1938 Duke Blue Devils football team

1938 Duke Blue Devils football
SoCon champion
Rose Bowl, L 3–7 vs. USC
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Ranking
APNo. 3
Record9–1 (5–0 SoCon)
Head coach
Offensive schemeSingle-wing
MVPEric Tipton
CaptainDan Hill, Eric Tipton
Home stadiumDuke Stadium
Seasons
← 1937
1939 →
1938 Southern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 Duke $ 5 0 0 9 1 0
Clemson 3 0 1 7 1 1
VMI 4 0 3 6 1 4
North Carolina 4 1 0 6 2 1
Richmond 3 2 1 6 3 1
Washington and Lee 2 2 0 4 4 1
NC State 3 3 1 3 7 1
South Carolina 2 2 0 6 4 1
Wake Forest 3 4 1 4 5 1
VPI 2 3 2 3 5 2
The Citadel 2 3 0 6 5 0
Maryland 1 2 0 2 7 0
Davidson 2 6 0 4 6 0
Furman 0 4 1 2 7 1
William & Mary 0 4 0 3 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll
Captain Dan Hill, coach Wallace Wade, and captain Eric Tipton practicing in a Pasadena park ahead of the Rose Bowl

The 1938 Duke Blue Devils football team represented Duke University during the 1938 college football season. The Blue Devils were led by head coach Wallace Wade, who was in his eighth season at the school. Known as the "Iron Dukes", the 1938 Blue Devils went undefeated and unscored upon during the entire regular season, earning them the Southern Conference championship.

Duke was invited to the Rose Bowl against the USC Trojans. In what was the Blue Devils' first bowl game appearance, the contest was a scoreless defensive battle until early in the fourth quarter, when Duke kicked a field goal to take a 3–0 lead. However, USC threw a touchdown pass with one minute left to score the first and only points allowed by Duke during the season and win the game.