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1939 Tennessee

10–⁠1 (6–⁠0 Southeastern Conference), coached by Bob Neyland, finished No. 2 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Tennessee in 1939, game by game: won at NC State 13–0; won vs. Sewanee 40–0; won at Chattanooga 28–0; won vs. No. 8 Alabama 21–0; won vs. Mercer 17–0; won at No. 18 LSU 20–0; won vs. The Citadel 34–0; won vs. Vanderbilt 13–0; won at Kentucky 19–0; won vs. Auburn 7–0; lost vs. No. 3 USC 0–14+40−14Won 13–0 at NC State+13NC StateWon 40–0 vs. Sewanee+40SewaneeWon 28–0 at Chattanooga+28ChattanoogaWon 21–0 vs. No. 8 Alabama+21No. 8 AlabamaWon 17–0 vs. Mercer+17MercerWon 20–0 at No. 18 LSU+20No. 18 LSUWon 34–0 vs. The Citadel+34The CitadelWon 13–0 vs. Vanderbilt+13VanderbiltWon 19–0 at Kentucky+19KentuckyWon 7–0 vs. Auburn+7AuburnLost 0–14 vs. No. 3 USC-14No. 3 USC
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 29atNC StateW 13–⁠071%
Oct 7vsSewaneeW 40–⁠091%
Oct 14atChattanoogaW 28–⁠095%
Oct 21vs8AlabamaW 21–⁠067%
Oct 28vsMercerW 17–⁠098%
Nov 4at18LSUW 20–⁠057%
Nov 11vsThe CitadelW 34–⁠095%
Nov 18vsVanderbiltW 13–⁠088%
Nov 30atKentuckyW 19–⁠076%
Dec 9vsAuburnW 7–⁠081%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs3USCRose BowlL 0–⁠1455%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to USC 14–⁠0 in the Rose Bowl; No. 2 in the final AP poll; Southeastern Conference champions.

In program history: The 13th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 5
  2. Wk 2: 1
  3. Wk 3: 1
  4. Wk 4: 1
  5. Wk 5: 1
  6. Wk 6: 2
  7. Wk 7: 4
  8. Wk 8: 2
  9. 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 1939.

Southeastern Conference champions6–⁠0 in the conference, shared with Georgia Tech and Tulane

Heisman voteGeorge Cafego, fourth

2 consensus All-AmericansEd Molinski, OG; George Cafego, RB

Record
10–⁠1
Conference
6–⁠0 shared first in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 2 peak No. 1
Points
212–⁠14
Coach
Bob Neyland
Elo
1741 +67 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
18.8 No. 5 of 124 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Offense
Single-wing
Defense
Multiple

Drafted in 1940

The 1940 draft
Rd 1George Cafego FBChicago Cardinals
Rd 6Jim Rike CDetroit Lions

All-SEC

6 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

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.