1953 Tennessee Volunteers football team

The 1953 Tennessee Volunteers (variously Tennessee, UT, or the Vols) represented the University of Tennessee in the 1953 college football season. Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Harvey Robinson, in his first year, and played their home games at Shields–Watkins Field in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of six wins, four losses and one tie (6–4–1 overall, 3–2–1 in the SEC).

1953 Tennessee Volunteers football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	6–4–1 (3–2–1 SEC)
Head coach	Harvey Robinson (1st season)
Home stadium	Shields–Watkins Field
Seasons ← 1952 1954 →

1953 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 13 Alabama $	4	–	0	–	3			6	–	3	–	3
No. 8 Georgia Tech	4	–	1	–	1			9	–	2	–	1
No. 16 Kentucky	4	–	1	–	1			7	–	2	–	1
Ole Miss	4	–	1	–	1			7	–	2	–	1
No. 17 Auburn	4	–	2	–	1			7	–	3	–	1
Mississippi State	3	–	1	–	3			5	–	2	–	3
Tennessee	3	–	2	–	1			6	–	4	–	1
LSU	2	–	3	–	3			5	–	3	–	3
Florida	1	–	3	–	2			3	–	5	–	2
Vanderbilt	1	–	5	–	0			3	–	7	–	0
Georgia	1	–	5	–	0			3	–	8	–	0
Tulane	0	–	7	–	0			1	–	8	–	1
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 26	Mississippi State	No. 17	Shields–Watkins Field Knoxville, TN	L 0–26	25,000	^[1]
October 3	No. 12 Duke*		Shields–Watkins Field Knoxville, TN	L 7–21	30,000	^[2]
October 10	Chattanooga*		Shields–Watkins Field Knoxville, TN	W 40–7	15,000	^[3]
October 17	at Alabama		Legion Field Birmingham, AL (Third Saturday in October)	T 0–0	40,000	^[4]
October 22	Louisville*		Shields–Watkins Field Knoxville, TN	W 59–6	15,000	^[5]
October 31	at North Carolina*		Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	W 20–6	27,000	^[6]
November 7	LSU		Shields–Watkins Field Knoxville, TN	W 32–14	23,000	^[7]
November 14	at Florida	No. 18	Florida Field Gainesville, FL (rivalry)	W 9–7	29,000	^[8]
November 21	at No. 13 Kentucky		McLean Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry)	L 21–27	37,000	^[9]
November 28	Vanderbilt		Shields–Watkins Field Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	W 33–6	21,000	^[10]
December 5	at Houston*		Rice Stadium Houston, TX	L 19–33	23,000	^[11]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Team players drafted into the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Bill Barbish	Back	8	95	Cleveland Browns
Bob Fisher	Tackle	10	115	Pittsburgh Steelers

^[12]

References

1. "Maroons maul Vols". Kingsport Times-News. September 27, 1953. Retrieved March 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Duke defeats Tennessee, 21–7". The News and Observer. October 4, 1953. Retrieved March 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Vols' late splurge defeats Moccasins, 40–7". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. October 11, 1953. Retrieved August 21, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Tennessee gains 0–0 deadlock with Alabama". The Jacksonville Daily Journal. October 18, 1953. Retrieved March 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Vols drub Louisville". The Elizabethton Star. October 25, 1953. Retrieved March 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Vols trip UNC, 20–6". Durham Morning Herald. November 1, 1953. Retrieved March 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Tennessee stops LSU Tigers, 32 to 14". Johnson City Press. November 8, 1953. Retrieved March 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Late Tennessee field goal nips Florida, 9–7". The Tampa Tribune. November 15, 1953. Retrieved March 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Kentucky gains first victory in 18 years over Tennessee". The Owensboro Messenger. November 22, 1953. Retrieved March 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Vol runners humble Vanderbilt, 33–6". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. November 29, 1953. Retrieved March 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Houston passes and runs to topple Tennessee 33 to 19". The Wichita Eagle. December 6, 1953. Retrieved March 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "1954 NFL Draft". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 10, 2012.