Countdown to Kickoff: 1929 Texas Football - Five Shutouts and a Tailspin (98 Days)

[Blake Munroe]

The 1929 Longhorns finished 5-2-2, but that record doesn’t begin to tell the story.

For the first half of the season, Texas was virtually untouchable.

The Longhorns opened the year with five consecutive shutout victories over St. Edward’s, Centenary, Arkansas, Oklahoma and Rice. Through five games, Texas had outscored opponents 120-0 and had not allowed a single point.

Five games. Five wins. Five shutouts.

That’s one of the most dominant starts in program history.

Texas allowed only 28 points all season, an improvement from the 32 points surrendered by the 1928 Southwest Conference championship team. In fact, over the two-year span of 1928 and 1929, the Longhorns allowed just 60 total points in 18 games.

Even more impressive?

Only two opponents scored on Texas all season.

TCU managed 15 points in a 15-12 victory, and Texas A&M scored 13 points in the season finale.

That’s it.

Officially, Texas recorded five shutout victories. Unofficially, the Longhorns held seven of their nine opponents scoreless when you include back-to-back 0-0 ties against SMU and Baylor.

Seven of nine opponents failed to score a single point against Texas.

Modern fans will never see another season quite like it.

The strangest part of the year is how dramatically the season changed after the 5-0 start.

Texas went from outscoring opponents 120-0 through five games to going 0-2-2 over its final four contests. The Longhorns played consecutive scoreless ties against SMU and Baylor before falling to TCU and Texas A&M to close the year.

Despite the disappointing finish, the season still featured one of the most notable wins of the era.

Texas defeated Oklahoma 21-0 in Dallas as the rivalry resumed after a multi-year hiatus. What would eventually become one of college football’s greatest rivalries returned to the schedule in 1929.

1929 Schedule & Results

• St. Edward’s - W 13-0
• Centenary - W 20-0
• at Arkansas - W 27-0
• Oklahoma - W 21-0
• Rice - W 39-0
• at SMU - T 0-0
• Baylor - T 0-0
• TCU - L 12-15
• at Texas A&M - L 0-13

Seven opponents never scored. Nearly 100 years later, that’s still hard to comprehend.