CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1953 Georgia Tech

9–⁠2–⁠1 (4–⁠1–⁠1 Southeastern Conference), coached by Bobby Dodd, finished No. 8 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Georgia Tech in 1953, game by game: won vs. Davidson 53–0; tied at No. 15 Florida 0–0; won vs. SMU 6–4; won at Tulane 27–13; won vs. No. 19 Auburn 36–6; lost at No. 1 Notre Dame 14–27; won at Vanderbilt 43–0; won vs. Clemson 20–7; lost at Alabama 6–13; won vs. No. 15 Duke 13–10; won vs. Georgia 28–12; won vs. No. 11 West Virginia 42–19+53−13Won 53–0 vs. Davidson+53DavidsonTied 0–0 at No. 15 Florida0No. 15 FloridaWon 6–4 vs. SMU+2SMUWon 27–13 at Tulane+14TulaneWon 36–6 vs. No. 19 Auburn+30No. 19 AuburnLost 14–27 at No. 1 Notre Dame-13No. 1 Notre DameWon 43–0 at Vanderbilt+43VanderbiltWon 20–7 vs. Clemson+13ClemsonLost 6–13 at Alabama-7AlabamaWon 13–10 vs. No. 15 Duke+3No. 15 DukeWon 28–12 vs. Georgia+16GeorgiaWon 42–19 vs. No. 11 West Virginia+23No. 11 West Virginia
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 19vsDavidsonW 53–⁠092%
Sep 26at15FloridaT 0–⁠061%
Oct 3vsSMUW 6–⁠481%
Oct 10atTulaneW 27–⁠1372%
Oct 17vs19AuburnW 36–⁠687%
Oct 24at1Notre DameL 14–⁠2746%
Oct 31atVanderbiltW 43–⁠075%
Nov 7vsClemsonW 20–⁠786%
Nov 14atAlabamaL 6–⁠1354%
Nov 21vs15DukeW 13–⁠1061%
Nov 28vsGeorgiaW 28–⁠1288%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs11West VirginiaSugar BowlW 42–⁠1963%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat West Virginia 42–⁠19 in the Sugar Bowl; No. 8 in the final AP poll; tied for 2nd in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 4th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 3
  2. Wk 2: 9
  3. Wk 3: 10
  4. Wk 4: 6
  5. Wk 5: 4
  6. Wk 6: 8
  7. Wk 7: 6
  8. Wk 8: 5
  9. Wk 9: 12
  10. Wk 10: 10
  11. Final: 8

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1953.

Consensus All-AmericanLarry Morris, C/LB

Record
9–⁠2–⁠1
Conference
4–⁠1–⁠1 tied for 2nd in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 8 peak No. 3
Points
288–⁠111
Coach
Bobby Dodd
Elo
1745 +45 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
14.1 No. 15 of 110 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Sam Hensley, Ed Gossage and Orville Vereen

Drafted in 1954

The 1954 draft
Rd 3Henry Hair ELos Angeles Rams
Rd 7Glenn Turner BBaltimore Colts

All-SEC

2 first team, 5 second team

First team

Second team

  • Sam HensleyEUP-2
  • Bob ShermanOTAP-2; UP-3
  • Orville VernonOGUP-2
  • Leon HardemanRBAP-2; UP-2
  • Billy TeasRBUP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1953 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1953 Southeastern Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Alabama4–⁠0–⁠36–⁠3–⁠313
Georgia Tech4–⁠1–⁠19–⁠2–⁠18
Kentucky4–⁠1–⁠17–⁠2–⁠116
Ole Miss4–⁠1–⁠17–⁠2–⁠1
Auburn4–⁠2–⁠17–⁠3–⁠117
Mississippi State3–⁠1–⁠35–⁠2–⁠3
Tennessee3–⁠2–⁠16–⁠4–⁠1
LSU2–⁠3–⁠35–⁠3–⁠3
Florida1–⁠3–⁠23–⁠5–⁠2
Vanderbilt1–⁠53–⁠7
Georgia1–⁠53–⁠8
Tulane0–⁠71–⁠8–⁠1

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.