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1951 Tennessee

10–⁠1 (5–⁠0 Southeastern Conference), coached by Bob Neyland, finished No. 1 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Tennessee in 1951, game by game: won vs. Mississippi State 14–0; won vs. No. 16 Duke 26–0; won vs. Chattanooga 42–13; won at Alabama 27–13; won vs. Tennessee Tech 68–0; won at North Carolina 27–0; won vs. Washington and Lee 60–14; won at Ole Miss 46–21; won at No. 9 Kentucky 28–0; won vs. Vanderbilt 35–27; lost vs. No. 3 Maryland 13–28+68−15Won 14–0 vs. Mississippi State+14Mississippi Sta…Won 26–0 vs. No. 16 Duke+26No. 16 DukeWon 42–13 vs. Chattanooga+29ChattanoogaWon 27–13 at Alabama+14AlabamaWon 68–0 vs. Tennessee Tech+68Tennessee TechWon 27–0 at North Carolina+27North CarolinaWon 60–14 vs. Washington and Lee+46Washington and …Won 46–21 at Ole Miss+25Ole MissWon 28–0 at No. 9 Kentucky+28No. 9 KentuckyWon 35–27 vs. Vanderbilt+8VanderbiltLost 13–28 vs. No. 3 Maryland-15No. 3 Maryland
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 29vsMississippi StateW 14–⁠081%
Oct 6vs16DukeW 26–⁠067%
Oct 13vsChattanoogaW 42–⁠1390%
Oct 20atAlabamaW 27–⁠1364%
Oct 27vsTennessee TechW 68–⁠098%
Nov 3atNorth CarolinaW 27–⁠072%
Nov 10vsWashington and LeeW 60–⁠1478%
Nov 17atOle MissW 46–⁠2167%
Nov 24at9KentuckyW 28–⁠049%
Dec 1vsVanderbiltW 35–⁠2788%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs3MarylandSugar BowlL 13–⁠2858%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Maryland 28–⁠13 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 1 in the final AP poll; Southeastern Conference champions.

In program history: The 4th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 1
  2. Wk 2: 3
  3. Wk 3: 3
  4. Wk 4: 2
  5. Wk 5: 1
  6. Wk 6: 1
  7. Wk 7: 1
  8. Wk 8: 2
  9. Wk 9: 1
  10. Wk 10: 1
  11. Final: 1

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.

National championsNo. 1 in the final AP poll, and a title the school claims

Southeastern Conference champions5–⁠0 in the conference, shared with Georgia Tech

Heisman voteHank Lauricella, second

Led the nationBill Blackstock: punt return average (25.9)

Consensus All-AmericanHank Lauricella, RB

Record
10–⁠1
Conference
5–⁠0 shared first in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 1 peak No. 1
Points
386–⁠116
Coach
Bob Neyland
Elo
1776 +115 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
27.1 No. 1 of 116 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Offense
Single-wing
Defense
Multiple

Drafted in 1952

The 1952 draft
Rd 1Bert Rechichar BCleveland Browns
Rd 5Gordon Polofsky BLos Angeles Rams

All-SEC

6 first team, 2 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.