1908 Tennessee Volunteers football team

1908 Tennessee Volunteers football
Conference Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
1908 record 7–2 (3–2 SIAA)
Head coach George Levene (2nd season)
Captain Walker Leach
Home stadium Waite Field
1908 SIAA football standings
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
LSU + 2 0 0  10 0 0
Auburn + 4 1 0  6 1 0
Vanderbilt 3 0 1  7 2 1
Tennessee 3 2 0  7 2 0
Georgia Tech 4 3 0  6 3 0
Georgia 2 2 1  5 2 1
Alabama 1 1 1  6 1 1
Sewanee 1 1 1  4 1 3
Mississippi A&M 1 3 0  3 4 0
Ole Miss 0 2 0  3 5 0
Mercer 0 3 0  3 4 0
Clemson 0 4 0  1 6 0
Nashville         
  • + Conference co-champions

The 1908 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the University of Tennessee in the 1908 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season. The season was the second of head coach George Levene's three-year tenure. The Volunteers had compiled four wins in Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association play, the most in team history. It was widely considered the best Tennessee football season up to that point.[1]

Schedule

Date Opponent Site Result Attendance
October 3 North Carolina* Waite FieldKnoxville, TN W 12–0    
October 10 Maryville* Waite Field • Knoxville, TN W 39–5    
October 17 Kentucky State College* Waite Field • Knoxville, TN (rivalry) W 7–0    
October 24 Georgia Waite Field • Knoxville, TN (rivalry) W 10–0    
October 31 at Georgia Tech Ponce de Leon ParkAtlanta, GA (rivalry) W 6–5    
November 7 at Vanderbilt Dudley FieldNashville, TN (rivalry) L 16–9    
November 14 Clemson Waite Field • Knoxville, TN W 6–5    
November 21 Chattanooga* Waite Field • Knoxville, TN W 35–6    
November 26 vs. Alabama Birmingham Fairgrounds • Birmingham, AL (rivalry) L 4–0   4,000
*Non-conference game. All times are in Eastern.

Season summary

North Carolina

Fullback Clarence McCollum returned a fumble 75 yards against North Carolina.[2]

Maryville

In the second week of play, the Vols beat Maryville 395.

Kentucky State

Tennessee celebrated the victory over Kentucky State 70, as they were outweighed 10 pounds to the man. A 40-yard run by Leach set up an offtackle run by Peery.[3]

Georgia

Leach scored all of Tennessee's points in the 100 victory over Georgia with a 30-yard fumble return for a touchdown and a 40-yard field goal.[4]

Georgia Tech

Tennessee defeated John Heisman's Georgia Tech team 65, "in a game in which they clearly outplayed the Yellow Jackets". Tech scored first thanks to three consecutive completed forward passes. Perry scored Tennessee's touchdown. He scored another just after the referee blew the whistle to end the contest.[5]

at Vanderbilt

Ray Morrison saved a touchdown in 1908.

1908 was a down year for Vanderbilt with a wealth of sophomores; guided shrewdly by McGugin to its success.[6] Vanderbilt won the match between the two schools 16 to 9.

Walker Leach made a 41-yard field goal to put the Vols up 4 to 0. "This seemed to arouse the local team" and Vanderbilt drove down the field for a touchdown. On a fake kick, Leach circled Vanderbilt's left end for 60 yards. Ray Morrison stopped him short of the goal.[7]

Clemson

Tennessee also edged Clemson 65.

Chattanooga

The Vols beat Chattanooga 395.

Alabama

Alabama surprised with the 4 to 0 victory over Tennessee to close the season.[8]

Postseason

Walker Leach and Nathan Dougherty were selected All-Southern. Vanderbilt coach Dan McGugin noted "All things considered, Leach was perhaps the best football player of the year in Dixie."[9]

References

  1. Big Orange: a pictorial history of University of Tennessee football. 1982. p. 34.
  2. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2014-08-20.
  3. Woodruff 1928, p. 215
  4. Woodruff 1928, p. 217
  5. Woodruff 1928, p. 220
  6. Edwin Pope. Football's Greatest Coaches. pp. 340, 342.
  7. "Vanderbilt Athletics". Vanderbilt University Quarterly. 9: 28–35.
  8. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-02. Retrieved 2016-04-25.
  9. Spalding's Football Guide. 1909. p. 75.
  • Woodruff, Fuzzy (1928). A History of Southern Football 1890–1928. 1.
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