1931 Southern Conference football season

1931 Southern Conference football standings
	$ – Conference champion;

1931 Southern Conference football season
1931 Southern Conference football season
League	NCAA
Sport	College football
Duration	September 19, 1931; through January 1, 1933
Number of teams	23
Regular Season
Season champions	Tulane
Football seasons
	← 1930 1932 →

The 1931 Southern Conference football season was the college football games played by the member schools of the Southern Conference as part of the 1931 college football season. The season began on September 19.

In the annual Rose Bowl game, the SoCon champion Tulane Green Wave lost to the PCC champion USC Trojans 21–12. The Georgia Bulldogs suffered their only two losses to Tulane and USC.

It was Wallace Wade's first year as Duke head coach.

Regular season[]

Index to colors and formatting
Non-conference matchup; SoCon member won
Non-conference matchup; SoCon member lost
Non-conference matchup; tie
Conference matchup

SoCon teams in bold.

Week One[]

Date	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Result
September 19	Western Kentucky	Ole Miss	Oxford, Mississippi	W 13–6
September 19	Jacksonville State	Sewanee	McGee Field • Sewanee, Tennessee	W 18–0
September 19	Roanoke	Virginia	Charlottesville, Virginia	W 18–0
September 19	Hampden-Sydney	VMI		W 6–0

Week Two[]

Date	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Result
September 25	Birmingham–Southern	Auburn	Cramton Bowl • Montgomery, Alabama	W 24–6
September 25	Presbyterian	Ole Miss	Oxford, Mississippi	T 0–0
September 26	Howard	Alabama	Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, Alabama	W 42–6
September 27	Wofford	Clemson	Riggs Field • Calhoun, South Carolina	W 32–0
September 27	Florida Southern	Florida	Fleming Field • Gainesville, Florida	W 45–6
September 27	Oglethorpe	Georgia	Sanford Field • Athens, Georgia	W 31–6
September 27	Louisiana Tech	LSU	Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, Louisiana	W 71–0
September 26	Washington (MD)	Maryland	Byrd Stadium • College Park, Maryland	W 13–0
September 26	Mississippi A&M	Millsaps		W 10–7
September 26	Wake Forest	North Carolina	Kenan Memorial Stadium • Chapel Hill, North Carolina	W 37–0
September 26	Davidson	North Carolina State	Norfolk, Virginia	W 18–7
September 26	Tennessee Tech	Sewanee	McGee Field • Sewanee, Tennessee	W 24–7
September 26	Duke	South Carolina	Columbia, South Carolina	SCAR 7–0
September 26	Maryville	Tennessee	Shields–Watkins Field • Knoxville, Tennessee	W 33–0
September 26	Ole Miss	Tulane	Tulane Stadium • New Orleans, Louisiana	TUL 31–0
September 26	Western Kentucky	Vanderbilt	Dudley Field • Nashville, Tennessee	W 52–0
September 26	Randolph-Macon	Virginia	Charlottesville, Virginia	T 7–7
September 26	Richmond	VMI	Lexington, Virginia	L 7–0
September 26	King	Virginia Tech	Blacksburg, Virginia	W 33–0
September 26	Hampden-Sydney	Washington & Lee	Wilson Field • Lexington, Virginia	W 32–0

Week Three[]

Date	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Result
October 3	Ole Miss	Alabama	Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, Alabama	ALA 55–6
October 3	Clemson	Tennessee		TENN 44–0
October 3	Florida	North Carolina State	Riddick Stadium • Raleigh, North Carolina	FLA 34–0
October 3	Virginia Tech	Georgia	Sanford Field • Athens, Georgia	UGA 40–0
October 3	South Carolina	Georgia Tech	Grant Field • Atlanta	GT 25–13
October 3	Maryville	Kentucky	Stoll Field • Lexington, Kentucky	W 19–0
October 3	Spring Hill	LSU	Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, Louisiana	W 35–0
October 3	Virginia	Maryland	College Park, Maryland	MD 7–6
October 3	Mississippi College	Mississippi A&M	Starkville, Mississippi	L 6–2
October 3	Rhodes	Sewanee	Sewanee, Tennessee	T 0–0
October 3	Texas A&M	Tulane	New Orleans, Louisiana	W 7–0
October 3	North Carolina	Vanderbilt		VAN 13–6
October 3	Davidson	Washington & Lee	Lexington, Virginia	L 7–0

Week Four[]

