1975 Vanderbilt Commodores football team

The 1975 Vanderbilt Commodores football team represented Vanderbilt University in the 1975 NCAA Division I football season. The team was led by head coach Fred Pancoast, who replaced Steve Sloan. In 1974, Sloan had led Vanderbilt to a bowl game for the first time since 1955, before leaving to become head coach at Texas Tech, the team Vanderbilt had faced in the Peach Bowl to close the season. The Vanderbilt squad finished the season with a record of 7–4, but was not invited to a bowl game. Three of the Commodores's four defeats came by margins of more than 30 points while all seven of their victors were by ten or fewer points.

1975 Vanderbilt Commodores football
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Record7–4 (2–4 SEC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorRichard Trail (1st season)
Defensive coordinatorFrank Emanuel (1st season)
CaptainLonnie Sadler, Tom Galbierz
Home stadiumDudley Field
Seasons
← 1974
1976 →
1975 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 3 Alabama $ 6 0 0 11 1 0
Florida 5 1 0 9 3 0
No. 19 Georgia 5 1 0 9 3 0
Ole Miss 5 1 0 6 5 0
Tennessee 3 3 0 7 5 0
Vanderbilt 2 4 0 7 4 0
LSU 2 4 0 5 6 0
Auburn 2 4 0 3 6 2
Mississippi State 1 4 1 6 4 1
Kentucky 0 6 0 2 8 1
  • $ – Conference champion
  • Mississippi State later forfeited 4 1975 wins and one tie due to NCAA violations.
Rankings from AP Poll

Vanderbilt defeated Rice, Tulane, Army, Chattanooga, Kentucky, Virginia, and Tennessee. The Commodores lost to Georgia, Alabama, Florida, and Ole Miss. Vanderbilt started off with three wins and four losses before winning their last four games of the season including the regular season finale against rival Tennessee. Vanderbilt's final record was 7–4 with a mark of 2–4 in the SEC.[1]

Schedule

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DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 13Chattanooga*W 17–724,108[2]
September 20at Rice*W 9–618,000[3]
September 27No. 11 Alabama
  • Dudley Field
  • Nashville, TN
L 7–4034,000[4]
October 4at Tulane*W 6–330,100[5]
October 11at No. 18 FloridaL 0–3558,631[6]
October 18Georgia
  • Dudley Field
  • Nashville, TN (rivalry)
L 3–4720,538[7]
October 25at Ole MissL 7–1720,310[8]
November 1Virginia*
  • Dudley Field
  • Nashville, TN
W 17–1421,680[9]
November 8Kentucky
  • Dudley Field
  • Nashville, TN (rivalry)
W 13–333,815[10]
November 15Army*
  • Dudley Field
  • Nashville, TN
W 23–1420,315[11]
November 29at TennesseeW 17–1471,943[12]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[13][14]

Roster

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1975 Vanderbilt Commodores football team roster
Players Coaches
Offense
Pos. # Name Class
G 62 Tom Ballman Jr
TE 89 Barry Burton Sr
WR 1 Martin Cox So
QB 10 David Culley So
QB 12 Fred Fisher Sr
OT 77 Matt Gossage Sr
OT 64 David Harber Sr
C 50 Bill Holby Sr
Defense
Pos. # Name Class
CB 20 Reggie Calvin So
SS 7 Jay Chesley Sr
CB 21 Steve Curnette Sr
DT 54 Tom Galbierz Sr
DT 77 Dennis Harrison So
Special teams
Pos. # Name Class
Head coach
Coordinators/assistant coaches

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  •   Injured
  •   Redshirt

Team players drafted into the NFL

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Player Position Round Pick NFL club
Jay Chesley Defensive back 7 194 San Francisco 49ers

[15]

References

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  1. ^ "1975 Vanderbilt game by game results". Archived from the original on September 17, 2009. Retrieved September 24, 2009.
  2. ^ "Vanderbilt holds, no soap for UTC". The Tennessean. September 14, 1975. Retrieved September 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Vanderbilt field goals tip Owls, 9–6". Austin American-Statesman. September 21, 1975. Retrieved October 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Tide picks Vandy's strings". The Selma Times-Journal. September 28, 1975. Retrieved October 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Vandy wins again on Adams' FGs". The Tennessean. October 5, 1975. Retrieved October 18, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Florida's Gators rack up 35–0 win". Panama City News-Herald. October 12, 1975. Retrieved October 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Georgia rolls past Vanderbilt 47–3". Sunday Herald-Leader. October 19, 1975. Retrieved October 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Ole Miss defeats Vandy behind Ellis". The Macon Telegraph & News. October 26, 1975. Retrieved October 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Late Cav bid foiled, 17–14". Richmond Times-Dispatch. November 2, 1975. Retrieved October 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Inspired Vandy tops Kentucky". The Leaf-Chronicle. November 9, 1975. Retrieved October 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Big interception keys Vanderbilt over Army". Hattiesburg American. November 16, 1975. Retrieved October 28, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Vandy ends UT streak, 17–14". Kingsport Times-News. November 30, 1975. Retrieved May 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "1975 Vanderbilt game by game results". Archived from the original on September 17, 2009. Retrieved September 24, 2009.
  14. ^ 1975 Vanderbilt Commodores Schedule and Results
  15. ^ "1976 NFL Draft Listing | Pro-Football-Reference.com". Archived from the original on May 31, 2009. Retrieved September 24, 2009.