1938 Tennessee Volunteers football team

1938 Tennessee Volunteers football
National Champions (various selectors) SEC Champions
Orange Bowl, W 17–0 vs. Oklahoma
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 2
1938 record	11–0 (7–0 SEC)
Head coach	Robert Neyland (12th year)
Base defense	Single-wing
Home stadium	Shields-Watkins Field

1938 SEC football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
#2 Tennessee $	7	–	0	–	0			11	–	0	–	0
#13 Alabama	4	–	1	–	1			7	–	1	–	1
#19 Tulane	4	–	1	–	1			7	–	2	–	1
Ole Miss	3	–	2	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
Georgia Tech	2	–	1	–	3			3	–	4	–	3
Vanderbilt	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Florida	2	–	2	–	1			4	–	6	–	1
Auburn	3	–	3	–	1			4	–	5	–	1
Georgia	1	–	2	–	1			5	–	4	–	1
LSU	2	–	4	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Mississippi State	1	–	4	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Kentucky	0	–	4	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
Sewanee	0	–	6	–	0			1	–	8	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1938 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1938 season. Head coach Robert Neyland fielded his third team at Tennessee after returning from active duty in the United States Army. The 1938 Tennessee Volunteers won the school's first national championship and are regarded as one of the greatest teams in SEC and NCAA history.

In 1938, The Vols went 10–0 in the regular season and then shut out fellow unbeaten Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, 17–0, snapping the Sooners' 14-game win streak and beginning a long winning streak for Neyland. Tennessee was selected by a majority of polls and selectors as the national champions with 24 crowning the Vols.^[1] Heisman Trophy winner Davey O'Brien and his undefeated TCU Horned Frogs were second with 14.

The 1938 Volunteers were the first of three consecutive Tennessee squads that had undefeated regular seasons. Tennessee won three consecutive conference titles before Neyland left for military service in World War II in 1941. Tennessee also began a historic streak in 1938. By shutting out their last four regular season opponents, the Vols began a streak of 17 consecutive regular season shutouts and 71 consecutive shutout quarters, still NCAA records. Athlon Sports has named the 1938 UT team as the third best college football team of all time.^[2]

Prominent players

The Vols featured three All American performers. Bob Suffridge was an All American at guard, while Bowden Wyatt earned his spot on the team as an end. George Cafego carried the ball as a tailback.

Schedule

Date	Opponent^#	Rank^#	Site	Result
September 24, 1938	Sewanee		Shields-Watkins Field • Knoxville, TN	W 26–3
October 1, 1938	Clemson*		Shields-Watkins Field • Knoxville, TN	W 20–7
October 8, 1938	Auburn		Shields-Watkins Field • Knoxville, TN	W 7–0
October 15, 1938	at Alabama		Legion Field • Birmingham, AL (Third Saturday in October)	W 13–0
October 22, 1938	The Citadel*	No. 8	Shields-Watkins Field • Knoxville, TN	W 44–0
October 29, 1938	LSU	No. 8	Shields-Watkins Field • Knoxville, TN	W 14–6
November 5, 1938	Chattanooga*	No. 6	Shields-Watkins Field • Knoxville, TN	W 45–0
November 12, 1938	at Vanderbilt	No. 4	Dudley Field • Nashville, TN (Rivalry)	W 14–0
November 24, 1938	Kentucky	No. 4	Shields-Watkins Field • Knoxville, TN	W 46–0
December 3, 1938	vs. Mississippi State	No. 4	Crump Stadium • Memphis, TN	W 47–0
January 2, 1939	vs. No. 4 Oklahoma*	No. 2	Burdine Stadium • Miami, FL (Orange Bowl)	W 17–0
*Non-conference game. Homecoming. ^#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

References

1. "Yearly National Championship Selections". Archived from the original on 2009-07-21. Retrieved 2009-07-09.
2. "No. 3 Tennessee 1938 - AthlonSports.com". Archived from the original on 2009-07-21. Retrieved 2009-07-09.