YEARLY results 1961 (2-8/1-6 12th) Coach: Art Guepe Captains: Cody Brinkley, Ed Creagh 9/23 West Virginia* W 16-6 9/30 Georgia W 21-0 10/7 Alabama* (#4) L 6-35 10/14 UCLA L 21-28 10/21 Florida* L 0-7 10/28 Mississippi (#2) L 0-47 11/11 Kentucky* L 3-16 11/17 Tulane L 14-17 11/25 South Carolina* L 7-23 12/2 Tennessee L 7-41
THE 1955 COMMODORES
Coached by Art Guepe, the Commodores win six straight games to get to the Gator Bowl where they defeat No. 8 Auburn 25-13 1952 (3-5-2/1-4-1 11th) Coach: Bill Edwards Captains: John Cheadle, Don Wade 9/20 Georgia* L 7-19 9/27 Virginia L 0-27 10/4 Northwestern T 20-20 10/11 Mississippi* T 21-21 10/18 Florida* W 20-13 10/25 Georgia Tech (#5) L 0-30 11/1 Wash. & Lee* W 67-7 11/7 Miami (Fla.) W 9-0 11/15 Tulane L 7-16 11/29 Tennessee* (#9) L 0-46 1953 (3-7/1-5 7th) Coach: Art Guepe Captain: Larry Stone 9/26 Pennsylvania L 7-13 10/3 Alabama* L 12-21 10/10 Mississippi L 6-28 10/17 Baylor (#8) L 6-47 10/24 Virginia* W 28-13 10/31 Georgia Tech* (#8) L 0-43 11/7 Kentucky* (#14) L 14-40 11/14 Tulane W 21-7 11/21 MTSU* W 31-13 11/28 Tennessee L 6-33 1954 (2-7/1-5 11th) Coach: Art Guepe Captains: Pete Williams, John Hall 9/25 Baylor (#10) L 19-25 10/2 Alabama L 14-28 10/9 Mississippi* (#7) L 7-22 10/16 Georgia L 14-16 10/30 Rice (#19) L 13-34 11/6 Kentucky L 7-19 11/13 Tulane* L 0-6 11/20 Villanova* W 34-19 11/27 Tennessee* W 26-0
1956 (5-5/2-5 8th) Coach: Art Guepe Captains: Don Orr, Art Demmas 9/22 Georgia* W 14-0 9/29 (#15) Chattanooga* W 46-7 10/6 (#18) Alabama W 32-7 10/13 (#13) Mississippi (#7) L 0-16 10/20 Florida* L 7-21 10/27 MTSU W 23-13 11/3 Virginia W 6-2 11/10 Kentucky L 6-7 11/17 Tulane* L 6-13 12/1 Tennessee* (#2) L 7-27 1957 (5-3-2/3-3-1 6th) Coach: Art Guepe Captains: Bob Laws, Phil King 9/21 Missouri* T 7-7 9/28 Georgia W 9-6 10/5 Alabama* T 6-6 10/12 Mississippi* (#14) L 0-28 10/19 Penn State W 32-20 11/2 LSU* W 7-0 11/9 Kentucky* W 12-7 11/16 Florida L 7-14 11/23 The Citadel* W 27-0 11/30 Tennessee (#18) L 6-20
Returning Nalley
Oct. 16, 1948
After a 20-7 loss at No. 14 Ole Miss, Vanderbilt defeats Kentucky 26-7, starting an eight-game win streak. The Commodores outscored the eight opponents 307-26. By season's end, AP pollsters ranked Red Sanders' squad No. 12 in the nation.
1955 (8-3/4-3 5th) Coach: Art Guepe Captains: Larry Frank, Jim Cunningham 9/24 Georgia L 13-14 10/1 Alabama* W 21-6 10/8 Mississippi L 0-13 10/14 Chattanooga W 12-0 10/22 MTSU* W 46-0 10/29 Virginia* W 34-7 11/5 Kentucky* (#17) W 34-0 11/12 Tulane W 20-7 11/19 Florida* W 21-8 11/26 (#19) Tennessee L 14-20 12/31 Auburn (#8 )^ W 25-13 ^ Gator Bowl, Jacksonville, Fla.
