1941 Sugar Bowl
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| 1941 Sugar Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 7th Sugar Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
 Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana, hosted the Sugar Bowl. | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 1, 1941 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1940 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Tulane Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | New Orleans, Louisiana | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Tennessee | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | James Cheves (SEC; split crew: SEC, EAIFO) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 73,181[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
The 1941 Sugar Bowl featured the fourth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers and the fifth-ranked Boston College Eagles, both with records of 10–0 and high-scoring offenses.[2][3] The seventh edition of the Sugar Bowl, it was played on Wednesday, January 1, 1941, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana.[4][5][6]
Tennessee scored the only points of the first half with a four-yard touchdown run by Van Thompson in the first quarter. After a scoreless second quarter, Boston College scored on a 13-yard touchdown run from Harry Connolly to tie the score at 7–7. Tennessee answered with a two-yard touchdown run from Warren Buist for a 13–7 lead. Boston College scored on a one-yard rushing touchdown from Mike Holovak to tie the game at 13–13.[4][5][6]
In the fourth quarter, Tennessee's Bob Foxx missed a short field goal attempt with three minutes remaining, and BC took over on its own 20-yard-line. Quarterback Charlie O'Rourke led the Eagles on an 80-yard drive, capped with his 24-yard touchdown run to give them a 19–13 win.[4][5][6]
As this game was contested before the Sugar Bowl was racially integrated, Boston College played without halfback Lou Montgomery, an African-American.[7] Comments from sportswriters of the era included "there's no use borrowing trouble when it can be avoided."[8] Montgomery had also sat out Boston College's prior bowl game, the 1940 Cotton Bowl Classic, contested in Dallas.[9] The first interracial bowl game did not occur until after World War II, the 1948 Cotton Bowl Classic, and the Sugar Bowl did not integrate until its 1956 edition.