Date	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Result
October 10	Alabama	Mississippi A&M	Meridian, Mississippi	ALA 53–0
October 10	Wisconsin	Auburn		T 7–7
October 10	Clemson	North Carolina State	Charlotte, North Carolina	CLEM 6–0
October 10	Villanova	Duke		W 18–0
October 10	Florida	North Carolina	Kenan Memorial Stadium • Chapel Hill, North Carolina	T 0–0
October 10	Georgia	Yale	Yale Bowl • New Haven, Connecticut	W 26–7
October 10	Carnegie Tech	Georgia Tech	Grant Field • Atlanta	L 13–0
October 11	Maryville	Kentucky	Stoll Field • Lexington, Kentucky	W 57–0
October 10	South Carolina	LSU	Baton Rouge, Louisiana	LSU 19–12
October 10	Navy	Maryland	Washington, D. C.	W 6–0
October 10	Ole Miss	Tennessee	Shields–Watkins Field • Knoxville, Tennessee	TENN 38–0
October 10	Spring Hill	Tulane		W 40–0
October 10	Vanderbilt	Ohio State	Columbus, Ohio	W 26–21
October 10	Sewanee	Virginia	Charlottesville, Virginia	SEW 3–0
October 10	The Citadel	VMI	Lexington, Virginia	T 13–13
October 10	Davidson	Virginia Tech		W 18–6
October 10	Washington & Lee	Kentucky	Lexington, Kentucky	UK 45–0

Week Five[]

Date	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Result
October 16	Clemson	The Citadel	Florence, South Carolina	L 6–0
October 16	Wake Forest	North Carolina State	Riddick Stadium • Raleigh, North Carolina	L 6–0
October 17	Tennessee	Alabama	Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, Alabama	TENN 25–0
October 17	Auburn	Georgia Tech	Grant Field • Atlanta	AUB 13–0
October 17	Davidson	Duke		T 0–0
October 17	Florida	Syracuse	Syracuse, New York	L 33–12
October 17	Georgia	North Carolina	'Kenan Memorial Stadium • Chapel Hill, North Carolina	UGA 32–7
October 17	Mississippi A&M	LSU		LSU 31–0
October 17	Maryland	Kentucky		T 6–6
October 17	Sewanee	Chattanooga	Chattanooga, Tennessee	W 6–0
October 17	Tulane	Vanderbilt	Dudley Field • Nashville, Tennessee	TUL 19–0
October 17	VMI	Virginia	Charlottesville, Virginia	VMI 18–3
October 17	William & Mary	Virginia Tech	Richmond, Virginia	T 6–6
October 17	Washington & Lee	West Virginia	Charleston, West Virginia	L 19–0

Week Six[]

Date	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Result
October 22	Clemson	South Carolina	Columbia, South Carolina	SCAR 21–0
October 22	Wake Forest	Duke		W 28–0
October 24	Sewanee	Alabama	Legion Field • Birmingham, Alabama	ALA 33–0
October 24	Auburn	Florida	Jacksonville, Florida	FLA 13–12
October 24	Vanderbilt	Georgia		UGA 9–0
October 24	Georgia Tech	Tulane	New Orleans	TUL 33–0
October 24	Virginia Tech	Kentucky	Stoll Field • Lexington, Kentucky	UK 20–6
October 24	Arkansas	LSU	Tiger Stadium • Baton Rouge, Louisiana	W 13–6
October 24	Maryland	VMI	Richmond, Virginia	MD 41–20
October 24	Rhodes	Ole Miss		T 20–20
October 24	Tennessee	North Carolina	Kenan Memorial Stadium • Chapel Hill, North Carolina	TENN 7–0
October 24	Virginia	Washington & Lee	Lexington, Virginia	W&L18–0

Week Seven[]

Date	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Result
October 29	South Carolina	The Citadel	County Fairgrounds • Orangeburg, South Carolina	W 26–7
October 30	Ole Miss	Marquette		L 13–6
October 31	Kentucky	Alabama		ALA 9–7
October 31	Spring Hill	Auburn		W 27–7
October 31	Duke	Tennessee		TENN 25–2
October 31	Georgia	Florida		UGA 33–0
October 31	Maryland	Virginia Tech	Blacksburg, Virginia	MD 20–0
October 31	North Carolina	North Carolina State	Riddick Stadium • Raleigh, North Carolina	UNC 18–15
October 31	Mississippi A&M	Tulane	Tulane Stadium • New Orleans	TUL 59–7
October 31	Georgia Tech	Vanderbilt	Dudley Field • Nashville, Tennessee	VAN 49–7
October 31	VMI	Davidson	Davidson, North Carolina	L 7–0
October 31	William & Mary	Washington & Lee	Lexington, Virginia	T 0–0

Week Eight[]