Nobody could return a punt like Lee Nalley. From 1947-49, Nalley set numerous NCAA records, including running back five punts for touchdowns.
Oct. 7, 1950
Behind Nashville native and All-SEC quarterback Bill Wade, the Commodores beat No. 12 Alabama 27-22 in Mobile. The team reaches a No. 13 ranking.
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1958 (5-2-3/2-1-3 4th) Coach: Art Guepe Captains: Billy Grover 9/20 Missouri W 12-8 9/27 Georgia* W 21-14 10/4 (#20) Alabama T 0-0 10/11 Clemson* (#8) L 7-12 10/18 Florida (#18) T 6-6 10/25 Virginia* W 39-6 10/31 Miami (Fla.) W 28-15 11/8 Kentucky T 0-0 11/15 Tulane* W 12-0 11/29 (#15) Tennessee* L 6-10 1959 (5-3-2/3-2-2 6th) Coach: Art Guepe Captain: Tom Moore 9/26 Georgia (#17) L 6-21 10/3 Alabama* T 7-7 10/10 Mississippi* (#5) L 0-33 10/17 Florida* (#19) W 13-6 10/24 Virginia W 33-0 10/31 Minnesota L 6-20 11/7 Kentucky* W 11-6 11/14 Tulane T 6-6 11/21 Florence (Ala.) State* W 42-7 11/28 Tennessee W 14-0 1960 (3-7/1-6 12th) Coach: Art Guepe Captain: Fred Riggs 9/24 Georgia* 10/1 Alabama (#15) 10/8 Mississippi* (#2) 10/15 Florida 10/22 Marquette 10/29 Clemson* 11/5 Kentucky 11/12 William & Mary* 11/19 Tulane* 11/26 Tennessee*
L 7-18 L 0-21 L 0-26 L 0-12 W 23-6 W 22-20 L 0-27 W 22-8 L 0-20 L 0-35
Scoreless Ties
1962 (1-9/1-6 12th) Coach: Art Guepe Captains: Jule Crocker, Mike Reese 9/22 West Virginia L 0-26 9/29 Georgia* L 0-10 10/6 Alabama (#2) L 7-17 10/13 The Citadel* L 6-21 10/20 Florida L 7-42 10/27 Mississippi* (#7) L 0-35 11/3 Boston College* L 22-27 11/10 Kentucky L 0-7 11/17 Tulane W 20-0 12/1 Tennessee* L 0-30 1963 (1-7-2/0-5-2 10th) Coach: Jack Green Captain: Sam Sullins 9/21 Furman* L 13-14 9/28 Georgia L 0-20 10/5 Alabama* (#2) L 6-21 10/19 Florida* L 0-21 10/26 Mississippi (#5) L 7-27 11/2 Boston College L 6-19 11/9 Kentucky* T 0-0 11/16 Tulane T 10-10 11/23 Geo. Washington* W 31-0 11/30 Tennessee* L 0-14 1964 (3-6-1/1-4-9th) Coach: Jack Green Captains: Dave Malone, Bill Juday, Willard Fuqua 9/19 Georgia Tech L 2-14 9/26 Georgia* L 0-7 10/3 Alabama (#4) L 0-24 10/10 Wake Forest* W 9-6 10/17 Geo. Washington W 14-0 10/24 Mississippi* T 7-7 11/7 Kentucky L 21-22 11/14 Tulane* L 2-7 11/20 Miami (Fla.)* L 17-35 11/28 Tennessee* W 7-0
Competing on the road in 1958, the Commodores played to 0-0 ties at Alabama and Kentucky, and to a 6-6 draw at Florida.
Oct. 14, 1955
A 12-0 shutout of Chattanooga sparks Vanderbilt run that leads to the team's first bowl appearance. Gator Bowl officials paired the Commodores against No. 8 Auburn after Vanderbilt's 7-3 regular season.
Dec. 31, 1955
Bouyed by five fumble recoveries, the Commodores defeat Auburn 25-13 in the 11th annual Gator Bowl. The offensive attack was led by All-America halfback Charley Horton, at left, and quarterback Don Orr, who scored two touchdowns despite playing with a dislocated elbow.
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