Georgia Tech: 19
Georgia: 21

The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets took a 2-6 record to Athens to face a 3-4-1 Georgia Team who had lost two in a row to Florida and Tulane. Tech’s only two victories had come early in the season against Samford and Vanderbilt, and the Jackets were carrying a five game losing streak into Sanford Stadium.

Tech got off to a fast start in the first quarter, driving 63 yards for the game’s first score on the opening drive. After returning the ball to the 27 yard line, a series of runs by Johnny Bosch and R.A. Plaster advanced the ball out the Tech 39. The Jackets were then assisted by an unnecessary roughness penalty on Frank Sinkwich and thus found themselves at the Bulldog 40 yard line. Bosch hit Bobby Beers for a 27 yard pass on the next play, giving the Rambln’ Wreck a first down at the UGA 13 yard line. Three straight runs by Plaster advanced the ball to the 3, and Beers finally punched the ball in on a reverse for a 7-0 lead after the made extra point. Aside from one Bulldog turnover that resulted in no points, the teams would exchange punts for the remainder of the first quarter and much of the second.

Midway through the second quarter, the Bulldogs took over on their own 19 yard line after a Tech punt. The drive started poorly as a short run was followed by a 5 yard penalty, resulting in 2nd and 12 from the 17. On the next play, Georgia’s Heyward Allen fumbled and Tech recovered at the Bulldog 4 yard line. Plaster would advance Tech to the 1 yard line on two short runs before Jack Hancock was held short of the goal on third down. But Tech was resilient and Plaster burst into the end zone on fourth down to give the Jackets a 13-0 lead after the missed extra point.

The Bulldogs finally came alive. Tech kicked out of bounds, giving Georgia the ball at their own 35. After several moderate gains advanced the ball to the UGA 49, Georgia busted off a 16 yard pass followed by a 15 yard run to advance to the Tech 20 yard line. Tech then held the Bulldogs to three straight plays of zero gain before committing pass interference on fourth down. It was Georgia’s ball at the 11 yard line. On the next play, James Todd Jr. hit Carl Grate for an 11 yard pass for the touchdown. Georgia trailed 13-7 after the made extra point. The Jackets’ final drive of the half would end on an interception with little time remaining.

Georgia came out hot to start the second half, scoring on their first two drives of the third quarter. The first drive went for 65 yards on 10 plays and was capped off by a 13 yard pass from Sinkwich to Paul Kluk. Tech’s Bosch would throw an interception soon after, giving the Bulldogs the ball at the Yellow Jacket 27 after a 19 yard return. Georgia quickly advanced the ball to the Tech 15 yard line and nearly scored before Sinkwich’s 15 yard touchdown run was called back for illegal motion. The Bulldogs drove to the 4 yard line and then Sinkwich’s pass to James Skipworth resulted in the touchdown, extending Georgia’s lead to 21-13 after the made extra point.

The teams would again exchange punts and turnovers until midway through the final period, when Tech would take over at their own 32 yard line after fielding a Bulldog punt. C.R. Bates struck quickly for the Jackets, reeling off a 14 yard run to the Tech 46. Georgia was then penalized 5 yards for arguing with the officials and 15 yards on the following play for unnecessary roughness, giving Tech the ball at the Bulldog 34 yard line. Bates would then hit J.E. Nettles for a 17 yard pass and the first down at the UGA 17. After two unsuccessful plays, Bosch had his pass tipped by Lamar Davis of Georgia. Luckily for Tech, G.I. Webb was there to make the catch in the end zone for the touchdown, cutting the lead to 2 at 21-19 in favor of the Bulldogs.

After a quick stop by the Tech defense, the Jackets had a chance to take the lead, taking over at their own 24 yard line. On the first play, Bosch passed to Nettles for 16 yards, which was quickly followed by a 31 yard pass to Rob Ison. In just two plays, Tech had advanced all the way to the Bulldog 29 yard line. It was then that the Tech drive nearly went awry. After Plaster was held for no gain, Bosch slipped and fell, losing 16 yards on an attempted pass. On third down, Bosch hit Nettles for a 20 yard pass, making it fourth and six at the 25. Bosch then hit Webb for a first down at the Bulldog 19 to keep the drive alive with roughly 2 minutes remaining. On the next play, Bosch completed to Ison for the touchdown, but the play was called back due to offsides on the Yellow Jackets. This was a huge momentum swing for the Bulldogs. Bosch threw three consecutive incomplete passes, and Tech was forced to attempt a field goal from the Georgia 32. The kick came up short, and Tech’s hopes were dashed. Georgia would go on to run out the clock and close out the hard fought game.

References:
Bradberry, Johnny. “Bradberry’s Running Story of Tech-Georgia Tilt.” The Atlanta Constitution. 1940 Dec. 1