1952 McMNC: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

AP Top 10: Final Record -- Key Bowl Results

1. Michigan State: 9-0-0 -- None
2. Georgia Tech: 12-0-0 -- W, Sugar, 24-7
3. Notre Dame: 7-2-1 -- None
4. Oklahoma: 8-1-1 -- None
5. USC: 10-1-0 -- W, Rose, 7-0
6. UCLA: 8-1-0 -- None
7. Mississippi: 8-1-2 -- L, Sugar, 7-24
8. Tennessee: 8-2-1 -- L, Cotton, 0-16
9. Alabama: 10-2-0 -- W, Orange, 61-6
10. Texas: 9-2-0 -- W, Cotton, 16-0

This has to be easier than 1951, right? Right? RIGHT?

Of course.

This is down to three teams: bowl-less Michigan State, Georgia Tech and USC. No one else merits consideration.

Sparty: Yes, believe it or not, Sparty was good in the 1950s. But for the second year in a row here, they're going to get screwed because they didn't play in a bowl game. The SOS was up this year, to a 51% rating. They beat 5-4 Michigan on the road by 14 points, they beat #14 Syracuse (7-3) by 41 points at home, they beat 7-2-1 Penn State by 27 points at home, they beat #18 Purdue on the road by a touchdown, and they beat #3 Notre Dame (7-2-1) at home by 18 points. Those are some serious wins. This may be Sparty's best team ever, in fact. Will it be enough?

Georgia Tech: Their SOS rating is better than Michigan State's (55%). They beat #15 Florida (8-3) by three points at home, they beat #16 Duke (8-2) on the road by 21 points, they beat #9 Alabama (10-2) at home by four points, they beat 7-4 Georgia on the road by 14 points, and they beat #7 Mississippi (8-1-2) by 17 points in the Sugar Bowl. They, too, have some big wins, although they also scraped by Alabama and Florida. They don't have a "best win" to trump Michigan State's win over Notre Dame, either.

USC: Their SOS rating was 56%, and their only loss was a 9-0 defeat on the road to Notre Dame on November 29. Their good wins? They beat 7-3 Cal at home by ten points, they beat 7-3 Washington at home by 33 points, they beat #6 UCLA (8-1) on the "road" by two points, and they beat #11 Wisconsin (6-3-1) in the Rose Bowl by seven points. While they have overall SOS over Georgia Tech and Michigan State, they have fewer wins over ranked teams. And they do have the loss. Unfortunately for the Trojans, the rest of their resume isn't overwhelming enough to ignore that loss.

So it's down to State and Tech. Basically, is Georgia Tech's 17-point win over an 8-0-2 Mississippi team enough to overcome Michigan State's superior regular season? Syracuse plays an interesting role here. Michigan State beat them by 41 points, and Alabama beat them by 56 points in the Orange Bowl. And Georgia Tech beat Alabama by four points. What does this tell us? That Syracuse sucked and wasn't worthy of a #14 ranking. That eliminates one of MSU's best regular season wins, and it leaves us with an obvious conclusion ...

Since there is nothing distinct enough at a glance to separate the two teams, the edge has to go to Georgia Tech, since they played in a bowl game. Sorry, Sparty: you joined the Big Ten one year too late for the McMNC.

McMNC Revisions
1. Georgia Tech
2. Michigan State
3. USC
4. UCLA
5. Oklahoma

RUNNING SCORECARD:
Tennessee: +1938, +1942, +1950, -1951
Georgia Tech: +1952
Illinois: +1951
Michigan: +1947, =1948
Georgia: +1946
Alabama: +1945
Purdue: +1943
Stanford: +1940
California: +1937
Oklahoma: +1949, -1950
Pittsburgh: +1936, -1937
Texas A&M: =1939
Ohio State: -1942, +1944
TCU: -1938
Michigan State: -1952
Army: -1944, -1945
Minnesota: -1936, -1940, =1941
Notre Dame: -1943, -1946, -1947, -1949