1953 Virginia Cavaliers football team

1953 Virginia Cavaliers football
1953 Virginia Cavaliers football
Conference	Independent
1953 record	1–8
Head coach	Ned McDonald (1st season);
Captain	Robert Potter, Joseph Mehalick
Home stadium	Scott Stadium; (capacity: 24,500)
	Seasons ← 1952 1954 →

The 1953 Virginia Cavaliers football team represented the University of Virginia during the 1953 college football season. The Cavaliers were led by first-year head coach Ned McDonald and played their home games at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia. The team compiled a record of 1–8. This was the last season in which Virginia competed as an independent, as they join the newly-formed Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) the following year.

Schedule[]

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 26	VPI	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA (rivalry)	L 6–20
October 3	South Carolina	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	L 0–19
October 10	vs. George Washington	George Washington HS Stadium Alexandria, VA	W 24–20	9,500	^[2]
October 17	VMI	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	L 6–21	18,000	^[3]
October 24	at Vanderbilt	Dudley Field Nashville, TN	L 13–28
October 31	vs. No. 13 Duke	Foreman Field Norfolk, VA (Oyster Bowl)	L 6–48	25,000
November 7	Pittsburgh	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	L 0–26
November 14	at Washington and Lee	Wilson Field Lexington, VA	L 13–27
November 21	North Carolina	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA (South's Oldest Rivalry)	L 7–33
Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

^ "2017 Cavalier Football Fact Book" (PDF). Virginia Cavaliers Athletics. p. 120.
^ "Virginia trims GW, 24–20". Richmond Times-Dispatch. October 11, 1953. Retrieved February 10, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "VMI upsets Virginia by 21 to 6". The Tampa Tribune. October 18, 1953. Retrieved January 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
^ "1953 Virginia Cavaliers Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved June 18, 2018.

v t Virginia Cavaliers football
Venues	Madison Hall Field (1888–1912) Lambeth Field (1913–1930) Scott Stadium (1931–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Florida State: Jefferson-Eppes Trophy Maryland North Carolina: South's Oldest Rivalry Virginia Tech: Commonwealth Cup
Culture & lore	"The Cavalier Song" "The Good Old Song" Cavalier Marching Band 1990 Georgia Tech game
People	Head coaches NFL draftees Statistical leaders W. A. Lambeth
Seasons	1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

1953 Southern college football independents records
v t	Conf			Overall
Team	W	L	T	W		L		T
Delaware		–		7	–	1	–	0
Maryland State		–		7	–	1	–	0
Mississippi Southern		–		9	–	2	–	0
Navy		–		4	–	3	–	2
Memphis State		–		6	–	4	–	0
Florida State		–		5	–	5	–	0
Tampa		–		6	–	6	–	0
Miami (FL)		–		4	–	5	–	0
Sewanee		–		3	–	5	–	0
Marshall		–		2	–	5	–	2
Chattanooga		–		3	–	7	–	0
Louisville		–		1	–	7	–	0
Virginia		–		1	–	8	–	0