1973 Tennessee Volunteers football team

1973 Tennessee Volunteers football
Gator Bowl, L 19–28 vs. Texas Tech
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 19
Record	8–4 (3–3 SEC)
Head coach	Bill Battle (4th season)
Offensive coordinator	Jim Wright
Captain	Eddie Brown
Home stadium	Neyland Stadium
Seasons ←  1972 1974  →

1973 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 4 Alabama $	8	–	0	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
No. 13 LSU	5	–	1	–	0			9	–	3	–	0
Ole Miss	4	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
No. 19 Tennessee	3	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Georgia	3	–	4	–	0			7	–	4	–	1
Florida	3	–	4	–	0			7	–	5	–	0
Kentucky	3	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Auburn	2	–	5	–	0			6	–	6	–	0
Mississippi State	2	–	5	–	0			4	–	5	–	2
Vanderbilt	1	–	5	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1973 Tennessee Volunteers football team (variously "Tennessee", "UT" or the "Vols") represented the University of Tennessee in the 1973 NCAA Division I football season. Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Bill Battle, in his fourth year, and played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of eight wins and four losses (8–4 overall, 3–3 in the SEC) and a loss to Texas Tech in the 1973 Gator Bowl.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 15	Duke *	No. 9	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		W 21–17	70,787	[1]
September 22	at Army *	No. 10	Michie Stadium West Point, NY		W 37–18	39,942	[2]
September 29	No. 11 Auburn	No. 9	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)		W 21–0	71,656	[3]
October 6	Kansas *	No. 9	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN		W 28–27	42,842–43,716	[4]
October 13	Georgia Tech *	No. 8	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)		W 20–14	70,616	[5]
October 20	at No. 2 Alabama	No. 10	Legion Field Birmingham, AL (Third Saturday in October)	ABC	L 21–42	72,226	[6]
October 27	TCU *	No. 14	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		W 39–7	66,356	[7]
November 3	Georgia	No. 11	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		L 31–35	70,812	[8]
November 17	at Ole Miss	No. 16	Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium Jackson, MS (rivalry)	ABC	L 18–28	39,500	[9]
November 24	at Kentucky		Commonwealth Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry)		W 16–14	54,000	[10]
December 1	Vanderbilt	No. 19	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)		W 20–17	66,702	[11]
December 29	vs. No. 11 Texas Tech *	No. 20	Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville, FL (Gator Bowl)	ABC	L 19–28	62,109	[12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Roster

1973 Tennessee Volunteers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class G 79 Mike Caldwell So RB 32 Paul Careathers Jr FB 41 Steve Chancey Sr OT 74 Phil Clabo So G 68 Steve Cone Jr WR 81 Tim Fitchpatrick So TE 82 Mitchell Gravitt So QB 7 Condredge Holloway Jr WR 12 Chip Howard Sr OL Gene Killian WR 42 Robert Lassiter Sr WR 85 Emmon Love Sr G 67 Mickey Marvin Fr RB 31 Terry Moore So WR 21 Stanley Morgan Fr TE 88 Jim Richardson Jr OL Mike Rotella FB 36 Bill Rudder Sr OT 77 David Shaffer Sr RB 24 Haskel Stanback Sr RB 23 Tommy West So RB 35 Sid Witherington Jr C 50 Steve Urubek Sr QB 5 Gary Valbuena Sr WR 17 John Yarbrough So	Defense Pos. # Name Class LB 62 Bill Bandemier So DB 25 Eddie Brown Sr DE 63 David Campbell Sr DB 11 Nick Carmichael Sr LB 78 Joe Gallagher Fr DE 19 Sammy Hair Jr LB 57 Ron McCartney So DT 53 Joe Mills Jr DB 27 Jon Murdic Jr DE 46 David Poley So LB 45 Steve Poole So DT 70 Robert Pulliam Jr DB 29 Russ Rabenstein So LB 55 Art Reynolds Sr LB Hank Walter DB 26 Jim Watts Jr LB 54 Eddie Wilson Sr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class P 44 Neil Clabo Jr	Head coach Bill Battle Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Game summaries

Army

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
#10 Tennessee	6	7	7	17	37
Army	3	0	3	12	18

at Michie Stadium, West Point, New York

• Date: September 22
• Game attendance: 39,942
• Recap

Game information

First Quarter ARMY - Barclay 25-yard field goal TEN - Townsend 37-yard field goal TEN - Townsend 26-yard field goal Second Quarter TEN - Stanback 1-yard run (Townsend kick) Third Quarter ARMY - Barclay 38-yard field goal TEN - Chancey 10-yard run (Townsend kick) Fourth Quarter TEN - Townsend 26-yard field goal ARMY - Simons 1-yard run (pass failed) TEN - Morgan 28-yard pass from Holloway (Townsend kick) ARMY - Armstrong 25-yard pass from Fink (pass failed) TEN - Yarborough 42-yard pass from Valbuena (Townsend kick)

Condredge Holloway set up Tennessee touchdowns with a 52-yard pass and a 48-yard run as Tennessee won its second straight while Army dropped its third consecutive season opener. Holloway fumbled at his own 12 on the second play of the game, which set up an Army field goal. The slippery QB came back to engineer two first-quarter field goals by Ricky Townsend. Midway through the second period, Holloway evaded the rush and found Emmon Love for a nine-yard gain to the 33. On the next play, he found Stanley Morgan deep down the left sideline for a long bomb to the Army 15. ^[13]

Draft picks

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Bill Rudder	Running Back	3	59	San Diego Chargers
Haskel Stanback	Running Back	5	114	Cincinnati Bengals
	Defensive Back	8	]
Gary Valbuena	Quarterback	10	260	Miami Dolphins
Gene Killian	Guard	16	413	Dallas Cowboys

^[14]

References

1. Carr, A. J. (September 16, 1973). "Vols finally slip past tenacious Blue Devils". The News and Observer. Retrieved May 8, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
2. "Vols march to 37–18 triumph over Cadets". The Atlanta Constitution. September 23, 1973. Retrieved May 8, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
3. "Tennessee stifles Auburn offense for 21–0 win". The Selma Times-Journal. September 30, 1973. Retrieved May 8, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
4. "Jayhawks gamble and lose". The Kansas City Star. October 7, 1973. Retrieved May 8, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
5. "Holloway directs Tennessee victory over Georgia Tech". The Paducah Sun. October 14, 1973. Retrieved May 8, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
6. "Alabama halts Tennessee win streak, 42–21". Johnson City Press-Chronicle. October 21, 1973. Retrieved May 8, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
7. "14th-ranked Vols blast TCU, 39–7". Victoria Advocate. October 28, 1973. Retrieved May 8, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
8. "Georgia's late touchdown finishes Tennessee upset". The Spokesman-Review. November 4, 1973. Retrieved May 8, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
9. "Vols upset, Ole Miss grinds out 28–18 win, but Orange is still bowl-bound". Kingsport Times-News. November 18, 1973. Retrieved May 8, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
10. Rick Bailey (November 25, 1973). "Steele's Kick Falls Short And Kentucky's Hopes End As Vols Hang On 16-14". Lexington Herald-Leader– via Newspapers.com.
11. "It's Holloway to rescue in 20–17 Vol win". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. December 2, 1973. Retrieved May 8, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
12. "Barnes' passes cut down Vols for Texas Tech". The Miami Herald. December 30, 1973. Retrieved May 8, 2022– via Newspapers.com.
13. "Holloway Leads Tennessee." Palm Beach Post. p. 84. 1973 Sep 23.
14. "1974 NFL Draft". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 8, 2012.