1956 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team

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]

  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.