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1939 Kentucky

6–⁠2–⁠1 (2–⁠2–⁠1 Southeastern Conference), coached by A.D. Kirwan.

Schedule and results

Kentucky in 1939, game by game: won vs. VMI 21–0; won at Vanderbilt 21–13; won vs. Oglethorpe 59–0; won vs. Georgia 13–6; won at Xavier 21–0; tied vs. No. 19 Alabama 7–7; lost at Georgia Tech 6–13; won vs. West Virginia 13–6; lost vs. No. 4 Tennessee 0–19+59−19Won 21–0 vs. VMI+21VMIWon 21–13 at Vanderbilt+8VanderbiltWon 59–0 vs. Oglethorpe+59OglethorpeWon 13–6 vs. Georgia+7GeorgiaWon 21–0 at Xavier+21XavierTied 7–7 vs. No. 19 Alabama0No. 19 AlabamaLost 6–13 at Georgia Tech-7Georgia TechWon 13–6 vs. West Virginia+7West VirginiaLost 0–19 vs. No. 4 Tennessee-19No. 4 Tennessee
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 30vsVMIW 21–⁠063%
Oct 7atVanderbiltW 21–⁠1327%
Oct 14vsOglethorpeW 59–⁠088%
Oct 21vsGeorgiaW 13–⁠662%
Oct 28atXavierW 21–⁠071%
Nov 4vs19AlabamaT 7–⁠740%
Nov 11atGeorgia TechL 6–⁠1339%
Nov 18vsWest VirginiaW 13–⁠670%
Nov 30vs4TennesseeL 0–⁠1924%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Tennessee 19–⁠0; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 5th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 69th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 3: 15
  2. Wk 4: 18

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1939.

Record
6–⁠2–⁠1
Conference
2–⁠2–⁠1 tied for 5th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 15
Points
161–⁠64
Coach
A.D. Kirwan
Elo
1483 +82 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
7.4 No. 32 of 124 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Joe Shepherd

All-SEC

1 first team

First team

  • John EibnerOTAP-2; UP-1

From Wikipedia’s 1939 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1939 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Tennessee6–⁠010–⁠12
Georgia Tech6–⁠08–⁠216
Tulane5–⁠08–⁠1–⁠15
Mississippi State3–⁠28–⁠2
Auburn3–⁠3–⁠15–⁠5–⁠1
Ole Miss2–⁠27–⁠2
Kentucky2–⁠2–⁠16–⁠2–⁠1
Alabama2–⁠3–⁠15–⁠3–⁠1
Georgia1–⁠35–⁠6
LSU1–⁠54–⁠5
Vanderbilt1–⁠62–⁠7–⁠1
Florida0–⁠3–⁠15–⁠5–⁠1
Sewanee0–⁠33–⁠5

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.