1940 Tennessee Volunteers football team

The 1940 Tennessee Volunteers represented the University of Tennessee in the 1940 college football season. Playing as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the team was led by head coach Robert Neyland, in his 14th year, and played their home games at Shields–Watkins Field in Knoxville, Tennessee. They finished the season with a record of ten wins and one loss (10–1 overall, 5–0 in the SEC), as SEC champions and with a loss against Boston College in the 1941 Sugar Bowl.

1940 Tennessee Volunteers football
National champion (Dunkel) SEC champion
Sugar Bowl, L 13–19 vs. Boston College
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 4
Record	10–1 (5–0 SEC)
Head coach	Robert Neyland (14th season)
Offensive scheme	Single-wing
Home stadium	Shields–Watkins Field
Seasons ← 1939 1941 →

1940 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
No. 4 Tennessee $	5	–	0	–	0			10	–	1	–	0
No. 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
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

This team claims a national championship after being recognized under the Dunkel System, a power index system devised by Dick Dunkel Sr.^[1]

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 28	Mercer*		Shields–Watkins Field Knoxville, TN	W 49–0	20,000	[2]
October 5	Duke*		Shields–Watkins Field Knoxville, TN	W 13–0	25,000	[3]
October 12	Chattanooga*		Shields–Watkins Field Knoxville, TN	W 53–0	12,000	[4]
October 19	at Alabama	No. 5	Legion Field Birmingham, AL (Third Saturday in October)	W 27–12	24,500	[5]
October 26	Florida	No. 5	Shields–Watkins Field Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	W 14–0	15,000	[6]
November 2	LSU	No. 7	Shields–Watkins Field Knoxville, TN	W 28–0	18,000	[7]
November 9	at Southwestern (TN)*	No. 5	Crump Stadium Memphis, TN	W 40–0	8,000	[8]
November 16	Virginia*	No. 5	Shields–Watkins Field Knoxville, TN	W 41–14	7,000	[9]
November 23	Kentucky	No. 6	Shields–Watkins Field Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	W 33–0	25,000	[10]
November 30	at Vanderbilt	No. 6	Dudley Field Nashville, TN (rivalry)	W 20–0	25,000	[11]
January 1, 1941	vs. No. 5 Boston College*	No. 4	Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl)	L 13–19	73,181	[12]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game