CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1978 Tennessee

5–⁠5–⁠1 (3–⁠3 Southeastern Conference), coached by Johnny Majors.

Schedule and results

Tennessee in 1978, game by game: lost vs. No. 9 UCLA 0–13; tied vs. Oregon State 13–13; lost vs. Auburn 10–29; won vs. Army 31–13; lost vs. No. 4 Alabama 17–30; lost vs. Mississippi State 21–34; won vs. Duke 34–0; lost at No. 14 Notre Dame 14–31; won vs. Ole Miss 41–17; won vs. Kentucky 29–14; won at Vanderbilt 41–15+34−19Lost 0–13 vs. No. 9 UCLA-13No. 9 UCLATied 13–13 vs. Oregon State0Oregon StateLost 10–29 vs. Auburn-19AuburnWon 31–13 vs. Army+18ArmyLost 17–30 vs. No. 4 Alabama-13No. 4 AlabamaLost 21–34 vs. Mississippi State-13Mississippi Sta…Won 34–0 vs. Duke+34DukeLost 14–31 at No. 14 Notre Dame-17No. 14 Notre DameWon 41–17 vs. Ole Miss+24Ole MissWon 29–14 vs. Kentucky+15KentuckyWon 41–15 at Vanderbilt+26Vanderbilt
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 16vs9UCLAL 0–⁠1341%
Sep 23vsOregon StateT 13–⁠1373%
Sep 30vsAuburnL 10–⁠2939%
Oct 7vsArmyW 31–⁠1357%
Oct 21vs4AlabamaL 17–⁠3023%
Oct 28vsMississippi StateL 21–⁠3431%
Nov 4vsDukeW 34–⁠054%
Nov 11at14Notre DameL 14–⁠3115%
Nov 18vsOle MissW 41–⁠1755%
Nov 25vsKentuckyW 29–⁠1444%
Dec 2atVanderbiltW 41–⁠1573%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Vanderbilt 41–⁠15; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 88th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

Record
5–⁠5–⁠1
Conference
3–⁠3 tied for 4th in Southeastern Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
251–⁠209
Coach
Johnny Majors
Elo
1543 +51 this season
SP+ rating
4.0 No. 61 of 133; offense No. 58, defense No. 69
SRS
9.2 No. 35 of 138 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Joe Avezzano
Defensive coordinator
Bobby Roper
Captains
Robert Shaw and Dennis Wolfe

Drafted in 1979

The 1979 draft
Rd 1Robert Shaw CDallas Cowboys
Rd 3Jeff Moore WRLos Angeles Rams

All-SEC

2 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

  • Reggie HarperTEAP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1978 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1978 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama6–⁠011–⁠11
Georgia5–⁠0–⁠19–⁠2–⁠116
Auburn3–⁠2–⁠16–⁠4–⁠1
LSU3–⁠38–⁠4
Tennessee3–⁠35–⁠5–⁠1
Florida3–⁠34–⁠7
Mississippi State2–⁠46–⁠5
Ole Miss2–⁠45–⁠6
Kentucky2–⁠44–⁠6–⁠1
Vanderbilt0–⁠62–⁠9

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