1902 Vanderbilt Commodores football team The 1902 Vanderbilt Commodores football team represented Vanderbilt University during the 1902 college football season . W . H . Watkins was in his second year coaching Vanderbilt . Vanderbilt was playing in its 13th season of football . The Commodores had wins over , , Central of Kentucky , Tennessee , , , Tulane and LSU . The Tulane and LSU contests were played with one days rest between games for the Commodores . " November 14 - - The Vanderbilt football squad left Thursday night for New Orleans . The regular varsity team except for staunch quarterback Frank Kyle boarded the train for the longest , hardest trip of the year . Kyle was left behind with a lame back . Those making the trip are : Perry , Morgan , Graham , Massey , Lawler , Bryan , Howell , Blake , Hamilton , Harris , Love , Tigert , Capt . Davis , Edgerton , Coach Watkins , Manager Buckley , Assistant Manger Creighton , Dr . W . L . Dudley , Doswell Brown , Martin , Wade , Williamson , Barr and Dunbar . The boys will play Tulane Saturday and L . S . U . Monday . " " About 8 , 000 spectators witnessed the easy victory of Vanderbilt over Tulane Saturday , the score being 23 to 5 . It was the largest crowd of the season . The playing of the Vanderbilt team in the first half was fast and furious , and a score of 23 was made . Tulane was saved from a goose egg by the drop kick of Westerfield from the 35 - yard line . " In the second half the game was close . Blake took the place of Davis , and Wade that of Perry . The aim of the Vanderbilt boys seemed only to hold the score . The weather was very hot , and made it especially hard on the visitors . Vanderbilt outclassed Tulane in weight and skill , and did not have much trouble in making their gains . The star players for Vanderbilt were Howell , Davis , Bryan and Hamilton . " The feature of the game was Howell ' s 95 - yard run . He advanced the ball from the kick off , and almost every Tulane man made a tackle at him . Davis , as usual , made his gains and two long runs . Bryan was in the game from the start , and did good work . Hamilton made two touchdowns . He bundled the Tulane line for one of them , which was a pretty piece of work . Though Westerfield is a good sprinter , Tigert ' s punts equaled his every time . " Tulane has a gritty team , and though they played against odds , they improved as the game went on , and did their best to the end . The score does not show the relative merits of the two teams , because Kyle and Edgerton being out weakened the Vanderbilt team . Tulane was amazed at the quickness of Vanderbilt and while the Vanderbilt boys regret the score , it was not one to grieve over . Tulane only tried the drop kick as a last resort when they despaired of reaching the goal otherwise . " " Vanderbilt defeated Louisiana State University , 27 to 5 , yesterday . It was an ideal day and about 1 , 000 people witnessed the game . A place kick only saved Louisiana State University from a whitewash . The game was lacking in interest , for Vanderbilt displayed her superiority so strongly that Louisiana was outclassed . " Louisiana State University kicked off and Vanderbilt advanced the ball steadily for a touch - down . This was repeated , Tigert making the two touchdowns . Louisiana State University got the ball only once in the first half and lost on downs . At the end of the half the score stood 11 to 0 . " Vanderbilt kicked off and Louisiana State University lost on downs in the second half . The visitors advanced the ball for a touchdown . Davis failed , in kicking a goal . Louisiana State University seemed to be very weak . Vanderbilt made her gains every time , and only lost the ball on fumbles . Louisiana State University never advanced far before losing on downs , they were entirely outclassed in weight and skill . It is hard to say who were the star players for Vanderbilt . Every man played a good game . The playing of Edgerton , Davis , Tigert , and Lawler deserves special notice . For Louisiana State University the playing of Sales , deserves notice . " The Vanderbilt boys are sore over the treatment they received . The Louisiana State University team couldn ' t take defeat in a sportsmanlike manner . They claimed that Vanderbilt knew their signals and made uncomplimentary remarks from their sidelines , and altogether the treatment was not as good as the team expected . Vanderbilt played a harder game than at Tulane , and Louisiana State University has a much better team than Tulane . Vanderbilt played a much faster game than Louisiana State University and every trick was a success . Louisiana State University depended entirely on straight football and never succeeded in working any trick . " The teams were entertained with an elegant dinner after the game by Mr . W . P . Connell , and the University Athletic Association invited the two teams to a theatre party . " " Vanderbilt University defeated Louisiana State University here yesterday by the score of 27 to 5 ; winning the championship of the South intercollegiate athletic association . Vanderbilt made it points on five touchdowns three by Edgerton and two by Tigert . Davis kicked goal twice . The feature of the game was the goal kicked by Landry of Louisiana from the forty - yard line . Time of halves , 25 minutes . " " The rumor that Coach Watkins will discontinue his connection with the Vanderbilt Athletic Association at the close of the present season is creating such interest in football circles . It is reliably stated that Mr . Watkins will resign his position as head coach of the Vanderbilt football and baseball teams in order that he devote attention to the study of law exclusively . " Walter H . Watkins is the most successful coach who has trained a team in the South for years . He has had charge of the Vanderbilt team for two years , and both years won the championship of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association . The year previously he coached the Auburn team through the most successful season that the institute has experienced on the gridiron in its history . Last spring he coached the Vanderbilt baseball team and was remarkably successful with indifferent and untrained material , winning a large majority . Of the games played . He is an indefatigable worker and has the idea of amateur athletics developed to a clear - out and scientific fashion . " Walter H . Watkins is a graduate of the Princeton class of ' 99 . He was one of the stars on the baseball team , was prominent in track work and was first substitute on the football team for two years . His loss will be a hard blow to Vanderbilt , as his place will be hard to fill . It is understood that Vanderbilt will make an effort to secure the services of Coach Neil Snow , provided he is not retained by the University of Nashville . "