Date	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Result
November 6	Virginia Tech	Washington & Lee	Roanoke, Virginia	W&L 6–0
November 7	Florida	Alabama	Birmingham, Alabama	ALA 41–0
November 7	Tulane	Auburn	Montgomery, Alabama	TUL 27–0
November 7	Clemson	VMI	Bain Field • Norfolk, Virginia	VMI 7–6
November 7	Georgia	NYU	Yankee Stadium • Bronx, New York	W 7–6
November 7	Duke	Kentucky	Lexington, Kentucky	DUKE 7–0
November 7	LSU	Army		L 20–0
November 7	Sewanee	Ole Miss	Oxford, Mississippi	SEW 7–0
November 7	North Carolina State	Mississippi A&M	Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, Mississippi	NCST 6–0
November 7	Georgia Tech	North Carolina	Chapel Hill, North Carolina	T 19–19
November 7	Furman	South Carolina	Columbia, South Carolina	W 27–0
November 7	Carson-Newman	Tennessee	Shields–Watkins Field • Knoxville, Tennessee	W 31–0
November 7	Maryland	Vanderbilt	Nashville, Tennessee	VAN 39–12
November 7	Virginia	Columbia		L 27–0

Week Nine[]

Date	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Result
November 14	Clemson	Alabama	Cramton Bowl • Montgomery, Alabama	ALA 74–7
November 14	Sewanee	Auburn	Birmingham, Alabama	AUB 12–0
November 14	South Carolina	Florida	Jacksonville, Florida	T 6–6
November 14	Georgia Tech	Penn	Franklin Field • Philadelphia	L 13–12
November 14	Kentucky	VMI	Lexington, Virginia	UK 20–12
November 14	LSU	Ole Miss	Jackson, Mississippi	LSU 26–3
November 14	Rhodes	Mississippi A&M		W 14–0
November 15	Virginia Tech	Maryland	Norfolk, Virginia	MD 13–7
November 14	Davidson	North Carolina	Chapel Hill, North Carolina	W 20–0
November 14	North Carolina State	Duke	Duke Stadium • Durham, North Carolina	NCST 14–0
November 14	Tulane	Georgia	Sanford Stadium • Athens, Georgia	TUL 20–7
November 14	Vanderbilt	Tennessee	Knoxville, Tennessee	TENN 21–7
November 14	Virginia	Virginia Tech		T 0–0
November 14	Washington & Lee	Princeton	Palmer Stadium • Princeton, New Jersey	L 6–0

Week Ten[]

Date	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Result
November 21	Auburn	Georgia	Columbus, Georgia	UGA 12–6
November 21	Florida	Georgia Tech	Atlanta	GT 23–0
November 21	Duke	North Carolina		T 0–0
November 21	Washington & Lee	Maryland		MD 13–7
November 21	North Carolina State	South Carolina	Columbia, South Carolina	SCAR 21–0
November 21	Sewanee	Tulane		TUL 40–0

Week Eleven[]

Date	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Result
November 26	Alabama	Vanderbilt	Dudley Field Nashville, Tennessee	ALA 14–6
November 26	South Carolina	Auburn	Montgomery, Alabama	AUB 13–6
November 26	Furman	Clemson		T 0–0
November 26	Florida	UCLA		L 13–0
November 26	Maryland	Johns Hopkins	Baltimore, Maryland	W 35–14
November 26	Mississippi A&M	Ole Miss	Oxford, Mississippi	MISS 25–14
November 26	Kentucky	Tennessee	Shields–Watkins Field • Knoxville, Tennessee	T 6–6
November 26	Virginia	North Carolina	Chapel Hill, North Carolina	UNC 13–6
November 26	VMI	Virginia Tech	Roanoke, Virginia	VT 13–6
November 28	Duke	Washington & Lee	Lexington, Virginia	DUKE 6–0
November 28	Georgia Tech	Georgia		UGA 35–6
November 28	LSU	Tulane	Tulane Stadium • New Orleans, Louisiana	TUL 34–7

Week Twelve[]

Date	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Result
December 2	Alabama	Chattanooga	Chattanooga, Tennessee	W 49–7
December 5	Centre	South Carolina	Columbia, South Carolina	L 9–7
December 5	Kentucky	Florida	Jacksonville, Florida	UK 7–2
December 5	Maryland	McDaniel	Baltimore	W 41–6
December 5	Washington State	Tulane	New Orleans	W 28–14
December 5	Tennessee	NYU	Bronx, New York	W 13–0

Week Thirteen[]

Date	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Result	Attendance	Reference
December 12	Georgia	USC	Los Angeles	L 60–0

Week Fifteen[]

