CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1973 Tennessee

8–⁠4 (3–⁠3 Southeastern Conference), coached by Bill Battle, finished No. 19 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Tennessee in 1973, game by game: won vs. Duke 21–17; won at Army 37–18; won vs. No. 11 Auburn 21–0; won vs. Kansas 28–27; won vs. Georgia Tech 20–14; lost at No. 2 Alabama 21–42; won vs. TCU 39–7; lost vs. Georgia 31–35; lost at Ole Miss 18–28; won at Kentucky 16–14; won vs. Vanderbilt 20–17; lost vs. No. 11 Texas Tech 19–28+32−21Won 21–17 vs. Duke+4DukeWon 37–18 at Army+19ArmyWon 21–0 vs. No. 11 Auburn+21No. 11 AuburnWon 28–27 vs. Kansas+1KansasWon 20–14 vs. Georgia Tech+6Georgia TechLost 21–42 at No. 2 Alabama-21No. 2 AlabamaWon 39–7 vs. TCU+32TCULost 31–35 vs. Georgia-4GeorgiaLost 18–28 at Ole Miss-10Ole MissWon 16–14 at Kentucky+2KentuckyWon 20–17 vs. Vanderbilt+3VanderbiltLost 19–28 vs. No. 11 Texas Tech-9No. 11 Texas Tech
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 15vsDukeW 21–⁠1780%
Sep 22atArmyW 37–⁠1871%
Sep 29vs11AuburnW 21–⁠061%
Oct 6vsKansasW 28–⁠2778%
Oct 13vsGeorgia TechW 20–⁠1481%
Oct 20at2AlabamaL 21–⁠4239%
Oct 27vsTCUW 39–⁠787%
Nov 3vsGeorgiaL 31–⁠3577%
Nov 17atOle MissL 18–⁠2866%
Nov 24atKentuckyW 16–⁠1461%
Dec 1vsVanderbiltW 20–⁠1784%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvs11Texas TechGator BowlL 19–⁠2848%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Texas Tech 28–⁠19 in the Gator Bowl; No. 19 in the final AP poll; 4th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 54th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 9
  2. Wk 2: 9
  3. Wk 3: 10
  4. Wk 4: 9
  5. Wk 5: 9
  6. Wk 6: 8
  7. Wk 7: 10
  8. Wk 8: 14
  9. Wk 9: 11
  10. Wk 10: 16
  11. Wk 11: 16
  12. Wk 13: 19
  13. Wk 14: 20
  14. Final: 19

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 1973.

Record
8–⁠4
Conference
3–⁠3 4th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 19 peak No. 8
Points
291–⁠247
Coach
Bill Battle
Elo
1647 −32 this season
SP+ rating
7.5 No. 49 of 123; offense No. 42, defense No. 60
SRS
9.9 No. 31 of 129 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Jim Wright
Captain
Eddie Brown

Drafted in 1974

The 1974 draft
Rd 3Bill Rudder RBSan Diego Chargers
Rd 5Haskel Stanback RBCincinnati Bengals

All-SEC

2 first team, 3 second team

First team

  • Condredge HollowayQBAP-1; UPI
  • Eddie BrownDBAP-1; UPI

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1973 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1973 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama8–⁠011–⁠14
LSU5–⁠19–⁠313
Ole Miss4–⁠36–⁠5
Tennessee3–⁠38–⁠419
Georgia3–⁠47–⁠4–⁠1
Florida3–⁠47–⁠5
Kentucky3–⁠45–⁠6
Auburn2–⁠56–⁠6
Mississippi State2–⁠54–⁠5–⁠2
Vanderbilt1–⁠55–⁠6

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