Year-by-Year: 1952
November 24, 1952 10:00 AM
Late Field Goal Beats Baylor
Georgia Tech 17
Baylor 14
Georgia Tech broke a 14-14 tie late in the fourth quarter on a 22-yard Pepper Rodgers field goal to beat Baylor 17-14 on a hot, muggy day in Miami.
Undefeated and once-tied Georgia Tech came into the game as co-champion of the Southeastern Conference while Baylor was the Southwest Conference's runner-up. The Bears dominated the first half and led 14-7 at the intermission.
With 6:53 left in the game, the Yellow Jackets knotted the score at 14 on a 22-yard touchdown pass from Darrell Crawford to Buck Martin.
Three minutes later, Tech's Pete Ferris picked off a Larry Isbell pass at midfield and returned it to the Baylor 9. Crawford tried right tackle for no gain. Leon Hardeman, who had scored his team's first touchdown, got three at left guard but a pass intended for Jeff Knox fell incomplete and Tech faced fourth down. Head coach Bobby Dodd sent second-team quarterback Franklin (Pepper) Rodgers to kick the field goal. Rodgers, a sophomore who would later coach in an Orange Bowl, then split the uprights.
GAME STATISTICS
  GT Baylor
First Downs 9 17
Rushing Attempts 33 57
Rushing Yards 124 215
Passes Attempted 17 20
Passes Completed 6 8
Had Intercepted 1 3
Passing Yards 68 74
Total Offense 192 289
Punting/Avg. 7/38.1 6/38
Fumbles/Lost 1/1 3/0
Penalties/Yards 6/59 7/81
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Georgia Tech 7 0 0 10 17
Baylor 7 7 0 0 14
SCORING SUMMARY
GT: Hardeman 3 run (Rodgers kick); BU: Parma 1 run (Brocato kick); BU: Coody 4 run (Brocato kick); GT: Martin 22 pass from Crawford (Rodgers kick); GT: Rodgers 16 FG
Georgia Tech Head Coach Bobby Dodd
Baylor Head Coach George Sauer