CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1956 Georgia Tech

10–⁠1 (7–⁠1 Southeastern Conference), coached by Bobby Dodd, finished No. 4 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Georgia Tech in 1956, game by game: won at Kentucky 14–6; won at No. 5 SMU 9–7; won vs. LSU 39–7; won vs. Auburn 28–7; won vs. No. 15 Tulane 40–0; won at Duke 7–0; lost vs. No. 3 Tennessee 0–6; won vs. Alabama 27–0; won vs. No. 13 Florida 28–0; won at Georgia 35–0; won vs. No. 12 Pittsburgh 21–14+40−6Won 14–6 at Kentucky+8KentuckyWon 9–7 at No. 5 SMU+2No. 5 SMUWon 39–7 vs. LSU+32LSUWon 28–7 vs. Auburn+21AuburnWon 40–0 vs. No. 15 Tulane+40No. 15 TulaneWon 7–0 at Duke+7DukeLost 0–6 vs. No. 3 Tennessee-6No. 3 TennesseeWon 27–0 vs. Alabama+27AlabamaWon 28–0 vs. No. 13 Florida+28No. 13 FloridaWon 35–0 at Georgia+35GeorgiaWon 21–14 vs. No. 12 Pittsburgh+7No. 12 Pittsburgh
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 22atKentuckyW 14–⁠658%
Sep 29at5SMUW 9–⁠758%
Oct 13vsLSUW 39–⁠782%
Oct 20vsAuburnW 28–⁠774%
Oct 27vs15TulaneW 40–⁠073%
Nov 3atDukeW 7–⁠064%
Nov 10vs3TennesseeL 0–⁠670%
Nov 17vsAlabamaW 27–⁠091%
Nov 24vs13FloridaW 28–⁠070%
Dec 1atGeorgiaW 35–⁠082%
Dec 29Bowls & playoffvs12PittsburghGator BowlW 21–⁠1462%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Pittsburgh 21–⁠14 in the Gator Bowl; No. 4 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Southeastern Conference.

In program history: The 3rd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

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 1956.

Record
10–⁠1
Conference
7–⁠1 2nd in Southeastern Conference
AP final
No. 4 peak No. 2
Points
248–⁠47
Coach
Bobby Dodd
Elo
1767 +108 this season
SP+ rating
—
SRS
28.3 No. 2 of 111 major-college teams
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Wade Mitchell and George Volkert

Drafted in 1957

The 1957 draft
Rd 4Carl Vereen OTGreen Bay Packers
Rd 6George Volkert BPittsburgh Steelers

All-SEC

3 first team, 4 second team

First team

  • Allen EckerOGAP-2; UP-1
  • Don StephensonCAP-1; UP-1
  • Ken OwenFBAP-1; UP-3

Second team

  • Jerry NaborsEAP-2
  • Carl VereenOTAP-3; UP-2
  • Jimmy JohnsonOGUP-2
  • Paul RotenberryRBAP-2; UP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1956 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1956 Southeastern Conference standings

TeamConf.OverallAP final
Tennessee6–⁠010–⁠12
Georgia Tech7–⁠110–⁠14
Florida5–⁠26–⁠3–⁠1
Ole Miss4–⁠27–⁠3
Auburn4–⁠37–⁠3
Kentucky4–⁠46–⁠4
Tulane3–⁠36–⁠4
Vanderbilt2–⁠55–⁠5
Mississippi State2–⁠54–⁠6
Alabama2–⁠52–⁠7–⁠1
LSU1–⁠53–⁠7
Georgia1–⁠63–⁠6–⁠1

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