1950 Tennessee Volunteers football team

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1950 Tennessee Volunteers football
National champion (Billingsley, DeVold, Dunkel, CFRA, NCF)
Co-national champion (Sagarin)
Cotton Bowl Classic champion
Cotton Bowl Classic, W 20–14 vs. Texas
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 3
APNo. 4
1950 record11–1 (4–1 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive schemeSingle-wing
Base defenseMultiple
Home stadiumShields–Watkins Field
Seasons
← 1949
1951 →
1950 Southeastern Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
 Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 7 Kentucky $ 5 – 1 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
No. 4 Tennessee 4 – 1 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
No. 16 Alabama 6 – 2 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
No. 20 Tulane 3 – 1 – 1 6 – 2 – 1
Georgia Tech 4 – 2 – 0 5 – 6 – 0
Georgia 3 – 2 – 1 6 – 3 – 3
Mississippi State 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Vanderbilt 3 – 4 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
LSU 2 – 3 – 2 4 – 5 – 2
Florida 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Ole Miss 1 – 5 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Auburn 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 10 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1950 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1950 college football season. Led by head coach Robert Neyland, the Volunteers lost only one game, a 7–0 upset at Mississippi State in the second game of the season. The Vols handed #3 Kentucky, coached by Bear Bryant, its only loss and defeated #3 Texas in the Cotton Bowl Classic en route to an 11–1 record.

Big Seven champion Oklahoma finished the regular season 10–0 and was named national champions by the AP Poll, but lost to Kentucky, whom Tennessee earlier defeated, in the Sugar Bowl. Tennessee was the only top five team that year to win their bowl game. Tennessee was named national champion by NCAA-designated major selectors of Billingsley, DeVold, Dunkel, College Football Researchers Association, and National Championship Foundation, while named co-champion by Sagarin (ELO-Chess).[1]

Prominent players[]

The 1950 Tennessee team featured Hank Lauricella, the following season's Heisman Trophy runner-up, and Doug Atkins, a future member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In addition, guard Ted Daffer and tackle Bill "Pug" Pearman were named as All-Americans in 1950.

Schedule[]

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 23Mississippi Southern*No. 4
W 56–023,000[2]
September 30at Mississippi StateNo. 4
L 0–7
October 7at No. 14 Duke*
W 28–730,000
October 14Chattanooga*No. 14
  • Shields–Watkins Field
  • Knoxville, TN
W 41–015,000[3]
October 21AlabamaNo. 18
W 14–950,000
October 28Washington and Lee*No. 8
  • Shields–Watkins Field
  • Knoxville, TN
W 27–20
November 4North Carolina*daggerNo. 11
  • Shields–Watkins Field
  • Knoxville, TN
W 16–0
November 11Tennessee Tech*No. 11
  • Shields–Watkins Field
  • Knoxville, TN
W 48–14
November 18Ole MissNo. 9
  • Shields–Watkins Field
  • Knoxville, TN
W 35–0
November 25No. 3 KentuckyNo. 9
  • Shields–Watkins Field
  • Knoxville, TN (rivalry)
W 7–0
December 2at VanderbiltNo. 4
W 43–0
January 1vs. No. 3 Texas*No. 4
W 20–1475,500
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

References[]

  1. ^ 2017 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. July 2017. p. 113. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
  2. ^ "Souped-up Vols trim Southern, 56–0". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. September 24, 1950. Retrieved March 31, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Vols smash outmanned Moccasins, 41 to 0". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. October 15, 1950. Retrieved August 21, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
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