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1983 Tennessee

9–⁠3 (4–⁠2 Southeastern Conference), coached by Johnny Majors.

Schedule and results

Tennessee in 1983, game by game: lost vs. Pittsburgh 3–13; won vs. New Mexico 31–6; lost vs. No. 11 Auburn 14–37; won vs. The Citadel 45–6; won vs. LSU 20–6; won at No. 11 Alabama 41–34; won vs. Georgia Tech 37–3; won at Rutgers 7–0; lost vs. Ole Miss 10–13; won at Kentucky 10–0; won vs. Vanderbilt 34–24; won vs. No. 16 Maryland 30–23+39−23Lost 3–13 vs. Pittsburgh-10PittsburghWon 31–6 vs. New Mexico+25New MexicoLost 14–37 vs. No. 11 Auburn-23No. 11 AuburnWon 45–6 vs. The Citadel+39The CitadelWon 20–6 vs. LSU+14LSUWon 41–34 at No. 11 Alabama+7No. 11 AlabamaWon 37–3 vs. Georgia Tech+34Georgia TechWon 7–0 at Rutgers+7RutgersLost 10–13 vs. Ole Miss-3Ole MissWon 10–0 at Kentucky+10KentuckyWon 34–24 vs. Vanderbilt+10VanderbiltWon 30–23 vs. No. 16 Maryland+7No. 16 Maryland
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vsPittsburghL 3–⁠1341%
Sep 10vsNew MexicoW 31–⁠646%
Sep 24vs11AuburnL 14–⁠3752%
Oct 1vsThe CitadelW 45–⁠668%
Oct 8vsLSUW 20–⁠650%
Oct 15at11AlabamaW 41–⁠3429%
Oct 22vsGeorgia TechW 37–⁠376%
Oct 29atRutgersW 7–⁠063%
Nov 12vsOle MissL 10–⁠1377%
Nov 19atKentuckyW 10–⁠057%
Nov 26vsVanderbiltW 34–⁠2483%
Dec 17Bowls & playoffvs16MarylandCitrus BowlW 30–⁠2346%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Maryland 30–⁠23 in the Citrus Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; tied for 3rd in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 55th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 123 on file).

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 1983.

Consensus All-AmericanReggie White, DT

Record
9–⁠3
Conference
4–⁠2 tied for 3rd in Southeastern Conference
AP final
Unranked
Points
282–⁠165
Coach
Johnny Majors
Elo
1645 +121 this season
SP+ rating
13.1 No. 24 of 108; offense No. 52, defense No. 9
SRS
12.3 No. 22 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Walt Harris
Defensive coordinator
Larry Marmie
Captain
Reggie White
Offense
Multiple
Defense
5–⁠2

Drafted in 1984

The 1984 draft
Rd 1Clyde Duncan WRSt. Louis Cardinals
Rd 4Mark Studaway DEHouston Oilers
Rd 6Curt Singer OTWashington Redskins

All-SEC

4 first team, 1 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1983 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1983 Southeastern Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Auburn6–⁠011–⁠13
Georgia5–⁠110–⁠1–⁠14
Florida4–⁠29–⁠2–⁠16
Tennessee4–⁠29–⁠3
Alabama4–⁠28–⁠415
Ole Miss4–⁠26–⁠6
Kentucky2–⁠46–⁠5–⁠1
Mississippi State1–⁠53–⁠8
LSU0–⁠64–⁠7
Vanderbilt0–⁠62–⁠9

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