1971 Tennessee Volunteers football team

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

1971 Southeastern Conference football standings

	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

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.

Schedule

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

Personnel

1971 Tennessee Volunteers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class OL Joe Balthrop QB Dennis Chadwick RB Steve Chancey OL Bill Emendorfer G 65 Phillip Fulmer Sr OL Gaylon Hill WR Chip Howard OL Tom Johnson TE Sonny Leach WR Emmon Love QB Jim Maxwell QB Phil Pierce FB Bill Rudder RB George Silvey RB Haskel Stanback TE Gary Theiler WR Joe Thompson WR Stan Trott RB Curt Watson TE Jimmy Young	Defense Pos. # Name Class DB David Allen DL Tom Bennett DB Eddie Brown CB Conrad Graham DL Frank Howell DL Carl Johnson DE Ken Lambert S Bobby Majors Sr LB Ray Nettles LB Jamie Rotella DE Claude Simonton DB Tim Townes DL John Wagster OLB Jackie Walker (C) Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K George Hunt	Head coach Bill Battle Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Season summary

at Florida

See also: 1971 Florida Gators football team and Florida–Tennessee football rivalry

#12 Tennessee Volunteers at Florida Gators

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

at Florida Field, Gainesville, Florida

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

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

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

See also: 1971 Penn State Nittany Lions football

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

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

at Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee

• Date: December 4, 1971
• Game attendance: 54,529
• TV: ABC
• Ocala Star-Banner, 1971 Dec 05.

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. TENN – Lydell Mitchell 14-yard pass from John Hufnagel (run good). Tennessee 31–11. Drive:

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.

Team players drafted into the NFL

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

References

General

• 2011 Tennessee Football Record Book (PDF). Knoxville, Tennessee: University of Tennessee Athletics Media Relations Office. 2011. Retrieved March 8, 2012.

Specific