1978 Tennessee Volunteers football team

The 1978 Tennessee Volunteers football team (variously "Tennessee", "UT" or the "Vols") represented the University of Tennessee in the 1978 NCAA Division I-A football season. Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Johnny Majors, in his second year, and played their home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of five wins, five losses and one tie (5–5–1 overall, 3–3 in the SEC).

1978 Tennessee Volunteers football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Record	5–5–1 (3–3 SEC)
Head coach	Johnny Majors (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Joe Avezzano (2nd season)
Defensive coordinator	Bobby Roper (2nd season)
Captains	Robert Shaw Dennis Wolfe
Home stadium	Neyland Stadium
Seasons ← 1977 1979 →

1978 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 1 Alabama $	6	–	0	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
No. 16 Georgia	5	–	0	–	1			9	–	2	–	1
Auburn	3	–	2	–	1			6	–	4	–	1
LSU	3	–	3	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Tennessee	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	5	–	1
Florida	3	–	3	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Mississippi State	2	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Ole Miss	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Kentucky	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	6	–	1
Vanderbilt	0	–	6	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 16	No. 9 UCLA*	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		L 0–13	85,897	[1]
September 23	Oregon State*	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		T 13–13	82,048	[2]
September 30	at Auburn	Legion Field Birmingham, AL	ABC	L 10–29	50,136	[3]
October 7	Army*	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		W 31–13	81,887	[4]
October 21	No. 4 Alabama	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (Third Saturday in October)		L 17–30	85,436	[5]
October 28	vs. Mississippi State	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN		L 21–34	40,879	[6]
November 4	Duke*	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		W 34–0	83,098	[7]
November 11	at No. 14 Notre Dame*	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN		L 14–31	59,075	[8]
November 18	Ole Miss	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)		W 41–17	83,210	[9]
November 24	Kentucky	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)		W 29–14	84,926	[10]
December 2	at Vanderbilt	Dudley Field Nashville, TN (rivalry)		W 41–15	35,263	[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
Robert Shaw	Center	1	27	Dallas Cowboys
Jeff Moore	Wide receiver	3	58	Los Angeles Rams
Kelsey Finch	Running back	12	311	New Orleans Saints

• Reference:^[12]

References

1. Purdy, Mark (September 17, 1978). "Brown, Bashore lead the Bruins past Vols, 13–0". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
2. "Tennessee Vols rally to tie Oregon State in 13–13 game". Johnson City Press-Chronicle. September 24, 1978. Retrieved May 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "Everything goes right for Auburn". The Selma Times-Journal. October 1, 1978. Retrieved May 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Tennessee dumps Army 31–13". The Herald Statesman. October 8, 1978. Retrieved May 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Vols fall prey to Tide 30–17". The Tennessean. October 22, 1978. Retrieved May 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Bulldog Halloween trick bag filled with Vol treats". The Commercial Appeal. October 29, 1978. Retrieved May 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Big play offense lifts Vols". The Charlotte Observer. November 5, 1978. Retrieved May 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Irish display Sole". The Indianapolis Star. November 12, 1978. Retrieved May 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Vols romp". The Leaf-Chronicle. November 19, 1978. Retrieved May 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
10. F.M. Williams (November 26, 1978). "Duncan's Foot Lifts Vol Fortunes". The Tennessean. pp. Sports 1, 3 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Volunteers rip Vandy by 41–15". The Shreveport Times. December 3, 1978. Retrieved May 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "1979 NFL Draft". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 7, 2012.