 'Bama and Kentucky. They also played 2 non-DI schools -- Mercer and Tenn. Chattanooga.

2. A&M played in the SWC at the time, with teams like TCU and SMU winning national championships in recent (to then) years. Their schedule was a bit better, to say the least. Only 4 of the 11 teams they played (and beat) had losing records.

3. It isn't like A&M had a high powered offense and won a lot of 41-38 games. They only had 31 points scored on them -- including 13 to Tulane in the Sugar Bowl, and only 4 other opponents scored on them with scores of 2, 3, 6, and 7 points. That means 6 shutouts.

4. I'd like to know if ANY computer ratings system has Tenn. as its champion for that year. USC claims one based on some obscure ratings, but, unlike Tenn., at least them and Cornell were undefeated, and Tulane only lost by one, unlike the blowout (yes, 14-0 was a blowout THEN) Tenn. experienced to USC. Tulane was the second best team, and USC was the third best. After that, Cornell, Duke, Clemson, and North Carolina probably rate higher than Tenn. UT would struggle to make the top ten, honestly.

Incidentally, if you like defense, check out the Aggie teams of 1917 and 1919: 18-0 with ZERO points allowed in both years. Unfortunately, there was no AP poll, and the computer ratings weren't kind to them -- likely due to their opponents. But I think it would be hard to find many teams that played 2 years of 18 or more games and didn't allow a point.