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1951 Kentucky

8–⁠4 (3–⁠3 Southeastern Conference), coached by Bear Bryant, finished No. 15 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Kentucky in 1951, game by game: won vs. Tennessee Tech 72–13; lost at Texas 6–7; lost at Ole Miss 17–21; lost vs. No. 11 Georgia Tech 7–13; won vs. Mississippi State 27–0; won vs. No. 12 Villanova 35–13; won at Florida 14–6; won vs. No. 19 Miami 32–0; won at Tulane 37–0; won vs. George Washington 47–13; lost vs. No. 1 Tennessee 0–28; won vs. No. 11 TCU 20–7+59−28Won 72–13 vs. Tennessee Tech+59Tennessee TechLost 6–7 at Texas-1TexasLost 17–21 at Ole Miss-4Ole MissLost 7–13 vs. No. 11 Georgia Tech-6No. 11 Georgia TechWon 27–0 vs. Mississippi State+27Mississippi Sta…Won 35–13 vs. No. 12 Villanova+22No. 12 VillanovaWon 14–6 at Florida+8FloridaWon 32–0 vs. No. 19 Miami+32No. 19 MiamiWon 37–0 at Tulane+37TulaneWon 47–13 vs. George Washington+34George Washingt…Lost 0–28 vs. No. 1 Tennessee-28No. 1 TennesseeWon 20–7 vs. No. 11 TCU+13No. 11 TCU
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 15vsTennessee TechW 72–⁠1397%
Sep 22atTexasL 6–⁠742%
Sep 29atOle MissL 17–⁠2161%
Oct 6vs11Georgia TechL 7–⁠1365%
Oct 13vsMississippi StateW 27–⁠075%
Oct 20vs12VillanovaW 35–⁠1357%
Oct 27atFloridaW 14–⁠658%
Nov 3vs19MiamiW 32–⁠064%
Nov 10atTulaneW 37–⁠070%
Nov 17vsGeorge WashingtonW 47–⁠1386%
Nov 24vs1TennesseeL 0–⁠2851%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs11TCUCotton BowlW 20–⁠759%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat TCU 20–⁠7 in the Cotton Bowl; No. 15 in the final AP poll; 5th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 3rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 6
  2. Wk 2: 17
  3. Wk 5: 17
  4. Wk 6: 14
  5. Wk 7: 12
  6. Wk 8: 9
  7. Wk 9: 9
  8. Wk 10: 17
  9. Final: 15

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 1951.

Heisman voteBabe Parilli, third

Led the nationBabe Parilli: passing touchdowns (19 TD)

Consensus All-AmericanBabe Parilli, QB

Record
8–⁠4
Conference
3–⁠3 5th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 15 peak No. 6
Points
314–⁠121
Coach
Bear Bryant
Elo
1710 +49 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
20.6 No. 8 of 116 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—

Drafted in 1952

The 1952 draft
Rd 1Babe Parilli QBGreen Bay Packers
Rd 6Jim MacKenzie OTNew York Giants

All-SEC

4 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1951 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1951 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Georgia Tech7–⁠011–⁠0–⁠15
Tennessee5–⁠010–⁠11
LSU4–⁠2–⁠17–⁠3–⁠1
Ole Miss4–⁠2–⁠16–⁠3–⁠1
Kentucky3–⁠38–⁠415
Auburn3–⁠45–⁠5
Vanderbilt3–⁠56–⁠5
Alabama3–⁠55–⁠6
Georgia2–⁠45–⁠5
Florida2–⁠45–⁠5
Mississippi State2–⁠54–⁠5
Tulane1–⁠54–⁠6

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