1953 Game Recap / Allstate Sugar Bowl

19th Annual Sugar Bowl Classic ~ January 1, 1953
#2 Georgia Tech 24 (12-0-0)
#7 Ole Miss 7 (8-1-2)

Ole Miss almost ran Tech out of the Sugar Bowl in the first seven minutes, but the Yellow Jackets turned the game around in the second quarter and stretched their unbeaten string to 26 straight games, 24-7.

Ole Miss scored in the first four minutes and moved right back to the Tech 7-yard line before being stopped. But then Bobby Dodd's outfit evened the score on a Bill Brigman second-quarter sneak before Pepper Rodgers took over. The Yellow Jacket standout pushed his squad on top with an 11-yard field goal to close the first half. After Leon Hardeman, the game's "Most Outstanding" player, ran in a score from the 11, Rodgers iced the victory with a 24-yard touchdown toss to Jeff Knox.

Tulane Stadium
Att: 80,206

Georgia Tech 0 10 7 7 - 24
Ole Miss 7 0 0 0 - 7

SCORING SUMMARY
Miss: Dillard 4-yard run (Lear kick)
GT: Brigman 1-yard run (Rodgers kick)
GT: Rodgers 25-yard field goal
GT: Hardeman 6-yard run (Rodgers kick)
GT: Knox, 24-yard pass from Rodgers (Rodgers kick)

Tech	Team Stats	Ole Miss
16	First Downs	15
194	Rushing	137
10-18-1	Passing	11-23-3
101	Passing Yards	103
295	Total Yards	287
6-41.8	Punting	7-35.4
5-2	Fumbles-Lost	5-3
5-42	Penalties-Yds	6-60

Rushing
GT: Hardeman 14-76, 1 TD; Turner 20-56
Miss.: Dillard 17-39, 1 TD. Westerman 7-36 yards, 1 TD

Passing
GT: Brigman 5-7-1, 39 yards; Rodgers 4-9-0, 55
Miss.: Lear 8-19-3, 122 yards

Receiving
GT: Hardeman 2-24; Marks 2-14
Miss.: Slay 1-45; Bridges 2-25

Miller Award recipient: Leon Hardeman, Georgia Tech halfback