CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1952 Tennessee

8–⁠2–⁠1 (5–⁠0–⁠1 Southeastern Conference), coached by Bob Neyland, finished No. 8 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Tennessee in 1952, game by game: won vs. Mississippi State 14–7; lost at No. 10 Duke 0–7; won vs. Chattanooga 26–6; won vs. No. 18 Alabama 20–0; won vs. Wofford 50–0; won vs. North Carolina 41–14; won at LSU 22–3; won vs. No. 18 Florida 26–12; tied vs. Kentucky 14–14; won at Vanderbilt 46–0; lost vs. No. 10 Texas 0–16+50−16Won 14–7 vs. Mississippi State+7Mississippi Sta…Lost 0–7 at No. 10 Duke-7No. 10 DukeWon 26–6 vs. Chattanooga+20ChattanoogaWon 20–0 vs. No. 18 Alabama+20No. 18 AlabamaWon 50–0 vs. Wofford+50WoffordWon 41–14 vs. North Carolina+27North CarolinaWon 22–3 at LSU+19LSUWon 26–12 vs. No. 18 Florida+14No. 18 FloridaTied 14–14 vs. Kentucky0KentuckyWon 46–0 at Vanderbilt+46VanderbiltLost 0–16 vs. No. 10 Texas-16No. 10 Texas
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 27vsMississippi StateW 14–⁠784%
Oct 4at10DukeL 0–⁠757%
Oct 11vsChattanoogaW 26–⁠693%
Oct 18vs18AlabamaW 20–⁠070%
Oct 25vsWoffordW 50–⁠097%
Nov 1vsNorth CarolinaW 41–⁠1486%
Nov 8atLSUW 22–⁠365%
Nov 15vs18FloridaW 26–⁠1274%
Nov 22vsKentuckyT 14–⁠1470%
Nov 29atVanderbiltW 46–⁠071%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs10TexasCotton BowlL 0–⁠1657%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Texas 16–⁠0 in the Cotton Bowl; No. 8 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 24th-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: 11
  3. Wk 5: 13
  4. Wk 6: 12
  5. Wk 7: 8
  6. Wk 8: 7
  7. Wk 9: 7
  8. Wk 10: 9
  9. Final: 8

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 1952.

Consensus All-AmericanJohn Michels, OG

Record
8–⁠2–⁠1
Conference
5–⁠0–⁠1 2nd in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 8 peak No. 6
Points
259–⁠79
Coach
Bob Neyland
Elo
1712 +29 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
22.7 No. 6 of 113 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—

All-SEC

5 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

  • Jim HaslamOTAP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1952 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1952 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Georgia Tech6–⁠012–⁠02
Tennessee5–⁠0–⁠18–⁠2–⁠18
Ole Miss4–⁠0–⁠28–⁠1–⁠27
Alabama4–⁠210–⁠29
Georgia4–⁠37–⁠4
Florida3–⁠38–⁠315
Mississippi State3–⁠45–⁠4
Tulane3–⁠55–⁠5
Kentucky1–⁠3–⁠25–⁠4–⁠220
LSU2–⁠53–⁠7
Vanderbilt1–⁠4–⁠13–⁠5–⁠2
Auburn0–⁠72–⁠8

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