The 1908 Tennessee Volunteers football team represented the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state ...

in the

1908 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season The 1908 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season was the college football games played by the member schools of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association as part of the 1908 college football season. The season began ...

. The season was the second of head coach George Levene's three-year tenure.

Schedule

Season summary

North Carolina

Fullback Clarence McCollum returned a fumble 75 yards against

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

Maryville

In the second week of play, the Vols beat Maryville 39–5.

Kentucky State

Tennessee celebrated the victory over Kentucky State 7–0, as they were outweighed 10 pounds to the man. A 40-yard run by Leach set up an offtackle run by Peery.

Georgia

Leach scored all of Tennessee's points in the 10–0 victory over Georgia with a 30-yard fumble return for a touchdown and a 40-yard field goal.

Georgia Tech

Tennessee defeated John Heisman's Georgia Tech team 6–5, "in a game in which they clearly outplayed the Yellow Jackets". Tech scored first thanks to three consecutive completed forward passes. Perry scored Tennessee's touchdown. He scored another just after the referee blew the whistle to end the contest.

at Vanderbilt

1908 was a down year for Vanderbilt with a wealth of sophomores; guided shrewdly by McGugin to its success. Vanderbilt won the match between the two schools 16 to 9. Walker Leach made a 41-yard field goal to put the Vols up 4 to 0. "This seemed to arouse the local team" and Vanderbilt drove down the field for a touchdown. On a fake kick, Leach circled Vanderbilt's left end for 60 yards.

Ray Morrison J. Ray Morrison (February 28, 1885 – November 19, 1982) was an American football and baseball player and a coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He served as the head football coach at Southern Methodist University (1915–1916, 1922– ...

stopped him short of the goal.

Clemson

Tennessee also edged Clemson 6–5.

Chattanooga

The Vols beat Chattanooga 39–5.

Alabama

Alabama surprised with the 4 to 0 victory over Tennessee to close the season.

Postseason

Walker Leach and

Nathan Dougherty Nathan Washington "Big'n" Dougherty (March 23, 1886 – May 18, 1977) was a Hall of Fame college football player for the Tennessee Volunteers football team. He later became the Dean of the College of Engineering at the University of Tenne ...

were selected All-Southern. Vanderbilt coach

Dan McGugin Daniel Earle McGugin (July 29, 1879 – January 23, 1936) was an American football player and coach, as well as a lawyer. He served as the head football coach at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee from 1904 to 1917 and again from ...

noted "All things considered, Leach was perhaps the best football player of the year in Dixie."

References

Additional sources

* {{Tennessee Volunteers football navbox

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Tennessee Volunteers football seasons

Tennessee Volunteers football The Tennessee Volunteers football program (variously called "Tennessee", "Vols", "UT", or "Big Orange") represents the University of Tennessee (UT). The Vols have played football for 130 seasons, starting in 1891; their combined record of 862� ...