1969 Tennessee Volunteers football team

1969 Tennessee Volunteers football
SEC champion
Gator Bowl, L 13–14 vs. Florida
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 11
APNo. 15
Record9–2 (5–1 SEC)
Head coach
Home stadiumNeyland Stadium
1969 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 15 Tennessee $ 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
No. 10 LSU 4 – 1 – 0 9 – 1 – 0
No. 20 Auburn 5 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
No. 14 Florida 3 – 1 – 1 9 – 1 – 1
No. 8 Ole Miss 4 – 2 – 0 8 – 3 – 0
Georgia 2 – 3 – 1 5 – 5 – 1
Vanderbilt 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Alabama 2 – 4 – 0 6 – 5 – 0
Kentucky 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
Mississippi State 0 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1969 Tennessee Volunteers football team (variously "Tennessee", "UT" or the "Vols") represented the University of Tennessee in the 1969 NCAA University Division football season. Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Doug Dickey, in his sixth year, and played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of nine wins and two losses (9–2 overall, 5–1 in the SEC) and a loss against Florida in the Gator Bowl.

Tennessee's defense featured Jack Reynolds and All-American Steve Kiner while the offense featured quarterback Bobby Scott throwing to end Ken DeLong. Chip Kell was an All-American guard on the offensive line.

Florida Gators coach Ray Graves' final game saw his club beat the SEC champion Volunteers, 14–13, in the Gator Bowl. The game, which marked the Gator Bowl's silver anniversary had added drama because two days before kickoff word leaked out that Volunteers head coach Doug Dickey, the SEC Coach of the Year, would return to Florida, his alma mater, after the game.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 20Chattanooga*No. 15
W 31–048,942[1]
September 27No. 17 AuburnNo. 19
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN (rivalry)
ABCW 45–1957,826[2]
October 4at Memphis State*No. 10
W 55–1650,164[3]
October 11Georgia Tech*No. 10
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN (rivalry)
W 26–863,171[4]
October 18at No. 20 AlabamaNo. 7
W 41–1472,443[5]
November 1at No. 11 GeorgiaNo. 3
W 17–359,781[6]
November 8South Carolina*No. 3
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN (rivalry)
W 29–1462,868[7]
November 15at No. 18 Ole MissNo. 3
L 0–3847,220[8]
November 22at KentuckyNo. 9
W 31–2636,500[9]
November 29VanderbiltNo. 10
  • Neyland Stadium
  • Knoxville, TN (rivalry)
W 40–2760,672[10]
December 27vs. No. 14 FloridaNo. 11
NBCL 13–1472,248[11]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Season summary

Chattanooga

Auburn

at Memphis State

Georgia Tech

at Alabama

at Georgia

  • Curt Watson 197 rushing yards, Don McLeary 100 rushing yards[12]

South Carolina

  • Gary Kreis 151 Rec Yds[12]

at Ole Miss

at Kentucky

  • Gary Kreis 11 Receptions, 145 Yards[12]

Vanderbilt

Gator Bowl

Personnel

1969 Tennessee Volunteers football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
B Benny Dalton
TE Ken DeLong
G 65 Phillip Fulmer So
G 50 Chip Kell Jr
QB Bobby Scott Jr
FB Curt Watson
OT Frank Yanossy
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
LB 57 Steve Kiner Sr
DB Bobby Majors So
DB Tim Priest
LB Jack Reynolds Sr
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
K George Hunt So
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • Injured
  • Redshirt

Team players drafted into the NFL

Player Position Rounds Pick Overall NFL Team
Jack Reynolds Linebacker 1 22 Los Angeles Rams
Steve Kiner Linebacker 3 73 Dallas Cowboys
Herman Weaver Punter 9 227 Detroit Lions

[13]

References

  1. ^ "Volunteers smash Chattanooga in shutout over sister school". Johnson City Press-Chronicle. UPI. September 21, 1969. Retrieved September 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Vols gun down Auburn, 45–19". The Miami Herald. September 28, 1969. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Tennessee stops Memphis State". The Daily Advertiser. October 5, 1969. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Vols bop Tech". Panama City News-Herald. October 12, 1969. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Tennessee mauls Crimson Tide, 41–14". Corpus Christi Times. October 19, 1969. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Tennessee chews up Georgia". The Times and Democrat. November 2, 1969. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Tennessee earns win over South Carolina". The Daily Advertiser. November 9, 1969. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Manning steals thunder to shock Tennessee 38–0". The Orlando Sentinel. November 16, 1969. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Vols finally tree a clawing Cat". The Commercial Appeal. November 23, 1969. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Tennessee claims SEC crown by trouncing Vandy, 40–27". The Paducah Sun. November 30, 1969. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Florida upsets Vols in Gator". The El Paso Times. December 28, 1969. Retrieved May 7, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ a b c "2025 Tennessee Volunteers Football Record Book" (PDF). Retrieved November 4, 2025.
  13. ^ "1970 NFL Draft". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 14, 2012.
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