1943 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team

The 1943 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team was an American football team that represented Georgia Tech as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1943 college football season. In their 24th year under head coach William Alexander, the Yellow Jackets complied an overall record of 8–3, with a conference record of 3–0, and finished as SEC champion.^[2]

1943 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football
SEC champion Sugar Bowl champion
Sugar Bowl, W 20–18 vs. Tulsa
Conference	Southeastern Conference
Ranking
AP	No. 13
Record	8–3 (3–0 SEC)
Head coach	William Alexander (24th season)
Captain	George Manning, John Steber
Home stadium	Grant Field
Seasons ← 1942 1944 →

1943 Southeastern Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 13 Georgia Tech $	3	–	0	–	0			8	–	3	–	0
LSU	2	–	2	–	0			6	–	3	–	0
Tulane	1	–	1	–	0			3	–	3	–	0
Georgia	0	–	3	–	0			6	–	4	–	0
Vanderbilt	0	–	0	–	0			5	–	0	–	0
$ – Conference champion Seven other SEC schools did not field a team due to World War II.^[1] Rankings from AP Poll

In the final Litkenhous Ratings, Georgia Tech ranked ninth among the nation's college and service teams with a rating of 108.8.^[3]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 25		North Carolina*		Grant Field Atlanta, GA	W 20–7	20,000	^[4]
October 2		at Notre Dame*		Notre Dame Stadium South Bend, IN (rivalry)	L 13–55	26,497–30,000	^[5]
October 9		Georgia Pre-Flight*		Grant Field Atlanta, GA	W 35–7	12,000	^[6]
October 16	3:00 p.m.	300th Infantry*		Grant Field Atlanta, GA	W 27–0	10,000	^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]
October 23		vs. No. 3 Navy*		Municipal Stadium Baltimore, MD	L 14–28	56,223	^[11]
October 30		No. 8 Duke*		Grant Field Atlanta, GA	L 7–14	30,000	^[12]
November 6		No. 20 LSU		Grant Field Atlanta, GA	W 42–7	20,000	^[13]
November 13		at Tulane	No. 19	Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA	W 33–0	38,000	^[14]
November 20		Clemson*	No. 15	Grant Field Atlanta, GA (rivalry)	W 41–6	10,000	^[15]
November 27		Georgia	No. 14	Grant Field Atlanta, GA (rivalry)	W 48–0	28,000	^[16]
January 1		vs. No. 15 Tulsa*	No. 13	Tulane Stadium New Orleans, LA (Sugar Bowl)	W 20–18	69,134	^[17]
*Non-conference game Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Rankings

See also: 1943 NCAA football rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Final
AP	—	—	—	—	—	19	15	14	13

References

1. Scott, Richard (2008). SEC Football: 75 Years of Pride and Passion. MVP Books. p. 58. ISBN 1616731338. Retrieved March 13, 2014.
2. "1943 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
3. Litkenhous, E. E. (December 17, 1943). "Litkenhouse Selects U. S. Grid Leaders". The Salt Lake Tribune. Salt Lake City, Utah. p. 18. Retrieved April 16, 2023 – via Newspapers.com  .
4. "Georgia Tech topples powerful Carolina eleven, 20–7". Asheville Citizen-Times. September 26, 1943. Retrieved October 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Bertelli dazzles Tech for Irish, 53 to 13". The Chattanooga Times. October 3, 1943. Retrieved October 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Georgia Tech Engineers Give Navy Pre-Flight Fancy Licking". The Times (Shreveport). October 10, 1943. p. 19 – via Newspapers.com.
7. Troy, Jack (October 16, 1943). "Jackets Favored Over Unbeaten Sabers Today". The Atlanta Constitution. Atlanta, Georgia. p. 7. Retrieved April 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com  .
8. Troy, Jack (October 17, 1943). "Jackets Overpower Stubborn Sabers, 27 to 0". The Atlanta Constitution. Atlanta, Georgia. p. 13C. Retrieved April 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com  .
9. Troy, Jack (October 17, 1943). "Jackets Trim Sabers, 27-0 (continued)". The Atlanta Constitution. Atlanta, Georgia. p. 14C. Retrieved April 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com  .
10. Wheeler, Romney (October 17, 1943). "Georgia Tech Beats Soldiers". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Associated Press. p. 4S. Retrieved April 17, 2023 – via Newspapers.com  .
11. "Navy wrecks Georgia Tech with passes". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. October 24, 1943. Retrieved October 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Duke Blue Devils defeat Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, 14 to 7". The Birmingham News. October 31, 1943. Retrieved October 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Georgia Tech's lend-lease punch devastates LSU civilians". The State. November 7, 1943. Retrieved October 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Prokop's passes stun Tulane 33–0". The Courier-Journal. November 14, 1943. Retrieved April 10, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
15. "Georgia Tech wins easily over Clemson, 41 to 6". The Atlanta Constitution. November 21, 1943. Retrieved October 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "Jackets smash Georgia, 48–0". The Atlanta Journal. November 28, 1943. Retrieved October 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
17. "Georgia Tech edges Tulsa, 20 to 18". Tulsa World. January 2, 1944. Retrieved October 1, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.