Tennessee had not given up any points prior to the Rose Bowl and had won 23 consecutive games.
USC guard Harry Smith was a consensus first-team pick on the 1939 All-America college football team.
[7][8] Smith, Lansdell, and tackle Phil Gaspar were also selected as first-team players on the 1939 All-Pacific Coast football team.
[9][10] USC recognized the 1939 team as National Champions in 2004 based on their #1 ranking in the contemporary Dickinson System.
USC saluted the surviving members of the squad on the field at their October 16 home game versus Arizona State.