1947 Kentucky Wildcats football team
American college football season
The 1947 Kentucky Wildcats football team was an American footballteam that represented the University of Kentucky as a member of the Southeastern Conference during the 1947 college football season . In its second season under head coach Bear Bryant , the team compiled an 8–3 record (2–3 against SEC opponents), defeated Villanova in the Great Lakes Bowl , and outscored all opponents by a total of 175 to 73.[ 1] The team played its home games at McLean Stadium in Lexington, Kentucky .
The 1947 Kentucky team was ranked in the AP Poll during three weeks of the season: No. 20 on October 13; No. 14 on October 20; and No. 13 on October 27.[ 2] Kentucky dropped out of the poll after losing its second game to Alabama . The team was ranked at No. 29 in the final Litkenhous Ratings .[ 3]
Three Kentucky players were honored on the 1947 All-SEC football teams selected by both the Associated Press (AP) and United Press (UP): center Jay Rhodemyre (AP-1; UP-1); tackle Wash Serini (AP-2); and guard Lee Yarutis (AP-3).[ 4] [ 5]
Junior George Blanda was Kentucky's starting quarterback in 1947 and 1948. Blanda later played 26 years in the National Football League and set the league's all-time scoring record.
Schedule
Date Opponent Rank Site Result Attendance Source September 20 at Ole Miss L 7–1418,000 [ 6]
September 27 Cincinnati W 20–023,800 [ 7] [ 8]
October 4 at Xavier W 20–715,000 [ 9]
October 11 No. 9 Georgia McLean Stadium Lexington, KY W 26–024,000 [ 10]
October 18 at No. 10 Vanderbilt No. 20 W 14–022,500 [ 11]
October 25 at Michigan State No. 14 W 7–626,997 [ 12]
November 1 No. 18 Alabama No. 13 McLean Stadium Lexington, KY L 0–1324,500 [ 13]
November 8 at West Virginia W 15–626,500 [ 14]
November 15 Evansville McLean Stadium Lexington, KY W 36–015,000 [ 15]
November 22 Tennessee McLean Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry ) L 6–1325,000 [ 16]
December 6 Villanova W 24–1415,000 [ 17]
HomecomingRankings from AP Poll released prior to the game
Rankings
Ranking movementsLegend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked Week Poll 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Final AP — 20 14 13 — — — — — —
References
^ "1947 Kentucky Wildcats Schedule and Results" . SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 9, 2019 .
^ AP Poll Archive Archived 2009-04-26 at the Wayback Machine
^ Dr. E. E. Litkenhous (December 18, 1947). "Michigan National Champion in Final Litkenhous Ratings" . Times . p. 47 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Tech, Ole Miss, State Also Get 2 Berths Each" . The Anniston Star . November 26, 1947. p. 10. Retrieved May 31, 2015 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Three Alabama Players Given Stellar Ratings" . The Courier News . November 26, 1947. p. 35. Retrieved June 6, 2015 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Wayne Thompson (September 21, 1947). "Ole Miss Smashes Kentucky 14 To 7" . Clarion-Ledger . p. Sports 1 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Dick Forbes (September 28, 1947). "Kentucky Is 20-0 Winner Over UC" . The Cincinnati Enquirer . p. 1 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "Kentucky Drops Cincinnati 20-0 As Dopey Phelps Sparks Offensive" . The Paducah Sun-Democrat . September 28, 1947. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Bill Ford (October 4, 1947). "Kentucky Wins Over Xavier, 20-7" . The Cincinnati Enquirer . p. 1 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Larry Boeck (October 12, 1947). "Alert Wildcats Stun Georgia 26-0" . The Courier-Journal . p. IV-1 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Larry Boeck (October 19, 1947). "U.K. Roars to Fourth Straight Win, Shocks Vandy With First Loss 14-0" . The Courier-Journal . p. IV-1 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Marshall Dann (October 25, 1947). "MSC Loses Star, Game" . Detroit Free Press . p. Sports 1, 2 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Larry Boeck (November 2, 1947). "Bama Line Halts Kentucky's Five-Game Win Streak 13-0" . The Courier-Journal . p. IV-1 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Larry Boeck (November 9, 1947). "Kentucky Slides Past West Virginia 15-6" . The Courier-Journal . p. IV-1 – via Newspapers.com .
^ "U.K., Playing Under Wraps, Tramples Evansville By 36-0" . The Courier-Journal . November 16, 1947. p. IV-1 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Larry Boeck (November 23, 1947). "Neyland Jinx On Cats Continues As Tennessee Sinks Kentucky 13-6 With 4th Period Score" . The Courier-Journal . p. IV-1 – via Newspapers.com .
^ Larry Boeck (December 7, 1947). "Only 15,000 See U.K. Drop Villanova 24-14 In Great Lakes Bowl" . The Courier-Journal . p. IV-1 – via Newspapers.com .
Venues Bowls & rivalries Culture & lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold