Mississippi: 7
Georgia Tech: 24

In the third week of the 1946 season, Georgia Tech and Mississippi would square off in the first ever meeting between the two SEC schools. The Rebels entered the game at 1-2 on the season, while the Jackets stood at 1-1.

The teams would exchange punts in the opening period before the Ramblin’ Wreck embarked on their first scoring drive. Starting at the Tech 20, Dinky Bowen gained five yards to the 25 before Robert “Rabbit” Jordan took a swing pass from Frank Broyles and exploded for 40 yards to the Rebel 35. While being tackled, Jordan pitched the ball to George Matthews, who gained an extra yard to the 34. Broyles hit George Brodnax two plays later for a first down at the 23, and after converting on fourth down from the 16, Tech scored on a 6 yard run by Jordan. Rabbit missed the extra point, however, and the Tech lead stood at 6-0.

Mississippi’s next drive carried into the second quarter before the Rebels were forced to punt from their own 29 yard line. But Tech’s Ewel Pope broke through to block the attempt and Bill Haley recovered for the Jackets at the 4 yard line. Jack Bills entered on 4th down to hit Pat McHugh for Tech’s second touchdown, but Rabbit missed his second extra point to hold the lead at 12-0.
Late in the second quarter, Tech’s Jimmy Petit returned an Ole Miss punt 31 yards to the Rebel 13 yard line. McHugh caught a Broyles pass three plays later for his second touchdown and an 18-0 lead after Jordan’s third missed extra point attempt.

Ole Miss thought they had scored in the third quarter when Tech’s Jimmy Jordan fumbled a punt return and Oliver Poole took the ball roughly 35 yards to the end zone. But by rule at the time, the kicking team was unable to advance a recovered fumble on a punt and the touchdown was called back.

Tech missed a golden opportunity in the fourth quarter when they turned the ball over on downs at the Ole Miss 3 yard line. They bounced back later in the period, however, moving 76 yards for a score to extend their lead to 24-0 after Jordan missed yet another extra point. The drive featured a 48 yard pass from Bills to Jordan and an 18 yard run by Petit for the score.

The Rebels gained their first first down of the game late in the fourth quarter en route to their only score on the day. The touchdown came on a 25 yard pass from Bobby Wilson to Everett Harper to reach the final tally of 24-7.

The Rebels would go on to lose four of their remaining five games to finish 2-7 overall. Their lone victory during this stretch came against the Arkansas Razorbacks. Although they played in the same conference, Georgia Tech and Mississippi would not face each other again until the 1953 Sugar Bowl, when Tech would again defeat the Rebels 24-7 en route to the 1952 National Championship.

Statistics:

First Downs:
MISS – 3
GT – 12

Rushing Yards:
MISS – 60
GT – 12

Passing (Comp-Att-Yds):
MISS – 5-17-60
GT – 11-21-148

Fumbles lost:
MISS – 1
GT – 2

Interceptions thrown:
MISS – 1
GT – 2

Penalty yards:
MISS – 70
GT – 130

References:
Bradberry, Johnny. “Dodd Team Dominates Throughout.” The Atlanta Constitution. 13 Oct. 1946