 When University of Kentucky head football coach Bear Bryant left for Texas A & M University after the 1953 season , Collier accepted an offer to succeed him . He stayed at Kentucky for eight years , a span during which the Wildcats football team had a 41 – 36 – 3 record , including a 5 – 2 – 1 record against arch @-@ rival Tennessee . Notable wins included a 1954 victory at Georgia Tech , then ranked 15th in the AP Poll , and defeats of eighth @-@ ranked Ole Miss in 1955 and 12th @-@ ranked Tennessee in 1957 . In 1954 , Collier was named the coach of the year in the Southeastern Conference . 
