1970 Tennessee Volunteers football team

1970 Tennessee Volunteers football
Sugar Bowl champion
Sugar Bowl, W 34–13 vs. Air Force
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 4
APNo. 4
Record11–1 (4–1 SEC)
Head coach
CaptainTim Priest
Home stadiumNeyland Stadium
Seasons
← 1969
1971 →
1970 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 7 LSU $ 5 – 0 – 0 9 – 3 – 0
No. 4 Tennessee 4 – 1 – 0 11 – 1 – 0
No. 10 Auburn 5 – 2 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
No. 20 Ole Miss 4 – 2 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Florida 3 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Georgia 3 – 3 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Alabama 3 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 1
Mississippi State 3 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Vanderbilt 1 – 5 – 0 4 – 7 – 0
Kentucky 0 – 7 – 0 2 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1970 Tennessee Volunteers football team (variously "Tennessee", "UT" or the "Vols") represented the University of Tennessee in the 1970 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 first year, and played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of eleven wins and one loss (11–1 overall, 4–1 in the SEC) and a victory over Air Force in the Sugar Bowl. The 1970 Tennessee defense holds the record for most takeaways in a single season with 57, not including the bowl game in which they recorded 8 more.[1]

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 19SMU*
W 28–354,158[2]
September 26AuburnNo. 17
L 23–3665,306[3]
October 3Army*
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN
W 48–359,817[4]
October 10at No. 13 Georgia Tech*No. 20
W 17–659,624[5]
October 17AlabamaNo. 14
W 24–064,947[6]
October 24FloridaNo. 11
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN (rivalry)
ABCW 38–764,069[7]
October 31Wake Forest*No. 9
W 41–726,381[8]
November 7at South Carolina*No. 8
W 20–1842,788[9]
November 21KentuckydaggerNo. 8
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN (rivalry)
W 45–063,452[10]
November 28VanderbiltNo. 7
W 24–633,850[11]
December 5UCLA*No. 5
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN
W 28–1763,242[12]
January 1vs. No. 11 Air ForceNo. 4
ABCW 34–1378,655[13]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1970 Tennessee Volunteers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
QB 10 Bobby Scott Sr
G 65 Phillip Fulmer Sr
G 50 Chip Kell Sr
WR 85 Lester McClain Sr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
DB 13 David Allen So
DL 86 Tom Bennett Jr
S 44 Bobby Majors Jr
LB 58 Ray Nettles Jr
OLB 52 Jackie Walker Jr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K 9 George Hunt Jr
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured Injured
  • Redshirt Redshirt

Team players drafted into the NFL

Player Position Round Pick NFL club
Lester McClain Wide receiver 9 220 Chicago Bears
Bobby Scott Quarterback 14 340 New Orleans Saints
Chip Kell Center 17 429 San Diego Chargers

[14]

References

  1. ^ Kersey, Jason. "The art of the takeaway: There are specific traits to..." The Athletic. Retrieved June 18, 2019.
  2. ^ "SMU spilled by Vols". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. September 20, 1970. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Dr. Pat operates nicely as Vols go down, 36–23". The Anniston Star. September 27, 1970. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Tennessee pours it on, tramples Cadets, 48–3". The Record. October 4, 1970. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Vols bash Ga. Tech, 17–6". The Clarion-Ledger. October 11, 1970. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Tennessee hauls down 'Bama, 24–0". Johnson City Press-Chronicle. October 18, 1970. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Volunteers greet Dickey with smashing 38–7 loss". Tallahassee Democrat. October 25, 1970. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Tennessee rips Deacons, 41 to 7". The News and Observer. November 1, 1970. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Last-grasp Tennessee FG spoils S.C. upset bid". The Times and Democrat. November 8, 1970. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Tennessee rips Kentucky 45–0". Battle Creek Enquirer. November 22, 1970. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Vols tumble Vandy 24–6". The Tennessean. November 29, 1970. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Vols' late rally nips UCLA 28–17". The Sacramento Bee. December 6, 1970. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Tennessee demolished Air Force defense". Alexandria Daily Town Talk. January 2, 1971. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "1971 NFL Draft". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 8, 2012.
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