1941 Vanderbilt Commodores football team

The 1941 Vanderbilt Commodores football team was an American football team that represented Vanderbilt University in the Southeastern Conference during the 1941 college football season. In their second season under head coach Red Sanders, the Commodores compiled an 8–2 record (3–2 in conference play) and outscored opponents by a total of 260 to 89.^[1]

1941 Vanderbilt Commodores football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	8–2 (3–2 SEC)
Head coach	Red Sanders (2nd season)
Offensive scheme	Single-wing
Captain	Joe Atkinson
Home stadium	Dudley Field
Seasons ← 1940 1942 →

1941 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 16 Mississippi State $	4	–	0	–	1			8	–	1	–	1
No. 18 Tennessee	3	–	1	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
No. 20 Alabama	5	–	2	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
No. 14 Georgia	3	–	1	–	1			9	–	1	–	1
No. 17 Ole Miss	2	–	1	–	1			6	–	2	–	1
Vanderbilt	3	–	2	–	0			8	–	2	–	0
LSU	2	–	2	–	2			4	–	4	–	2
Tulane	2	–	3	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Georgia Tech	2	–	4	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
Florida	1	–	3	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Kentucky	0	–	4	–	0			5	–	4	–	0
Auburn	0	–	4	–	1			4	–	5	–	1
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The highlight of the season was a defeat of seventh-ranked Alabama in a driving rainstorm in Nashville;^[2] up to that time, only the second time in Commodore history where they defeated a ranked team. On November 9, Vanderbilt played the school's 439th game and defeated Georgia Tech, 14–7, for the 300th win in program history.

Two Vanderbilt players were selected by the Associated Press (AP) and the United Press (UP) as first-team players on the 1941 All-SEC football team: center Bob Gude (AP-1, UP-1) and fullback Jack Jenkins (AP-1, UP-1).^[3][4][5]

Vanderbilt was ranked at No. 14 (out of 681 teams) in the final rankings under the Litkenhous Difference by Score System for 1941.^[6]

The Commodores played their home games at Dudley Field in Nashville, Tennessee.

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 27		at Purdue*		Ross–Ade Stadium West Lafayette, IN	W 3–0	17,000	^[7]
October 4		Tennessee Tech*		Dudley Field Nashville, TN	W 42–0	8,000	^[8]
October 11		at Kentucky		Stoll Field/McLean Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry)	W 39–15	11,000	^[9]
October 18		Georgia Tech	No. 18	Dudley Field Nashville, TN (rivalry)	W 14–7	15,000	^[10]
October 25		Princeton	No. 15	Dudley Field Nashville, TN	W 46–7	14,000	^[11]
November 1		Tulane	No. 10	Dudley Field Nashville, TN	L 14–34	22,000	^[12]
November 8		Sewanee		Dudley Field Nashville, TN (rivalry)	W 20–0	5,000	^[13]
November 16	2:00 p.m.	at Louisville*		duPont Manual Stadium Louisville, KY	W 68–0	4,000	^[14]^[15]
November 22		No. 7 Alabama		Dudley Field Nashville, TN	W 7–0	12,000	^[16]
November 29		at Tennessee	No. 12	Shields–Watkins Field Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	L 7–26	30,000	^[17]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Central time

^[18]

References

1. "1941 Vanderbilt Commodores Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 19, 2019.
2. Alabama Crimson Tide 1941 Season Summary (PDF copy at www.rolltide.com)
3. "All-Southeastern Team Is Selected". The Odessa American. December 1, 1941. p. 8. Retrieved June 6, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.  
4. "Sinkwich, Nelson, Jenkins and Hapes Selected on All-Southeastern Eleven". The Palm Beach Post. December 2, 1941.
5. "Eight Teams Represented On UP Grid Squad". Bradford Evening Star. November 25, 1941. p. 12. Retrieved May 29, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.  
6. Dr. E. E. Litkenhous (December 26, 1941). "Gophers Grid Kings Over 6-Year Span: Tennessee 2d, Pitt 3d Over Period Litkenhous Ratins Are Published". The Courier-Journal. p. Sports 4 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Vanderbilt Wins With Field Goal". The Indianapolis Star. September 28, 1941. p. 37 – via Newspapers.com.
8. Will Grimsley (October 5, 1941). "Vandy Crushes Tenn-Tech Eagles, 42-0, Under Avalanche of Touchdowns". The Nashville Tennessean. p. 1D – via Newspapers.com.
9. Jimmy Jones (October 12, 1941). "Kentucky Blows Early 15-Point Lead, Vandy Grabs 39-15 Decision". The Courier-Journal. p. IV-1 – via Newspapers.com.
10. Escar Thompson (October 19, 1941). "Vanderbilt Remains Unbeaten". The Jackson Sun. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Vandy Routs Game but Outclassed Princeton by 46 to 7". The Nashville Tennessean. October 26, 1941. p. Sports 1 – via Newspapers.com.
12. Raymond Johnson (November 2, 1941). "Tulane Crushes Vanderbilt 34-13 With Great Power Display: Green Wave Rallies To Gain Triumph". The Nashville Tennessean. p. 1D – via Newspapers.com.
13. Will Grimsley (November 9, 1941). "Vandy Tops Sewanee 20-0 With Early Scoring Thrusts". The Nashville Tennessean. pp. 1D, 5D – via Newspapers.com.
14. Fitzgerald, Tommy (November 15, 1941). "Barring Reprieve, U. of L. Faces Vandy Here Today". The Courier-Journal. Louisville, Kentucky. p. 3, section 2. Retrieved March 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com  .
15. Tommy Fitzgerald (November 16, 1941). "U.L. Holds Vandy On 1-Foot Line, Scoreless In 1st Period, But Commodores Win Game 68-0". The Courier-Journal. p. IV-3 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "Commodores best Tide for muddy 7 to 0 victory". The Tuscaloosa News. November 23, 1941. p. 6. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
17. Tom Anderson (November 30, 1941). "Volunteers Beat Vandy, 26 To 7". The Knoxville Journal. pp. Main 1, Sports 1 – via Newspapers.com.
18. . College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved September 3, 2014.