1966 Tennessee Volunteers football team

The 1966 Tennessee Volunteers football team (variously "Tennessee", "UT" or the "Vols") represented the University of Tennessee as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1966 NCAA University Division football season. Led by third-year head coach Doug Dickey, the Volunteers compiled an overall record of 8–3 with a mark of 4–2 in conference play, placing fifth in the SEC.^[1][2] Tennessee was invited to the Gator Bowl, where the Volunteers defeated Syracuse. The team played home games at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee.

1966 Tennessee Volunteers football
Gator Bowl champion
Gator Bowl, W 18–12 vs. Syracuse
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 14
Record	8–3 (4–2 SEC)
Head coach	Doug Dickey (3rd season)
Home stadium	Neyland Stadium
Seasons ← 1965 1967 →

1966 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf.							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 3 Alabama +	6	–	0	–	0			11	–	0	–	0
No. 4 Georgia +	6	–	0	–	0			10	–	1	–	0
Florida	5	–	1	–	0			9	–	2	–	0
Ole Miss	5	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
Tennessee	4	–	2	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
LSU	3	–	3	–	0			5	–	4	–	1
Kentucky	2	–	4	–	0			3	–	6	–	1
Auburn	1	–	5	–	0			4	–	6	–	0
Mississippi State	0	–	6	–	0			2	–	8	–	0
Vanderbilt	0	–	6	–	0			1	–	9	–	0
+ – Conference co-champions Georgia's game against North Carolina; Florida, LSU, and Vanderbilt's games against Tulane; and Tennessee's game against South Carolina counted in the conference standings. Rankings from AP Poll

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Rank	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Source
September 24	at Auburn		Legion Field Birmingham, AL (rivalry)		W 28–0	52,582	[3]
October 1	Rice*	No. 10	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		W 23–3	44,053	[4]
October 8	at No. 9 Georgia Tech*	No. 8	Grant Field Atlanta, GA (rivalry)	ABC	L 3–6	52,180	[5]
October 15	No. 3 Alabama		Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (Third Saturday in October)		L 10–11	56,463	[6]
October 22	South Carolina[n 1]		Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)		W 29–17	38,944	[7]
October 29	vs. Army*		Memphis Memorial Stadium Memphis, TN		W 38–7	48,646	[8]
November 5	Chattanooga*	No. 10	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN		W 28–10	34,551	[9]
November 12	Ole Miss	No. 10	Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)		L 7–14	55,206	[10]
November 19	Kentucky		Neyland Stadium Knoxville, TN (rivalry)	ABC	W 28–19	43,704	[11]
November 26	at Vanderbilt		Dudley Field Nashville, TN (rivalry)		W 28–0	26,882	[12]
December 31	vs. Syracuse*		Gator Bowl Stadium Jacksonville, FL (Gator Bowl)	ABC	W 18–12	60,312	[13]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Personnel

1966 Tennessee Volunteers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class TE Austin Denney QB 16 Dewey Warren Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class	Special teams Pos. # Name Class	Head coach Doug Dickey Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible Injured Redshirt

Team players drafted into the NFL

Player	Position	Round	Pick	NFL club
Paul Naumoff	Linebacker	3	60	Detroit Lions
Ron Widby	Punter	4	81	New Orleans Saints
John Mills	End	8	199	San Diego Chargers
Harold Stancell	Defensive back	9	231	Philadelphia Eagles
Doug Archibald	Defensive back	16	405	New York Jets

^[14]

Notes

1. Tennessee's game against South Carolina counted in the SEC standings.