Georgia Tech: 6
Alabama: 0

After rebounding from a tough 7-6 loss to Duke with a 13-6 victory over Kentucky, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets would head to Birmingham to face the rival Alabama Crimson Tide at Legion Field. The Elephants stood at 4-2-1 after falling to Tulane 13-0 one week prior in a contest that dropped them from the AP rankings. The squads tied 14-14 in Atlanta in 1938 and the Jackets had not defeated the Tide since a triumphant 6-0 victory in 1932.

Tech took advantage of an early Alabama mistake when Buck Murphy recovered a John Hanson fumble at the Crimson Tide 38 yard line. Earl Wheby and Bob Ison each gained 7 yards to move to the 24 before Johnny Bosch hit Wheby for the final 24 yards and the game’s only score. Jim Clay missed the extra point and the Yellow Jackets held a 6-0 lead.

Alabama had a good look at a score in the second quarter when Jimmy Nelson raced 28 yards to the 16 yard line. But they would get no closer, as a 15 yard holding penalty helped to stall the drive and eventually place the ball back in Tech’s hands. The teams would spar around for the remainder of the half before heading to intermission with Tech ahead by 6.

The Jackets nearly increased their lead in the third quarter after Bosch connected with Ison and Bobby Pair en route to the 9 yard line. But Bosch was injured on the pass to Pair and was forced the leave the game. Dick Bates tried his arm on the next play, but threw an interception to Hanson at the 7 to stop the drive short of the end zone.

Bama had one final chance with 2:30 to play, but failed to get anything going and turned the ball over on downs at its own 40 yard line.

The victory improved Tech to 5-2 on the season and helped them crack the AP poll at the 19th spot a few days later. Alabama went on to dismantle the Vanderbilt Commodores on Thanksgiving Day to finish the season at 5-3-1 overall.

Statistics:

First Downs:
GT – 10
ALA – 11

Rushing Yards:
GT – 128
ALA – 245

Passing (Comp-Att-Yds):
GT – 5-10-97
ALA – 4-11-48

Fumbles lost:
GT – 1
ALA – 2

Interceptions thrown:
GT – 1
ALA – 0

Penalty yards:
GT – 10
ALA – 50

References:
Troy, Jack. “Jackets Trip Tide, Holds S.E.C. Pace.” The Atlanta Constitution. 1939 Nov. 19