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1938 Tennessee

11–⁠0 (7–⁠0 Southeastern Conference), coached by Bob Neyland, finished No. 2 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Tennessee in 1938, game by game: won vs. Sewanee 26–3; won vs. Clemson 20–7; won vs. Auburn 7–0; won at Alabama 13–0; won vs. The Citadel 44–0; won vs. LSU 14–6; won vs. Chattanooga 45–0; won at Vanderbilt 14–0; won vs. Kentucky 46–0; won vs. Ole Miss 47–0; won vs. No. 5 Oklahoma 17–0+47Won 26–3 vs. Sewanee+23SewaneeWon 20–7 vs. Clemson+13ClemsonWon 7–0 vs. Auburn+7AuburnWon 13–0 at Alabama+13AlabamaWon 44–0 vs. The Citadel+44The CitadelWon 14–6 vs. LSU+8LSUWon 45–0 vs. Chattanooga+45ChattanoogaWon 14–0 at Vanderbilt+14VanderbiltWon 46–0 vs. Kentucky+46KentuckyWon 47–0 vs. Ole Miss+47Ole MissWon 17–0 vs. No. 5 Oklahoma+17No. 5 Oklahoma
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 24vsSewaneeW 26–⁠383%
Oct 1vsClemsonW 20–⁠765%
Oct 8vsAuburnW 7–⁠057%
Oct 15atAlabamaW 13–⁠034%
Oct 22vsThe CitadelW 44–⁠086%
Oct 29vsLSUW 14–⁠659%
Nov 5vsChattanoogaW 45–⁠096%
Nov 12atVanderbiltW 14–⁠053%
Nov 24vsKentuckyW 46–⁠091%
Dec 3vsOle MissW 47–⁠068%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs5OklahomaOrange BowlW 17–⁠055%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Oklahoma 17–⁠0 in the Orange Bowl; No. 2 in the final AP poll; Southeastern Conference champions.

In program history: The 10th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 8
  2. Wk 2: 8
  3. Wk 3: 6
  4. Wk 4: 4
  5. Wk 5: 3
  6. Wk 6: 4
  7. Wk 7: 4
  8. Final: 2

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 1938.

National championsa title the school claims

Southeastern Conference champions7–⁠0 in the conference

Consensus All-AmericanBowden Wyatt, E

Record
11–⁠0
Conference
7–⁠0 first in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 2 peak No. 2
Points
293–⁠16
Coach
Bob Neyland
Elo
1762 +190 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
20.3 No. 1 of 122 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captain
Bowden Wyatt
Offense
Single-wing

All-SEC

3 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1938 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1938 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Tennessee7–⁠011–⁠02
Alabama4–⁠1–⁠17–⁠1–⁠113
Tulane4–⁠1–⁠17–⁠2–⁠119
Ole Miss3–⁠29–⁠2
Georgia Tech2–⁠1–⁠33–⁠4–⁠3
Vanderbilt4–⁠36–⁠3
Auburn3–⁠3–⁠14–⁠5–⁠1
Florida2–⁠2–⁠14–⁠6–⁠1
Georgia1–⁠2–⁠15–⁠4–⁠1
LSU2–⁠46–⁠4
Mississippi State1–⁠44–⁠6
Kentucky0–⁠42–⁠7
Sewanee0–⁠61–⁠8

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