1948 Vanderbilt Commodores football team

American college football season

1948 Vanderbilt Commodores football
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 12
Record	8–2–1 (4–2–1 SEC)
Head coach	Red Sanders (6th season)
Offensive scheme	Single-wing
Captain	John Clark
Home stadium	Dudley Field
Seasons← 1947 1949 →

1948 Southeastern Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 8 Georgia $	6	–	0	–	0	9	–	2	–	0
No. 15 Ole Miss	6	–	1	–	0	8	–	1	–	0
No. 13 Tulane	5	–	1	–	0	9	–	1	–	0
No. 12 Vanderbilt	4	–	2	–	1	8	–	2	–	1
Georgia Tech	4	–	3	–	0	7	–	3	–	0
Alabama	4	–	4	–	1	6	–	4	–	1
Mississippi State	3	–	3	–	0	4	–	4	–	1
Tennessee	2	–	3	–	1	4	–	4	–	2
Kentucky	1	–	3	–	1	5	–	3	–	2
Florida	1	–	5	–	0	5	–	5	–	0
LSU	1	–	5	–	0	3	–	7	–	0
Auburn	0	–	7	–	0	1	–	8	–	1

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1948 Vanderbilt Commodores football team was an American football team that represented Vanderbilt University as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1948 college football season. In their sixth year under head coach Red Sanders, the Commodores complied an overall record of 8–2–1, with a conference record of 4–2–1, and finished ninth in the SEC.

This was Red Sanders's last season as the Commodores' head coach. Vanderbilt lost their first game of the season to Georgia Tech, tied their second with Alabama, and then lost the next to Mississippi, who finished the season 8–1. Vanderbilt won the last eight games of the season, which ties as the school's second longest and remained the longest win streak for the program until a seven-game streak to end the 2012 season. The 1948 Vanderbilt team outscored their opponents 328 to 73 and posted four shutouts. The Commodores played only four home games at Dudley Field in Nashville, Tennessee. Lee Nalley broke the record for punt return yardage.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 25	Georgia Tech		Dudley Field Nashville, TN (rivalry)	L 0–13	22,000
October 2	at Alabama		Ladd Stadium Mobile, AL	T 14–14	36,000
October 9	at No. 13 Ole Miss		Hemingway Stadium Oxford, MS (rivalry)	L 7–20	22,500
October 16	at Kentucky		McLean Stadium Lexington, KY (rivalry)	W 26–7	25,000
October 23	at Yale*		Yale Bowl New Haven, CT	W 35–0	30,000
October 29	at Auburn		Cramton Bowl Montgomery, AL	W 47–0	18,000
November 6	LSU		Dudley Field Nashville, TN	W 48–7	21,000
November 13	Marshall*		Dudley Field Nashville, TN	W 56–0	16,000
November 20	at Maryland*		Griffith Stadium Washington, DC	W 34–0	21,000
November 27	Tennessee	No. 15	Dudley Field Nashville, TN (rivalry)	W 28–6	24,074
December 3	at Miami (FL)*	No. 12	Burdine Stadium Miami, FL	W 33–6	28,952
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked ( ) = First-place votes
	Week
Poll	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	15	12 (2)

References

"1948 Vanderbilt Commodores Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
"Jackets smack Vanderbilt, 13 to 0". The Macon Telegraph and News. September 26, 1948. Retrieved October 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Alabama scores last-second TD to tie Vandy". The Huntsville Times. October 3, 1948. Retrieved October 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Ole Miss downs Vandy on late splurge, 20–7". The Birmingham News. October 10, 1948. Retrieved October 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Vandy topples UK, 26 to 7". The Cincinnati Enquirer. October 17, 1948. Retrieved October 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
Turkin, Hy (October 24, 1948). "Commodores overpower Yale, 35–0, on ground". Sunday News. Retrieved October 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Vandy scores in every period to wallop Auburn, 47–0". Alabama Journal. October 30, 1948. Retrieved October 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Vanderbilt humbles Louisiana State 48–7". Johnson City Press. November 7, 1948. Retrieved October 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Vanderbilt mauls Marshall by 56–0". The Chattanooga Times. November 14, 1948. Retrieved October 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Vanderbilt extends victory string; Wallops Terps 34–0". The State. November 21, 1948. Retrieved October 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Vandy foils Vol hex in 28-to-6 rout". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. November 28, 1948. Retrieved October 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
"Vanderbilt trips Hurricanes, 33–6". Wilmington Morning News. December 4, 1948. Retrieved October 3, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.

v t e Vanderbilt Commodores football
Venues	Old Dudley Field (1892–1921) Curry Field (1922) Dudley Field (1922–1980) FirstBank Stadium (1980–present)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Georgia Georgia Tech Kentucky Ole Miss Sewanee Tennessee
Culture & lore	History Origin of "Commodores" "Dynamite" Marching band Porter Cup Vanderbilt rape case 1906 Carlisle game 1910 Yale game 1922 Michigan game 2024 Alabama game IMG Sports Newtork
People	Head coaches Starting quarterbacks All-Americans All-Southerns NFL draftees Statistical leaders William Lofland Dudley
Seasons	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
National championships in bold

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