Georgia football: Top 10 turnarounds in school history

2. 1959 from the 1950’s

Earlier, I mentioned that the 1950’s and early 1960’s were rough for Georgia fans. In that decade and a half, the Bulldogs had only eight winning seasons but only four winning seasons in SEC play. One year stood out however, and that was the 1959 season.

Charlie Britt started every game at quarterback that season, but Fran Tarkenton was he real star under-center. His scrambling and passing helped Georgia improve from 4-6 in 1958 to 10-1 and undefeated in SEC play in 1959.

The Dawgs won the SEC Championship but an early season loss to South Carolina kept Georgia from taking even a share of the National Championship. But with a no. 5 finish in the AP, Georgia barely sniffed the Championship. Oddly enough, LSU and Ole Miss were both ranked ahead of Georgia despite LSU losing two games and Ole Miss losing late in the season to LSU.

But Georgia won the SEC Championship and Fran Tarkenton became a legend. His legend only increased after leaving school and taking the Minnesota Vikings to four Super Bowls.