1916 Vanderbilt Commodores football team

1916 Vanderbilt Commodores football
Conference	Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Record	7–1–1 (4–1–1 SIAA)
Head coach	Dan McGugin (13th season)
Offensive scheme	Short punt
Captain	Irby Curry
Home stadium	Dudley Field
Seasons ←  1915 1917  →

1916 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
Georgia Tech +	5	–	0	–	0			8	–	0	–	1
Tennessee +	6	–	0	–	1			8	–	0	–	1
Vanderbilt	4	–	1	–	1			7	–	1	–	1
LSU	3	–	1	–	1			7	–	1	–	2
The Citadel	3	–	1	–	0			6	–	1	–	1
Tulane	2	–	1	–	1			4	–	3	–	1
Kentucky	2	–	1	–	2			4	–	1	–	2
Auburn	6	–	2	–	0			6	–	2	–	0
Georgia	5	–	2	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Alabama	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Sewanee	2	–	2	–	2			5	–	2	–	2
Centre	1	–	1	–	1			5	–	1	–	3
Howard (AL)	1	–	1	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Georgetown (KY)	1	–	1	–	0			2	–	1	–	0
Mississippi A&M	3	–	4	–	0			4	–	4	–	1
Transylvania	2	–	3	–	1			3	–	3	–	2
Mississippi College	2	–	3	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Clemson	2	–	4	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
South Carolina	2	–	4	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
Wofford	1	–	2	–	0			2	–	7	–	0
Louisville	1	–	2	–	1			2	–	3	–	1
Furman	1	–	3	–	0			4	–	5	–	0
Chattanooga	1	–	4	–	0			3	–	5	–	0
Florida	0	–	4	–	0			0	–	5	–	0
Mercer	0	–	5	–	0			1	–	6	–	0
Ole Miss	0	–	6	–	0			3	–	6	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions

The 1916 Vanderbilt Commodores football team represented Vanderbilt University in the 1916 Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association football season. The 1916 season was Dan McGugin's 13th year as head coach. Quarterback Irby Curry was selected third-team All-America by Walter Camp.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result	Source
September 30	Southwestern Presbyterian *	Dudley Field Nashville, TN	W 86–0	[1]
October 7	Transylvania	Dudley Field Nashville, TN	W 42–0	[2]
October 14	at Kentucky	Stoll Field Lexington, KY (rivalry)	W 45–0	[3]
October 21	Ole Miss	Dudley Field Nashville, TN (rivalry)	W 35–0	[4]
October 28	Virginia *	Dudley Field Nashville, TN	W 27–6	[5]
November 4	Rose Poly *	Dudley Field Nashville, TN	W 67–0	[6]
November 11	at Tennessee	Waite Field Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	L 6–10	[7]
November 18	at Auburn	Rickwood Field Birmingham, AL	W 20–9	[8]
November 30	Sewanee	Dudley Field Nashville, TN (rivalry)	T 0–0	[9]
*Non-conference game

^[10]

Game summaries

Southwestern Presbyterian

The season opened against Southwestern Presbyterian with a 86–0 win.

Transylvania

In the second week of play, Transylvania was beaten, 42–0.

Kentucky

Vanderbilt defeated Kentucky, 45–0. Vanderbilt coach Dan McGugin stated "If you would give me Doc Rodes, I would say he was a greater player than Curry." ^[11]

Ole Miss

Vanderbilt beat Ole Miss, 35–0.

Virginia

Vanderbilt beat Virginia, 27–6. Josh Cody made a 50-yard field goal.

Rose Poly

Vanderbilt beat Rose Poly, 67–0.

Tennessee

Tennessee upset Vanderbilt, 10–6. Vanderbilt's lone score came on a 70-yard run by Rabbit Curry. The year's only unanimous All-Southern Graham Vowell scored Tennessee's winning touchdown. ^[12]

The starting lineup was Adams (left end), Cody (left tackle), Williams (left guard), Hamilton (center), Harman (right guard), Lipscomb (right tackle), Cohen (right end), Curry (quarterback), Floyd (left halfback), Zerfoss (right halfback), Ray (fullback). ^[13]

Auburn

Vanderbilt at Auburn

1 2 3 4 Total •Vanderbilt 7 0 0 13 20 Auburn 0 6 3 0 9 Date: November 18 Location: Rickwood Field Birmingham, Alabama Referee: Bradley Walker Sources: [14]

Vanderbilt eliminated Auburn from SIAA title contention by a 20–9 score. Josh Cody carried the ball over for the first touchdown. ^[14] Rabbit Curry played well at the start, but could not play the entire game due to an ankle injury. ^[14] Moon Ducote made a 45-yard field goal in the third quarter to put the Tigers up 9–7. ^[14] With the help of the forward pass, the Commodores scored two further touchdowns in the last quarter. ^[14]

The starting lineup was Zerfoss (left end), Cody (left tackle), Williams (left guard), Hamilton (center), Carman (right guard), Lipscomb (right tackle), Cohen (right end), Curry (quarterback), Richardson (left halfback), Beasley (right halfback), Ray (fullback). ^[14]

Sewanee

Sewanee vs. Vanderbilt

1 2 3 4 Total Sewanee 0 0 0 0 0 Vanderbilt 0 0 0 0 0 Sources:

Vanderbilt and rival Sewanee fought to a scoreless tie. Red Floyd fumbled in the shadow of the goalpost. ^[15]

References

1. "Vandy regulars and scrubs run riot". The Commercial Appeal. October 1, 1916. Retrieved February 13, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
2. "Subs and heat beat Crimsons". The Lexington Herald. October 8, 1916. Retrieved February 13, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
3. "State falls before Vandy". The Courier-Journal. October 15, 1916. Retrieved February 13, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Vandy scores victory". The Birmingham Age-Herald. October 22, 1916. Retrieved February 12, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Virginia is unable to stop "Rabbit" Curry and Vanderbilt wins easily". The Montgomery Advertiser. October 29, 1916. Retrieved February 13, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Rose no match for Vanderbilt". The Indianapolis Star. November 5, 1916. Retrieved February 13, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
7. "Terrible jolt handed by Vols of old Tennessee". The Atlanta Journal. November 12, 1916. Retrieved February 13, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Tiger conquered by Commodores in great battle". The Birmingham News. November 19, 1916. Retrieved February 13, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Vandy held to tie by Sewanee; Ragged plays mar battle". The Birmingham Age-Herald. December 1, 1916. Retrieved February 13, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
10. "1916 Vanderbilt Commodores Schedule and Results".
11. "Doc Rodes".
12. "Defeat of Vandy Was Big Surprise". The Charlotte Observer. November 13, 1916. p. 6. Retrieved March 29, 2015– via Newspapers.com.
13. Woodruff 1928 , p. 42
14. "Vanderbilt Took Good Game From The Auburn Team". Winston-Salem Journal. November 19, 1916. p. 6. Retrieved May 22, 2016– via Newspapers.com.
15. "Vanderbilt 0, Sewanee 0". The Houston Post. December 1, 1916. p. 4. Retrieved May 13, 2016– via Newspapers.com.

Additional sources

• Woodruff, Fuzzy (1928). A History of Southern Football 1890–1928. Vol. 2.