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1956 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team

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1956 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football
National champion (Berryman, Sagarin)
Gator Bowl champion
Gator Bowl, W 21–14 vs. Pittsburgh
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 4
APNo. 4
Record10–1 (7–1 SEC)
Head coach
CaptainWade Mitchell
George Volkert
Home stadiumGrant Field
Seasons
← 1955
1957 →
1956 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 2 Tennessee $ 6 0 0 10 1 0
No. 4 Georgia Tech 7 1 0 10 1 0
Florida 5 2 0 6 3 1
Ole Miss 4 2 0 7 3 0
Auburn 4 3 0 7 3 0
Kentucky 4 4 0 6 4 0
Tulane 3 3 0 6 4 0
Vanderbilt 2 5 0 5 5 0
Alabama 2 5 0 2 7 1
Mississippi State 2 5 0 4 6 0
LSU 1 5 0 3 7 0
Georgia 1 6 0 3 6 1
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1956 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team was an American football team that represented Georgia Tech as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1956 college football season. In their 12th year under head coach Bobby Dodd, the team compiled an overall record of 10–1, with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, and finished second in the SEC.[1]

Georgia Tech was the preseason favorite to win the Southeastern Conference, but their hopes of reaching the Sugar Bowl were crushed when the Johnny Majors-led Tennessee Volunteers beat the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta, 0–6.[2] Georgia Tech cruised through the rest of their schedule and finished the regular season with the Tennessee game as their only blemish, finishing second in the SEC and ranked number 4 in the country in the final AP Poll. They accepted an invitation to the 1956 Gator Bowl, where they beat Pittsburgh, in a rematch of the 1956 Sugar Bowl, 21–14. This was the sixth straight season for Georgia Tech that ended with a bowl victory. The team was selected national champion by both Berryman and Sagarin (ELO-Chess).[3]

Schedule[edit]

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 22at KentuckyNo. 4NBCW 14–630,000[4]
September 29at No. 5 SMU*No. 2W 9–746,500[5]
October 13LSUNo. 3W 39–739,500[6]
October 20AuburnNo. 3
W 28–740,000[7]
October 27No. 15 TulanedaggerNo. 3
  • Grant Field
  • Atlanta, GA
W 40–040,000[8]
November 3at Duke*No. 2W 7–038,000[9]
November 10No. 3 TennesseeNo. 2
L 0–640,000[10]
November 17AlabamaNo. 4
W 27–038,500[11]
November 24vs. No. 13 FloridaNo. 5W 28–037,000[12]
December 1at GeorgiaNo. 4W 35–050,000[13]
December 29vs. No. 13 Pittsburgh*No. 4
CBSW 21–1437,683[14]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[15]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "1956 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 7, 2023.
  2. ^ "Vols Post Upset: Bronson Goes Over for Tennessee--Passing of Majors Excels". New York Times. November 11, 1956. p. 225.
  3. ^ 2018 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). The National Collegiate Athletic Association. p. 113. Retrieved December 7, 2018.
  4. ^ "Ga. Tech rambles over Wildcats, 14–6". The Charlotte Observer. September 23, 1956. Retrieved October 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Georgia Tech squeezes past S. Methodist 9–7". The Park City Daily News. September 30, 1956. Retrieved October 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Tech wallops LSU as offense clicks". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. October 14, 1956. Retrieved October 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Georgia Tech scatback wrecks Auburn, 28–7". Evening Star. October 21, 1956. Retrieved October 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Georgia Tech snaps Tulane Upset string, 40–0". Fort Lauderdale News. October 28, 1956. Retrieved September 19, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Georgia Tech gets by Duke, 7 to 0". Kingsport Times-News. November 4, 1956. Retrieved October 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Tennessee trips Tech, seeks No. 1". Fort Lauderdale News. November 11, 1956. Retrieved March 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Tech 'midget' busts loose in 27 to 0 rout of 'Bama". The Miami Herald. November 18, 1956. Retrieved October 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Tech downs Gators, 28–0". The Greenville News. November 25, 1956. Retrieved October 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Gator-bound Tech lays it on Georgia, 35 to 0". The Birmingham News. December 2, 1956. Retrieved October 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Georgia Tech outlasts Pitt, 21 to 14, in Gator Bowl". The Huntsville Times. December 30, 1956. Retrieved October 7, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ 2011 Georgia Tech Media Guide Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. p. 170.