The 1931 Georgia Bulldogs football team represented the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

during the 1931 Southern Conference football season. Members of the

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly ...

, the Bulldogs completed the season with an 8–2 record (6–1 SoCon). The two losses were to the Rose Bowl and national champion

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ' ...

, and to SoCon champion and the team defeated by USC in the Rose Bowl, the

Tulane Green Wave The Tulane Green Wave are the athletic teams that represent Tulane University, located in New Orleans, Louisiana. Tulane competes in NCAA Division I as a member of the American Athletic Conference (The American). There are 14 Green Wave interco ...

Before the season

Georgia's team was led by a group of veterans in end Catfish Smith, fullback Jack "The Ripper" Roberts and captain and quarterback

Austin Downes Austin J. Downes (1905-1979) was a college football player. He later worked for the US government in Phoenix, Arizona. Early years Downes came from an Irish family in Chicago. Downes was to play for Knute Rockne's Notre Dame Fighting Irish ...

Buster Mott Norman Howard "Buster" Mott (June 21, 1909 – November 14, 1987) was an American football back in the National Football League (NFL). Mott played with the Green Bay Packers during the 1933 NFL season. He split the following season between t ...

was a promising sophomore.

Schedule

Season summary

Yale

For the third straight year, Georgia's Bulldogs triumphed over "superstar" Hall of Famer

Albie Booth Albert James "Albie" Booth (February 1, 1908 – March 1, 1959) was an American football player. He was a star at Yale University from 1929 to 1931, and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1966. Booth, at only tall and , was kno ...

and

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

's Bulldogs 26–7. Yale once had the ball on its own 45-yard line. "Tommy Taylor dropped back to pass. Catfish Smith hit Taylor as he released the ball and the wobbly toss was grabbed by guard Red Leathers of Georgia, who proceeded to dash 40 yards to the touchdown." Before the first half was over, Homer Key ran for a 74-yard touchdown, starting through right and cutting back. "He was surrounded by blue-clad players. He shuttled in and out like a white needle in haystack of blue, and finally he shout out and streaked for the goal." In the fourth quarter, after a short punt, Austin Downes connected with Key on a 27-yard touchdown pass. Later, Dickens intercepted Booth's pass at the 29-yard line, and Georgia drove it in with Gilmore finally going over to end the scoring. The starting lineup was Crenshaw (left end), Townsend (left tackle), Patterson (left guard), Batchelder (center), Maddux (right guard), Cooper (right tackle), Wilson (right end), Downes (quarterback), Chandler (left halfback), Mott (right halfback) White (fullback).

Florida

The Bulldogs beat

Charlie Bachman Charles William Bachman Jr. (December 1, 1892 – December 14, 1985) was an American college American football, football player and head coach. Bachman was an Illinois native and an alumnus of the University of Notre Dame, where he played colleg ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

for the first time 33–6. Both Florida governor Doyle E. Carlton and Georgia governor

Richard B. Russell Richard Brevard Russell Jr. (November 2, 1897 – January 21, 1971) was an American politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 66th Governor of Georgia from 1931 to 1933 before serving in the United States Senate for almo ...

attended the game. Florida scored when Scabby Phiel blocked a punt. Georgia scored in every period.

Tulane

Georgia lost to the eventual SIAA champion

20–7. Tulane scored first on a 33-yard pass from Don Zimmerman to

Vernon Haynes Vernon Carlton "Lefty" Haynes (December 17, 1910 – May 28, 1973) was an American football and basketball player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Louisiana College in 1940 and at The Apprentice School in Newport News, Virginia ...

. Nollie Felts plunged in from the 1-yard line for the next touchdown. A pass from Georgia's Homey Key to

netted 60 yards and a touchdown. After a botched punt, a double pass play led to Payne sprinting around left end for Tulane's final score.

USC

Georgia was beaten by the national champion

60–0.

References

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Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Georgia Bulldogs football seasons

Georgia Bulldogs football The Georgia Bulldogs football program represents the University of Georgia in the sport of American football. The Bulldogs compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Div ...