1971 Tennessee Volunteers football team

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.

ConferenceSoutheastern Conference

CoachesNo. 9

APNo. 9

Record10–2 (4–2 SEC)

Quick facts Tennessee Volunteers football, Liberty Bowl champion ...

1971 Tennessee Volunteers football
Liberty Bowl champion
Liberty Bowl, W 14–13 vs. Arkansas
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 9
AP	No. 9
Record	10–2 (4–2 SEC)
Head coach	Bill Battle (2nd season)
Captain	Jackie Walker
Home stadium	Neyland Stadium
Seasons ← 1970 1972 →

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More information Conf., Overall ...

1971 Southeastern Conference football standings
v t e	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

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Schedule

More information Date, Opponent ...

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 18	UC Santa Barbara*	No. 8	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		W 48–6	65,114	^[1]
September 25	No. 5 Auburn	No. 9	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	ABC	L 9–10	62,990	^[2]
October 2	at Florida	No. 12	Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry)		W 20–13	61,112	^[3]
October 9	Georgia Tech*	No. 13	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)		W 10–6	63,671	^[4]
October 16	at No. 4 Alabama	No. 14	Legion Field Birmingham, AL (Third Saturday in October)		L 15–32	73,828	^[5]
October 23	vs. Mississippi State	No. 18	Memphis Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN		W 10–7	37,529	^[6]
October 30	Tulsa*	No. 16	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		W 38–3	62,513	^[7]
November 6	South Carolina*	No. 11	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)		W 35–6	63,507	^[8]
November 20	at Kentucky	No. 11	McLean Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry)		W 21–7	35,000	^[9]
November 27	Vanderbilt	No. 11	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)		W 19–7	56,244	^[10]
December 4	No. 5 Penn State*	No. 12	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN	ABC	W 31–11	59,542	^[11]
December 20	vs. No. 18 Arkansas*	No. 9	Memphis Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN (Liberty Bowl)	ABC	W 14–13	51,410	^[12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

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Game summaries

At Florida

#12 Tennessee Volunteers at Florida Gators

More information Quarter, Total ...

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Tennessee	3	10	7	0	20
Florida	0	13	0	0	13

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at Florida Field, Gainesville, Florida

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

More information Game information ...

Game information

First quarter

TENN – George Hunt 33-yard field goal. Tennessee 3–0. Drive:

Second quarter

TENN – George Hunt 34-yard field goal. Tennessee 6–0. Drive:
TENN – Curt Watson 8-yard run (George Hunt kick). Tennessee 13–0. Drive: 74 yards.
FLA – Willie Jackson 23-yard pass from John Reaves (kick failed), 2:12. Tennessee 13–6. Drive:
FLA – Hank Foldberg 7-yard pass from John Reaves (Richard Franco kick). Tie 13–13. Drive:

Third quarter

TENN – Stan Trott 20-yard pass from Phil Pierce (George Hunt kick). Tennessee 20–13. Drive: 99 yards.

Top passers

TENN
FLA – John Reaves – 19/40, 213 yards, 2 TD, INT

Top rushers

TENN
FLA – Mike Rich – 9 rushes, 80 yards

Top receivers

TENN
FLA – Willie Jackson – 7 receptions, 93 yards, TD

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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

#5 Penn State Nittany Lions (10–0) at #12 Tennessee Volunteers (8–2)

More information Quarter, Total ...

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Penn St	0	3	0	8	11
Tennessee	7	14	0	10	31

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at Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee

Date: December 4, 1971
Game attendance: 54,529
TV announcers (ABC): Chris Schenkel, Bud Wilkinson
Ocala Star-Banner, 1971 Dec 05.

More information Game information ...

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:

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:

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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]

Personnel

More information Players, Coaches ...

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

Bill Battle

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

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Team players drafted into the NFL

More information Player, Position ...

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

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^[14]

1971 Tennessee Volunteers football team

Schedule

Game summaries

At Florida

Penn State

Personnel

Team players drafted into the NFL

References

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