Georgia Tech: 16
Navy: 14

Holding a perfect 6-0 record and the #6 spot in the AP poll, Georgia Tech would travel to Baltimore, Maryland for a contest with the 1-4-1 Navy Midshipmen. The Middies lone win came against Cornell, while their tie was against the 13th ranked Duke Blue Devils, a team Tech had narrowly defeated 14-7 one week earlier.

The Jackets got off to a quick start, advancing to the 50 yard line on their opening drive before Robert McCoy busted loose for the final 50 yards and a Tech touchdown. The Ramblin’ Wreck held a 6-0 lead after the missed extra point.

Tech would maintain its one score advantage until late in the second quarter when Navy put together an 86 yard scoring drive. The Midshipmen advanced down the field in small gains before finally scoring on a 7 yard pass from Robert Horne to Robert Schwoeffermann. The extra point was good to give Navy the lead at 7-6 with little time remaining in the first half.

But the Ramblin’ Wreck was determined to regain the lead after taking over at its own 25 on the kickoff. Runs of 5 and 13 yards by McCoy and Allen Bowen, respectively, advanced the Jackets to their own 42. Jim Still then connected on three consecutive passes to advance to the Navy 9 before losing two yards to the 11 on first down. Bowen entered to nail a field goal with 35 seconds left to regain the lead for the Jackets at 9-7.

Navy gathered themselves at the half and answered in the third quarter with a 62 yard touchdown drive. The 15 play march was capped off with an 8 yard touchdown run by Myron Gerber and the Middies held a 14-9 advantage.

Tech’s offense had failed to produce much in the game, and with the Midshipmen holding the ball midway through the final period, it looked as if the Jackets might suffer their first loss of the season. But luck struck when George Brodnax recovered Schwoeffermann’s fumble at the Navy 35 yard line with about nine minutes to play. Two plays later, Tech quarterback Jim Southard handed off to Red Patton. Patton sped towards the right side, turned, and heaved a pass downfield. Southard had rolled left after the handoff and was streaking towards the Navy end zone. The young quarterback caught the ball in stride at the five yard line and ran in for the go-ahead score. Tech would take a 16-14 lead after the extra point.

The Midshipmen began to mount a final drive, but the attempt was stopped when Joe Brown intercepted a Navy pass at the Yellow Jacket 22 to solidify the victory.

With the win, tech improved to 7-0 on the season and had a much anticipated matchup with Alabama on the horizon. The Midshipmen would go on to lose their final two contests to finish at 1-7-1 overall.

Statistics:

First Downs:
GT – 10
NAVY – 14

Rushing:
GT – 142
NAVY – 164

Passing (Comp-Att-Yds):
GT – 6-10-93
NAVY – 13-18-98

Fumbles lost:
GT – 1
NAVY – 2

Interceptions thrown:
GT – 0
NAVY – 2

Penalty yards:
GT – 10
NAVY – 20

References:
Bradberry, Johnny. “Two Frosh Backs Lead Tech Attack.” The Atlanta Constitution. 1947 Nov. 9