1942 Georgia Bulldogs football team

The 1942 Georgia Bulldogs football team was an American football team that represented the University of Georgia in the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1942 college football season. In their fourth season under head coach Wally Butts, the Bulldogs compiled an 11–1 record, shut out six of twelve opponents (including a 34–0 victory over No. 2 Georgia Tech), won the SEC championship, and outscored all opponents by a total of 378 to 73.[1] The Bulldogs' 75–0 win over Florida remains the largest margin of victory in the history of the Florida–Georgia football rivalry.[2]

1942 Georgia Bulldogs football
National champion (various)
SEC champion
Rose Bowl champion
Rose Bowl, W 9–0 vs. UCLA
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Ranking
APNo. 2
Record11–1 (6–1 SEC)
Head coach
CaptainFrank Sinkwich
Home stadiumSanford Stadium
Seasons
← 1941
1943 →
1942 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 2 Georgia $ 6 1 0 11 1 0
No. 5 Georgia Tech 4 1 0 9 2 0
No. 7 Tennessee 4 1 0 9 1 1
No. 18 Mississippi State 5 2 0 8 2 0
No. 10 Alabama 4 2 0 8 3 0
LSU 3 2 0 7 3 0
No. 16 Auburn 3 3 0 6 4 1
Vanderbilt 2 4 0 6 4 0
Florida 1 3 0 3 7 0
Tulane 1 4 0 4 5 0
Kentucky 0 5 0 3 6 1
Ole Miss 0 5 0 2 7 0
  • $ – Conference champion
Rankings from AP Poll

In the final AP Poll released on November 30, 1942, Georgia was ranked No. 2 with 1,339 points, less than 100 points behind No. 1 Ohio State.[3] After the final AP Poll, the Bulldogs defeated No. 13 UCLA in the 1943 Rose Bowl. Ohio State did not play in a bowl game. In this time period, the AP did not conduct polling after the bowl games. However, in later analysis, Georgia was selected as the 1942 national champion by the majority of selectors, including Berryman (QPRS), Billingsley Report, DeVold System, Houlgate System, Litkenhous, Poling System, Sagarin Ratings, and Williamson System.[4] Georgia retroactively claimed the title in the late 1980s, after then-head coach and athletic director Vince Dooley discovered that the team was listed as a national champion in an NCAA record book.[5]

At the end of the 1942 season, Georgia halfback Frank Sinkwich won the Heisman Trophy.[6] He was also selected as SEC Player of the Year,[7] Associated Press Athlete of the Year, and a consensus first-team pick on the 1942 All-America college football team.[8] Several Georgia players also received first-team honors from the Associated Press (AP) and/or United Press (UP) on the 1942 All-SEC football team: Sinkwich (AP-1, UP-1); end George Poschner (AP-1, UP-1); and guard Walter Ruark (AP-1, UP-2).[9][10]

Schedule

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DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 19at Kentucky
W 7–610,500[11]
September 25vs. Jacksonville NAS*
W 14–011,000[12][13]
October 3Furman*W 40–78,000[14]
October 10at Ole MissW 48–1315,000[15]
October 17TulaneNo. 2
  • Sanford Stadium
  • Athens, GA
W 40–018,000[16]
October 24at Cincinnati*No. 2W 35–1315,000[17]
October 31vs. No. 3 AlabamaNo. 2W 21–1032,000–33,000[18][19]
November 7vs. FloridaNo. 1W 75–021,000[20]
November 14at Chattanooga*No. 1W 40–05,500[21]
November 21vs. AuburnNo. 1L 13–2722,000[22]
November 28No. 2 Georgia Tech No. 5
  • Sanford Stadium
  • Athens, GA (rivalry)
W 34–045,000[23]
January 1, 1943vs. No. 13 UCLA*No. 2W 9–090,000[24]
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
( ) = First-place votes
Week
Poll1234567Final
AP1 (25)2 (38)2 (25)1 (84.31)1 (85)1 (69)5 (1)2 (62)

References

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  1. ^ "1942 Georgia Bulldogs Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  2. ^ Dan Magill, "Magill: Dogs' 75–0 thumping of Gators most memorable Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine", Athens Banner-Herald (October 30, 2008). Retrieved August 20, 2011.
  3. ^ "Ohio Voted Best College Team: Georgia Gets Second Place in Balloting". The South Bend Tribune. December 1, 1942. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ 2017 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision Records (PDF). Indianapolis: The National Collegiate Athletic Association. July 2017. p. 112. Retrieved January 24, 2018.
  5. ^ Seth Emerson, "Why does Georgia claim only 2 national titles when it could have more?, The Athletic (March 30, 2020). Retrieved March 30, 2022.
  6. ^ "Sinkwich Gets Heisman Award". The Manhattan Mercury. November 30, 1942. p. 3 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "SEC Player of the Year Winners". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
  8. ^ "Football Award Winners" (PDF). National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). 2016. p. 8. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  9. ^ "Southeastern All-Star Grid Eleven Chosen". The Monroe News-Star. December 9, 1942. p. 10. Retrieved June 6, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.  
  10. ^ Jack Woliston (November 25, 1942). "Alabama Gets Three Places on Mythical". The Anniston Star. p. 8. Retrieved May 29, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.  
  11. ^ "Georgia rallies to edge Kentucky in fourth, 7–6". The Courier-Journal. September 20, 1942. Retrieved February 14, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Georgia Wins, 14-0: Bulldogs Lick Jacksonville's Starry Outfit". The State. Columbia, SC. September 26, 1942. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Florida Air Base Beaten By Georgia". The Des Moines Register. September 26, 1942. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ Lewis Hawkins (October 4, 1942). "Powerful Bulldogs Rout Furman, 40-7". The Charlotte Observer. p. 37 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ Jack Troy (October 11, 1942). "Bulldogs Run Wild To Rout Mississippi 48-13". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 3D – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Johnny Bradberry (October 18, 1942). "Bulldogs Romp on Tulane, 40-0: Sinkwich, Trippi Lead Bulldogs To Great Win". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 6B – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ Dick Forbes (October 25, 1942). ""Fireball Frankie" Too Much For U.C., Georgia Winning: Big Lead Piled Up At Start; Bulldogs Count 21 Points In Opening Quarter". The Cincinnati Enquirer. p. 25 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ Jack Troy (November 1, 1942). "Georgia Wins, 21-10, To Take Front Rank In Nation's Grid List". The Atlanta Constitution. pp. 1A, 6B – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Georgia's passes defeat Bama in furious last period, 21–10". The Tuscaloosa News. November 1, 1942. p. 10. Retrieved June 9, 2012.
  20. ^ Jack Troy (November 8, 1942). "Georgia Smothers Florida, 75 to 0; Furious Assault Nets Bulldogs 11 Touchdowns; Nation's Number 1 Team Rolls Up Nearly 600 Yards". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 6B – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Bulldogs rip Moccasins, 40–0". The Atlanta Constitution. November 15, 1942. Retrieved September 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ Jack Troy (November 22, 1942). "Auburn Upsets Georgia, 27 to 13: Tigers Topple Bulldogs With Ground Game; Attack Led by Gafford, Reynolds Piles Up 355 Yards". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 6B – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ Jack Troy (November 29, 1942). "Georgia Overwhelms Tech, 34 to 0, As Sinkwich, Trippi Star: Bulldogs Win To Gain Spot In Rose Bowl". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 2D – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ Paul Zimmerman (January 2, 1943). "Georgia Beats U.C.L.A., 9-0". The Los Angeles Times. pp. I-1, II-12 – via Newspapers.com.