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1971 Tennessee Volunteers football team

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1971 Tennessee Volunteers football
Liberty Bowl champion
Liberty Bowl, W 14–13 vs. Arkansas
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 9
APNo. 9
Record10–2 (4–2 SEC)
Head coach
CaptainJackie Walker
Home stadiumNeyland Stadium
Seasons
← 1970
1972 →
1971 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 4 Alabama $ 7 – 0 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
No. 7 Georgia 5 – 1 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
No. 12 Auburn 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
No. 15 Ole Miss 4 – 2 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
No. 9 Tennessee 4 – 2 – 0 10 – 2 – 0
No. 11 LSU 3 – 2 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
Vanderbilt 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 6 – 1
Florida 1 – 6 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Kentucky 1 – 6 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Mississippi State 1 – 7 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1971 Tennessee Volunteers football team (variously "Tennessee", "UT" or the "Vols") represented the University of Tennessee in the 1971 NCAA University Division football season. Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Bill Battle, in his second year, and played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of ten wins and two losses (10–2 overall, 4–2 in the SEC) and a victory over Arkansas in the 1971 Liberty Bowl.

Schedule

[edit]
DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 18UC Santa Barbara*No. 8
W 48–665,114[1]
September 25No. 5 AuburnNo. 9
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN (rivalry)
ABCL 9–1062,990[2]
October 2at FloridaNo. 12
W 20–1361,112[3]
October 9Georgia Tech*No. 13
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN (rivalry)
W 10–663,671[4]
October 16at No. 4 AlabamaNo. 14
L 15–3273,828[5]
October 23vs. Mississippi StateNo. 18
W 10–737,529[6]
October 30Tulsa*No. 16
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN
W 38–362,513[7]
November 6South Carolina*daggerNo. 11
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN (rivalry)
W 35–663,507[8]
November 20at KentuckyNo. 11
W 21–735,000[9]
November 27VanderbiltNo. 11
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN (rivalry)
W 19–756,244[10]
December 4No. 5 Penn State*No. 12
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN
ABCW 31–1159,542[11]
December 20vs. No. 18 Arkansas*No. 9
ABCW 14–1351,410[12]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

[edit]
1971 Tennessee Volunteers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
OL 76 Joe Balthrop
QB 21 Dennis Chadwick
RB Steve Chancey
OL 64 Bill Emendorfer
G 65 Phillip Fulmer Sr
OL 73 Gaylon Hill
WR Chip Howard
OL Tom Johnson
TE 84 Sonny Leach
WR Emmon Love
QB 16 Jim Maxwell
QB Phil Pierce
FB Bill Rudder
RB George Silvey
RB Haskel Stanback
TE 20 Gary Theiler
WR Joe Thompson
WR Stan Trott
RB Curt Watson
TE Jimmy Young
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DB 13 David Allen Jr
DL 86 Tom Bennett Sr
DB Eddie Brown
CB Conrad Graham
DL Frank Howell
DL Carl Johnson
DE Ken Lambert
S 44 Bobby Majors Sr
LB 58 Ray Nettles Sr
LB Jamie Rotella
DE Claude Simonton
DB Tim Townes
DL John Wagster
OLB Jackie Walker (C) Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 9 George Hunt Sr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Season summary

[edit]

At Florida

[edit]
See also: 1971 Florida Gators football team and Florida–Tennessee football rivalry
#12 Tennessee Volunteers at Florida Gators
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Tennessee 3 10 7020
Florida 0 13 0013

at Florida Field, Gainesville, Florida

  • Date: October 2, 1971
  • Game attendance: 61,112
  • New York Times, 1971 Oct 03.
Game information

Third-string quarterback Phil Pierce led Tennessee on a 99-yard drive in the third quarter, capped by a 20-yard touchdown pass to Stan Trott to take the lead for good. The Volunteers lost their first and second-string quarterbacks to knee injuries during the game.

Penn State

[edit]
See also: 1971 Penn State Nittany Lions football
#5 Penn State Nittany Lions (10–0) at #12 Tennessee Volunteers (8–2)
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Penn St 0 3 0811
Tennessee 7 14 01031

at Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee

Game information
First quarter
  • TENN – Conrad Graham 76-yard fumble return (George Hunt kick). Tennessee 7–0.

Second quarter

  • PSU – Alberto Vitello 27-yard field goal. Tennessee 7–3. Drive:
  • TENN – Bill Rudder 1-yard run (George Hunt kick). Tennessee 14–3. Drive: 5 plays, 15 yards.
  • TENN – Bobby Majors 44-yard punt return (George Hunt kick). Tennessee 21–3.

Fourth quarter

  • TENN – George Hunt 21-yard field goal. Tennessee 24–3. Drive:
  • TENN – Jackie Walker 43-yard interception return (George Hunt kick). Tennessee 31–3.
  • PSU – Lydell Mitchell 14-yard pass from John Hufnagel (run good). Tennessee 31–11. Drive:

Before the game, Bobby Majors was honored alongside his brothers, Iowa State head coach Johnny and the late Billy, for the family's overall contribution to the school's football program. Majors finished his final home game with 195 return yards on kicks and punts. With the win, the Volunteers accepted a bid to play in the Liberty Bowl against Arkansas. [13]

Team players drafted into the NFL

[edit]
Player Position Round Pick NFL club
Bobby Majors Defensive back 3 76 Philadelphia Eagles
George Hunt Kicker 5 122 Cleveland Browns
Jackie Walker Linebacker 6 148 San Francisco 49ers
Curt Watson Running back 6 150 New Orleans Saints
Ray Nettles Linebacker 6 155 Miami Dolphins
Gary Theiler Tight end 12 308 Baltimore Colts
Joe Balthrop Guard 16 397 New Orleans Saints

[14]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Tennessee wallops Gauchos". The San Francisco Examiner. Associated Press. September 19, 1971. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Sullivan finally whips Auburn past Vols 10–9". The Selma Times-Journal. September 26, 1971. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Tennessee sidesteps Florida's bid for an upset, 20–13". The Palm Beach Post. October 3, 1971. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Vols nip 'Jackets". Pensacola News Journal. October 10, 1971. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Alabama dashes by Vols". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 17, 1971. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Vols win 10 to 7". The Tennessean. October 24, 1971. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Maxwell rouses Vol offense to 38–3 victory over Tulsa". The Paducah Sun. October 31, 1971. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Tennessee bowls over South Carolina, 35–6". The Times and Democrat. November 7, 1971. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Vols edge Kentucky". The Miami Herald. November 21, 1971. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Tennessee erupts for 19 in fourth to end Vanderbilt's upset attempt". The Spokesman-Review. November 28, 1971. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Tennessee ends Penn St. streak, 31–11". The Philadelphia Inquirer. December 5, 1971. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Vols take Liberty". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. December 21, 1971. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Vols Win, 31–11." New York Times. 1971 Dec 05.
  14. ^ "1972 NFL Draft". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 8, 2012.
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