1956 Gator Bowl
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| 1956 Gator Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 29, 1956 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1956 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Gator Bowl Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Jacksonville, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | QB Wade Mitchell (Georgia Tech) QB Corny Salvaterra (Pittsburgh) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | John Coles (EAIFO; split crew: EAIFO, SEC) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 37,683 | ||||||||||||||||||||
The 1956 Gator Bowl was an American college football bowl game played on December 29, 1956, at Gator Bowl Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. The game pitted the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Pittsburgh Panthers.
Georgia Tech began the season ranked #4, and they started the season with six straight victories, rising to #2 heading into a faceoff with #3 Tennessee, but they lost 6-0. Victoires over Alabama, #13 Florida and Georgia gave them nine victories and an invite to a bowl game for the sixth straight year.
The Panthers began the season ranked #10, along with victories over West Virginia and #7 Syracuse. However, they fell to California 14-0. After victories over Duke and Oregon that made them ranked at #11, they lost to #8 Minnesota, which made them fall to #20. They went 3-0-1 in their final four games, beating Notre Dame, Army, and #6 Miami, while tying Penn State. This was their second straight bowl game.