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1959 Georgia Bulldogs football
SEC champion
Orange Bowl champion
Orange Bowl, W 14–0 vs. Missouri
Conference Southeastern Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 5
APNo. 5
Record10–1 (7–0 SEC)
Head coach
Home stadium Sanford Stadium
Seasons
←  1958
1960 →
1959 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 5 Georgia $ 7 0 0 10 1 0
No. 3 LSU 5 1 0 9 2 0
No. 2 Ole Miss # 5 1 0 10 1 0
No. 10 Alabama 4 1 2 7 2 2
Auburn 4 3 0 7 3 0
Vanderbilt 3 2 2 5 3 2
Georgia Tech 3 3 0 6 5 0
Tennessee 3 4 1 5 4 1
No. 19 Florida 2 4 0 5 4 1
Kentucky 1 6 0 4 6 0
Tulane 0 5 1 3 6 1
Mississippi State 0 7 0 2 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
  • # Berryman, Billingsley, Dunkel, Sagarin national champion
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1959 Georgia Bulldogs football team represented the University of Georgia as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1959 NCAA University Division football season. Led by 21st-year head coach Wally Butts, the Bulldogs compiled an overall record of 10–1 with a mark of 7–0 in conference play, and finished as SEC champion. [1]

The Bulldogs won nine games in the regular season and lost only once, an early-season non-conference loss to South Carolina. Georgia's perfect conference record of 7–0, combined with conference losses by pre-season favorites LSU and Ole Miss, was enough to give the Bulldogs the Southeastern Conference championship. They also earned a trip to the Orange Bowl, where they defeated Missouri 14–0.

The highlight of the regular season was a come-from-behind win over Auburn to clinch the championship. Trailing the Tigers 13–7 with less than 40 seconds left in the game, The Bulldogs scored on a fourth-down fourteen-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Fran Tarkenton to End Bill Herron. Kicker Durward Pennington converted the extra point and Georgia won the game by a score of 14–13.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 19 AlabamaW 17–340,000 [2]
September 26 VanderbiltNo. 17
  • Sanford Stadium
  • Athens, GA ( rivalry)
W 21–631,000 [3]
October 3at No. 16 South Carolina*No. 13L 14–3027,000 [4]
October 10 Hardin–Simmons*
  • Sanford Stadium
  • Athens, GA
W 35–625,000 [5]
October 17vs. Mississippi StateW 15–025,000 [6]
October 24at KentuckyW 14–725,000 [7]
October 31 Florida State*daggerNo. 14
  • Sanford Stadium
  • Athens, GA
W 42–030,000 [8]
November 7vs. FloridaNo. 11W 21–1040,000 [9]
November 14No. 8 AuburnNo. 12
  • Sanford Stadium
  • Athens, GA ( rivalry)
W 14–1350,000 [10]
November 28at Georgia TechNo. 6
W 21–1444,000 [11]
January 1, 1960vs. No. 18 Missouri*No. 5 CBSW 14–075,280 [12]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[13]

Roster

  • QB Fran Tarkenton, Jr.
  • G Pat Dye Jr.
  • HB Fred Brown Jr.
  • HB/P Bobby Walden Jr.-
  • K Durward Pennington Soph.
  • FB Bill Godfrey Soph.
  • E Jimmy Vickers
  • E Aaron Box
  • E Bill Herron
  • QB Charley Britt Sr.
  • C 'Dude' Thompson Sr.
  • Fred Farah Sr.
  • G Billy Roland
  • HB Don Soberdash Sr. (Team Captain)

References

  1. ^ "1959 Georgia Bulldogs Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 8, 2023.
  2. ^ "Georgia slams Alabama, 17–3". The Macon Telegraph & News. September 20, 1959. Retrieved October 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Georgia rambles over Vanderbilt Commodores, 21–6". The Selma Times-Journal. September 27, 1959. Retrieved October 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "South Carolina surprises Georgia". The Spokesman-Review. October 4, 1959. Retrieved October 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Georgia gets victory over HSU, 35–6". San Angelo Standard-Times. October 11, 1959. Retrieved October 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Georgia wins, 15–0". The Atlanta Journal. October 18, 1959. Retrieved October 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Georgia downs Kentucky 14–7". The Paducah Sun. October 25, 1959. Retrieved October 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Georgia's power game too much for FSU, 42–0". Pensacola News Journal. November 1, 1959. Retrieved October 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Georgia whips Florida, 21–10". Fort Lauderdale News. November 8, 1959. Retrieved October 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Georgia upsets Auburn, 14–13". The Honolulu Advertiser. November 15, 1959. Retrieved October 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Georgia tumbles Tech, takes Orange Bowl bid". Chattanooga Sunday Times. November 29, 1959. Retrieved October 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Missouri moves ball better, but Georgia passes to victory". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. January 2, 1960. Retrieved October 8, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "1959 Football Schedule". GeorgiaDogs.com. Archived from the original on January 1, 2011. Retrieved December 16, 2012.