1940 Vanderbilt Commodores football team
| 1940 Vanderbilt Commodores football | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Southeastern Conference |
| 1940 record | 3–6–1 (1–5–1 SEC) |
| Head coach | Red Sanders (1st year) |
| Offensive scheme | Single-wing |
| Captain | John Ellis |
| Home stadium | Dudley Field |
| 1940 SEC football standings | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| #4 Tennessee $ | 5 | – | 0 | – | 0 | 10 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| #9 Mississippi State | 4 | – | 0 | – | 1 | 10 | – | 0 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ole Miss | 3 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alabama | 4 | – | 2 | – | 0 | 7 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Auburn | 3 | – | 2 | – | 1 | 6 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| LSU | 3 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 6 | – | 4 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Georgia | 2 | – | 3 | – | 1 | 5 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Florida | 2 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kentucky | 1 | – | 2 | – | 2 | 5 | – | 3 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tulane | 1 | – | 3 | – | 0 | 5 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vanderbilt | 1 | – | 5 | – | 1 | 3 | – | 6 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Georgia Tech | 1 | – | 5 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 7 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sewanee | 0 | – | 1 | – | 0 | 3 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 1940 Vanderbilt Commodores football team represented Vanderbilt University during the 1940 college football season. The Commodores were led by Red Sanders, in his first season as head coach. Members of the Southeastern Conference, Vanderbilt went 3–6–1 overall and 1–5–1 in conference play. The Commodores played their seven home games at Dudley Field in Nashville, Tennessee.
The 1940 season was coach Sanders only losing season as a head coach. The Commodores opened the 1940 season with a win over Washington and Lee and a loss to Princeton. Next on the schedule was Kentucky, which was favored to win the game. The game was played in Dudley Field. Fred Russell of the Nashville Banner recommended to Vanderbilt Coach Red Sanders that he hire Paul “Bear” Bryant to his staff. On Thursday October 10, 1940, Sanders was taken to the hospital for an emergency appendectomy. The Tennessean reported:
"Paul (Bear) Bryant, line coach who took over the head man’s job yesterday when Sanders had his inflamed appendix whacked out, was doubtful last night if Ellis would be of much service. In fact, he was not counting on starting him but hoped that he would be available for some duty."
"The loss of Sanders, who is not apt to be back on the practice field for two weeks, if that soon, was a jolt. Bryant is thoroughly capable of handling the Commodores, but the absence of Sanders leaves him with two tasks to perform and it requires a super man for such an undertaking."
Before the game, Sanders talked to the team by telephone from the hospital bed at Vanderbilt. The game ended in a tie Kentucky 7-7.
Bryant had this to say after coaching his first game as an acting head coach:
“I couldn’t ask a bunch of boys to play a better game than they did today. Bob Gude played the greatest game at center I’ve ever seen. Roy Huggins was marvelous. (Dan) Walton, (Mac) Peebles, (William) McElreath, (Eddie) Atkinson, (Blinks) Bushmiser—well, all of them gave a wonderful exhibition. It’s too bad they didn’t win after rising to such great heights. I’m thoroughly satisfied with their play.
“We were in the worst physical condition we have been in the season and I am still wondering how some of them stayed in there as well as they did. These boys certainly are fighters and they’ve got plenty of guts. It’s hard to beat that kind of team.”
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