Date	Visiting team	Home team	Site	Result	Attendance	Reference
December 26	California	Georgia Tech	Atlanta	L 19–6

Bowl games[]

Date	Bowl Game	Site	SIAA Team	Opponent	Score
January 1, 1932	Rose Bowl	Rose Bowl • Pasadena, California	Tulane	USC	USC 21–12

Awards and honors[]

All-Americans[]

E – Jerry Dalrymple, Tulane (AP–1; UP–1; COL–1; CP–1; NEA–1; INS–1; WCFF; LIB; HSM; CH-1; LP; AAB)
E – Vernon "Catfish" Smith, Georgia (AP-1; COL–1; NEA–2; INS–2; HSM; CP–1; CH-2; LP)
T – Ray Saunders, Tennessee (CP-3)
G – Herman Hickman, Tennessee (AP–3; COL–1; NEA–3; INS-3; CP–1; CH-1)
G – Milton Leathers, Georgia (INS-2)
C – Pete Gracey, Vanderbilt (CP-2)
QB – Austin Downes, Georgia (CP-3)
HB – Don Zimmerman, Tulane (AP–2; NEA–2; INS-1; CP–1; CH-2)
HB – Gene McEver, Tennessee (AP–2; NEA–2; INS-2; CP–2)
FB – Johnny Cain, Alabama (UP–1; NEA–3 [picked as halfback]; INS-3; WCFF; CH-2; AAB)
FB – Nollie Felts, Tulane (CP-3)

All-Southern team[]

The following is the composite All-Southern team of coaches and sports writers compiled by the Associated Press.^[1]

Position	Name	First-team selectors	Team
QB	Austin Downes	AP, CP	Georgia
HB	Gene McEver	AP, CP	Tennessee
HB	Don Zimmerman	AP, CP	Tulane
FB	Johnny Cain	AP	Alabama
E	Jerry Dalrymple	AP, CP	Tulane
T	Tex Leyendecker	AP, CP	Vanderbilt
G	Herman Hickman	AP, CP	Tennessee
C	Pete Gracey	AP, CP	Vanderbilt
G	John Scafide	AP	Tulane
T	Ray Saunders	AP, CP	Tennessee
E	Vernon "Catfish" Smith	AP, CP	Georgia

^[2]

References[]

^ Dillon Graham (December 2, 1931). "Three Tulane Stars Picked for All-Southern Team". Fitchburg Sentinel.
^ "All-Southern Team". The Monroe News-Star. December 2, 1931. p. 6. Retrieved September 21, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.

[1] Dillon Graham (December 2, 1931). "Three Tulane Stars Picked for All-Southern Team". Fitchburg Sentinel.

[2] "All-Southern Team". The Monroe News-Star. December 2, 1931. p. 6. Retrieved September 21, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.

[1]

[2]

v t Southern Conference football
Teams	Chattanooga Mocs The Citadel Bulldogs East Tennessee State Buccaneers Furman Paladins Mercer Bears Samford Bulldogs VMI Keydets Western Carolina Catamounts Wofford Terriers
Former teams	Former Southern Conference teams
Championships & awards	Conference champions All-time standings (1921–1971), (1972–present) All-Southern team Champ Pickens Trophy
Seasons	1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

1931 Southern Conference football standings
v t	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
Tulane $	8	–	0	–	0	11	–	1	–	0
Tennessee	6	–	0	–	1	9	–	0	–	1
Alabama	7	–	1	–	0	9	–	1	–	0
Georgia	6	–	1	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
Maryland	4	–	1	–	1	8	–	1	–	1
Kentucky	4	–	2	–	2	5	–	2	–	2
LSU	3	–	2	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
South Carolina	3	–	3	–	1	5	–	4	–	1
Duke	3	–	3	–	1	5	–	3	–	2
Auburn	3	–	3	–	0	5	–	3	–	0
Sewanee	3	–	3	–	0	6	–	3	–	1
Vanderbilt	3	–	4	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
North Carolina	2	–	3	–	3	4	–	3	–	3
Washington and Lee	2	–	3	–	0	4	–	5	–	1
Florida	2	–	4	–	2	2	–	6	–	2
Georgia Tech	2	–	4	–	1	2	–	7	–	1
VMI	2	–	4	–	0	3	–	6	–	1
NC State	2	–	4	–	0	3	–	6	–	0
VPI	1	–	4	–	1	3	–	4	–	2
Clemson	1	–	4	–	0	1	–	6	–	2
Ole Miss	1	–	5	–	0	2	–	6	–	1
Virginia	0	–	5	–	1	2	–	6	–	1
Mississippi A&M	0	–	5	–	0	2	–	6	–	0

$ – Conference champion