Georgia: 6
Georgia Tech: 7

With the likelihood of a bowl invitation very slim, the Jackets looked to defeat the archrival Georgia Bulldogs to end the 1949 season on a positive note. Tech entered the game as a 7 point favorite despite the fact that quarterback Jim Southard was still hobbled by a back injury and would not start the game. The Jackets had fared rather well without Southard however, winning two of three games to enter the contest at 6-3. The previous meeting in the series was won by the Bulldogs in a 21-13 decision in Athens and the Jackets looked to regain bragging rights with the newest installment of the rivalry.

Georgia took the game’s first possession to the Tech 34 yard line, but was forced to punt shortly thereafter. The Jackets responded with a solid drive that moved deep into Georgia territory, but lost the ball on downs after coming up just short of the Georgia 20 yard line on fourth down. The remainder of the first quarter saw very little action from either squad.

The Jackets turned the ball over on consecutive possessions in the second quarter to setup the Bulldog’s lone score of the contest. In the first instance, Joseph Jackura intercepted a Darrell Crawford pass at the Yellow Jacket 34 yard line and the Bulldogs drove all the way to the Tech 23. A personal foul put an end to the drive however, and Georgia punted back to the Jackets. Tech responded with a drive to midfield, but Robert North lost a fumble to Dick Steele at the Georgia 45 yard line. On the next play, Malcom Cook rolled right and threw a bomb to Eugene Lorendo at the 25 yard line. Lorendo hauled in the catch and raced the final 25 yards for the touchdown, but Robert Durand missed the extra point to hold the Bulldog lead to 6-0 with 6:00 to play in the half.

With Jim Southard now at the helm, the Ramblin’ Wreck offense kicked into gear after the kickoff and drove all the way to the UGA 21 yard line. But with little time remaining, Southard had a pass intercepted at the 3 yard line and Tech would trail by 6 at the half.

The squads sparred around for most of the third quarter before the Jacket offense sparked up late in the period. Jimmy Jordan gave his team great field position after he returned a punt 11 yards to the Georgia 39 yard line. George Humphreys then had runs of 10 and 16 yards en route to the 11 yard line before the Jackets caught a huge break to keep the drive alive. On his third run in four plays, Humphreys fumbled inside the 10 yard line. A mad scramble ensued for possession and as the pile cleared Dale Lupton came up with the ball for the Jackets at the 4. North and Southard finished off the drive, with the later sneaking in from the 1 yard line to tie the game with 2:30 to play in the quarter. James Patton entered to nail the extra point to give Tech a 7-6 lead.

After the kickoff, Powell Sheffer picked off Cook’s pass and returned the ball 35 yards to the Georgia 19 yard line. Tech moved all the way to the 4, but gave the ball right back when Gene Chandler recovered another Buster Humphreys fumble.

Tech advanced inside the 30 on two more occasions, but was unable to come up with any more points. The Bulldogs, meanwhile, were unable to mount any sort of a drive and the Jackets would go on to win by a narrow one point margin despite the lopsided statistics in favor of the Wreck.

The victory gave Tech a 7-3 record on the year, while the Bulldogs finished at just 4-6-1. It was also the beginning of an eight game winning streak in the series for the Jackets that lasted through the 1956 season.

Statistics:

First Downs:
UGA – 9
GT – 21

Rushing Yards:
UGA – 113
GT – 276

Passing (Comp-Att-Yds):
UGA – 5-17-105
GT – 1-8-8

Fumbles (Total-Lost):
UGA – 1-0
GT – 3-2

Interceptions thrown:
UGA – 2
GT – 2

Penalties (Total-Yards):
UGA – 6-28
GT – 3-25

References:
Bradberry, John. “Point by Patton Gives Tech Edge Over Georgia, 7-6.” The Atlanta Constitution. 1949 Nov. 27