1908 Vanderbilt Commodores football team

1908 Vanderbilt Commodores football
Conference	Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association
1908 record	7–2–1 (3–0–1 SIAA)
Head coach	Dan McGugin (5th year)
Offensive scheme	Short-punt
Captain	J. Vaughn Blake
Home stadium	Dudley Field

1908 SIAA football standings
	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
LSU +	3	–	0	–	0			10	–	0	–	0
Auburn +	5	–	1	–	0			6	–	1	–	0
Vanderbilt	3	–	0	–	1			7	–	2	–	1
Tennessee	4	–	2	–	0			7	–	2	–	0
Georgia Tech	5	–	3	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Georgia	3	–	2	–	1			5	–	2	–	1
Alabama	1	–	1	–	1			6	–	1	–	1
Sewanee	1	–	1	–	1			4	–	1	–	3
Ole Miss	1	–	2	–	0			3	–	5	–	0
Mississippi A&M	1	–	3	–	0			3	–	4	–	0
Clemson	1	–	4	–	0			1	–	6	–	0
Texas A&M	0	–	1	–	0			3	–	5	–	0
Dahlonega	0	–	1	–	0			0	–	1	–	0
Memphis U. School	0	–	1	–	0			0	–	1	–	0
Mercer	0	–	3	–	0			3	–	4	–	0
Gordon	0	–	3	–	0			0	–	3	–	0
Nashville			–							–
+ – Conference co-champions

The 1908 Vanderbilt Commodores football team represented Vanderbilt University during the 1908 college football season. The team's head coach was Dan McGugin, who served his fifth season in that capacity. Members of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association, the Commodores played eight home games in Nashville, Tennessee and finished the season with a record of 7–2–1 and 3–0–1 in SIAA.

Schedule

Date	Opponent	Site	Result
September 26	Rhodes*	Dudley Field • Nashville, TN	W 11–5
October 3	Maryville (TN)*	Dudley Field • Nashville, TN	W 32–0
October 10	Rose Polytechnic*	Dudley Field • Nashville, TN	W 32–0
October 17	Clemson	Dudley Field • Nashville, TN	W 41–0
October 24	Ole Miss	Dudley Field • Nashville, TN (Rivalry)	W 29–0
October 31	at Michigan*	Ferry Field • Ann Arbor, MI	L 6–24
November 7	Tennessee	Dudley Field • Nashville, TN (Rivalry)	W 16–9
November 14	Ohio State*	Dudley Field • Nashville, TN	L 6–17
November 21	at Washington (MO)*	St. Louis, MO	W 28–0
November 26	Sewanee	Dudley Field • Nashville, TN (Rivalry)	T 6–6
*Non-conference game.

^[1]

Season summary

Tennessee

Ray Morrison saved a touchdown in 1908.

1908 was a down year for Vanderbilt with a wealth of sophomores; guided shrewdly by McGugin to its success.^[2] The Volunteers had compiled four wins in conference play, the most in team history. It was widely considered the best Tennessee football season up to that point.^[3] Vanderbilt won the match between the two schools 16 to 9.

Walker Leach made a 41-yard field goal to put the Vols up 4 to 0. "This seemed to arouse the local team" and Vanderbilt drove down the field for a touchdown. On a fake kick, Leach circled Vanderbilt's left end for 60 yards. Ray Morrison stopped him short of the goal.^[4] Nathan Dougherty was on Tennessee's squad.

Players

Varsity letter winners

"Wearers of the V."^[5]

Line

• Vaughn Blake, Cuero, Texas - end
• Cecil Covington, end
• Ewing Y. Freeland, Turnersville, Texas - tackle
• R. B. Hager, tackle
• Louis Hasslock, Nashville, Tennessee - guard
• Bruce McGehee, end
• Fatty McLain, center
• Andrew Powell, guard
• E. B. Ross, guard

Backfield

• Guy Crawford, halfback
• Will Metzger, Nashville, Tennessee - halfback
• Ray Morrison, quarterback
• David Morton, fullback
• Henry Williams, halfback

References

1. "Coaching Records Game by Game: Dan McGugin 1908". College Football Data Warehouse.
2. Edwin Pope. Football's Greatest Coaches. pp. 340, 342.
3. Big Orange: a pictorial history of University of Tennessee football. 1982. p. 34.
4. "Vanderbilt Athletics". Vanderbilt University Quarterly 9: 28–35.
5. "Meeting of the Executive Committee". Vanderbilt University Quarterly 9: 35.