NEW ORLEANS (October 27, 2022) – With the Tulane football team climbing to heights it hasn't seen in over 20 years, the Allstate Sugar Bowl is "turning back the clock" to January 1, 1940 when the Green Wave made one of its two appearances in the Sugar Bowl. This year's Tulane squad is sitting at 7-1 and ranked No. 23 in the nation – the Wave reached the AP Top 25 last week after not being ranked since its perfect 1998 season. The 1939 Tulane team posted an 8-0-1 regular season record to earn an invite to the 1940 Sugar Bowl, however, undefeated and top-ranked Texas A&M blocked a fourth-quarter point-after kick which proved to be the difference in a 14-13 contest.
 
Full History Story – 1940 Sugar Bowl
 
The 1940 Sugar Bowl was billed as a showdown between college football's best, and Texas A&M, behind John Kimbrough, proved it was just that with a 14-13 come-from-behind win over Tulane before 73,000 fans in the newly expanded Tulane Stadium.
 
Kimbrough, dominated with his running (25 carries for 159 yards) and defensive play and shared hero honors with teammate Herbie Smith, who blocked the Tulane PAT.
 
The 210-pound Kimbrough tallied the first touchdown of the game, hurdling in from the one-yard line in the first quarter, but the Greenies put a scare into the undefeated Aggies. Bobby "Jitterburg" Kellogg fielded a punt on the bounce, side-stepper one tackler, then took off along the west sidelines, receiving a pair of key blocks to clear his path to the end zone for a 75-yard score to knot the game.
 
"I came up the middle," Kellogg said, "then cut for the sidelines…I went right to the Tulane bench. A block by Buddy Banker sprung me loose, and another by Al Bodney cleared the last man in my road…I missed some practice because of injuries and when I reached the end zone I was a pretty sick boy."
 
After recovering an Aggie fumble late in the third period, Tulane forged ahead on a short run by Monette Butler early in the fourth quarter, however, Smith, the smallest player on the field, popped through and blocked the PAT attempt, leaving the Wave on top, 13-7.
 
From there, Kimbrough took over. The big man, nicknamed "Jarrin Jawn," had a pair of bruising runs through the Tulane defenders. The first plowed the ball to the Tulane 27 and the second came on a lateral at the 18 as he barreled straight through the defense for the game-winning touchdown.
 
A&M coach Homer Norton had no problem expressing what he thought of Kimbrough, who the next season would be the Heisman Trophy runner-up to Tome Harmon. "He's the greatest football player in the world," Norton said following the Sugar Bowl victory. "And you can put my name on that with a picture."