1953 Kentucky Wildcats football team

1953 Kentucky Wildcats football
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 15
APNo. 16
Record7–2–1 (4–1–1 SEC)
Head coach
Home stadiumMcLean Stadium
1953 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 13 Alabama $ 4 – 0 – 3 6 – 3 – 3
No. 8 Georgia Tech 4 – 1 – 1 9 – 2 – 1
No. 16 4 – 1 – 1 7 – 2 – 1
Ole Miss 4 – 1 – 1 7 – 2 – 1
No. 17 Auburn 4 – 2 – 1 7 – 3 – 1
Mississippi State 3 – 1 – 3 5 – 2 – 3
Tennessee 3 – 2 – 1 6 – 4 – 1
LSU 2 – 3 – 3 5 – 3 – 3
Florida 1 – 3 – 2 3 – 5 – 2
Vanderbilt 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Georgia 1 – 5 – 0 3 – 8 – 0
Tulane 0 – 7 – 0 1 – 8 – 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1953 Kentucky Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented the University of Kentucky as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1953 college football season. In their eighth year under head coach Bear Bryant, the Wildcats complied an overall record of 7–2–1, with a conference record of 4–1–1, and finished third in the SEC. The team scored 201 points while allowing 116 points.[1] This was Bryant's final season as head coach at Kentucky.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 19Texas A&M*
L 6–735,000[2]
September 26at Ole Miss
L 6–22[3]
October 3Florida
  • McLean Stadium
  • Lexington, KY (rivalry)
W 26–13[4]
October 10at No. 17 LSU
T 6–638,000[5]
October 17No. 20 Mississippi State
  • McLean Stadium
  • Lexington, KY
W 32–1336,000[6]
October 24Villanova*No. 16
  • McLean Stadium
  • Lexington, KY
W 19–030,000[7]
October 31at No. 12 Rice*No. 19
W 19–1333,000[8]
November 7at VanderbiltNo. 14
W 40–1426,000[9]
November 14Memphis State*No. 13
  • McLean Stadium
  • Lexington, KY
W 20–720,000[10]
November 21TennesseeNo. 13
  • McLean Stadium
  • Lexington, KY (rivalry)
W 27–2137,000[11]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[12]

Roster

Player Position Summary
Steve Meilinger End
Tommy Adkins Center
Bob Hardy Quarterback 24 Cmp, 47 Att, 418 Yds, 5 TD
Ralph Paolone Running Back 108 Att, 620 Yds, 5.7 Avg
Tom Fillion Running Back
Jim Proffitt End
Howard Schnellenberger End
Duke Curnutte Offensive Line
Ray Correll Offensive Line
Harry Kirk Offensive Line
Joe Koch Offensive Line
Ray Callahan Full Back

[13]

Awards and honors

  • Ray Correll, guard, All-America selection
  • Steve Meilinger, end, All-America selection

1954 NFL Draft

Player Position Round Pick NFL club
Steve Meilinger End 1 8 Washington Redskins
Tommy Adkins Center 17 197 Baltimore Colts

[13]

References

  1. ^ "1953 Kentucky Wildcats Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  2. ^ "Record opening crowd of 35,000 sees Texas Aggies edge Wildcats, 7–6". Sunday Herald-Leader. September 20, 1953. Retrieved October 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Ole Miss whips UK". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. September 27, 1953. Retrieved October 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Kentucky stops Florida Gators in 26–13 clash". The Selma Times-Journal. October 4, 1953. Retrieved October 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Kentucky battles Louisiana State to 6–6 deadlock". The Owensboro Messenger. October 11, 1953. Retrieved October 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Cats have no respect for Mississippi State". The Commercial Appeal. October 18, 1953. Retrieved October 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Kentucky whips Villanova, 19–0". Corpus Christi Caller-Times. October 25, 1953. Retrieved October 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Kentucky upsets Rice 19–13 in game of Halloween chills". The Courier-Journal. November 1, 1953. Retrieved October 4, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Wildcats coast to 40–14 win over improved Vandy". The Park City Daily News. November 8, 1953. Retrieved October 5, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Kentucky has to struggle for 20–7 edge over surprising Memphis State". Lexington Herald-Leader. November 15, 1953. Retrieved September 21, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Kentucky gains first victory in 18 years over Tennessee". The Owensboro Messenger. November 22, 1953. Retrieved March 29, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ 1997 Kentucky Wildcats Football Media Guide, p. 168
  13. ^ a b "1954 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on November 23, 2010. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
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