SEC x CFB 150: 1932-1951

As part of the recognition of the 150th anniversary of college football, the Southeastern Conference is recognizing 150 of the greatest games and moments in the history of the 14 institutions of the SEC.

Each of the SEC's 14 members submitted to the Conference Office 10 great games or moments, and the SEC added 10 conference-wide highlights to produce a total of 150 great moments to be celebrated throughout the 2019 football season. To view the other weeks, click here.

Date: December 8-9, 1932
Site: Farragut Hotel, Knoxville, Tennessee
Title: Formation of SEC
The seeds of the SEC were planted as far back as 1894 when the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association formed with seven members, expanded to 19 by 1895 and soon grew to an unruly number of 30 within five years. The larger schools reorganized as the Southern Conference in December of 1920, creating a membership of 16. But that number grew again, expanding to 23 by 1928. The 13 members west and south of the Appalachian Mountains reorganized as the Southeastern Conference at the annual SC meeting of Dec. 8-9, 1932 at the Farragut Hotel in Knoxville, Tennessee. Dr. Frank L. McVey of Kentucky was elected president of the new conference whose charter members were: Alabama, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, LSU, Mississippi, Mississippi State, Sewanee, Tennessee, Tulane and Vanderbilt. (Sewanee withdrew Dec. 13, 1940, Georgia Tech on June 1, 1964 and Tulane on June 1, 1966).

Final score: Vanderbilt 7, LSU 6
Date: October 23, 1937
Site: Dudley Field, Nashville, Tennessee
Head Coach: Ray Morrison
Title: "Where's the Ball?"
Early in the game against No. 6 LSU, offensive left tackle Greer Ricketson pretended to follow a right sweep, but instead, picked up the ball left cleverly hidden behind center by quarterback Dutch Reinschmidt, hesitated for a split second and sprinted down a wide-open left sideline for a 50-yard touchdown. The Commodores made Ricketson's hidden-ball touchdown count, going on to a 7-6 upset home victory.

Final Score: Texas A&M 14, Tulane 13
Date: Jan. 1, 1940
Site: Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, Louisiana
Head coach: Homer Norton
Title: 1939 National Champions Love the Sugar Bowl
Capping off a perfect 1939 regular season and already being named Associated Press National Champions prior to the Sugar Bowl, the Aggies of Texas A&M faced the Tulane Green Wave in their home stadium in New Orleans for the 1940 Sugar Bowl. Tulane was ranked No. 5. The Aggies opened the scoring in the first quarter as Jarrin' John Kimbrough bowled over from two yards out. In the third quarter, Tulane tied the score on a 76-yard punt return. Early in the fourth quarter, an Aggie fumble set up a Tulane touchdown, but Texas A&M's Herbie Smith blocked the PAT. With Tulane holding a 13-7 lead in the fourth quarter, the Aggies responded with a 70-yard drive led by Kimbrough's powerful running. The final 26 yards of the drive came on a pass from Cotton Price to Herbie Smith at the Tulane 10-yard line and Smith lateraled to Kimbrough who carried it the rest of the way. Price would kick the PAT to give the Aggies a 14-13 win. Kimbrough finished with 159 rushing yards and would finish second in the 1940 Heisman Trophy balloting.

Final Score: South Carolina 18, Clemson 14
Date: Big Thursday, October 23, 1941
Site: Carolina Stadium, Columbia, S.C.
Head Coach: Rex Enright
From a Carolina point of view, the dramatic clash of 0ct. 23, 1941 represented probably the most satisfying of all "Big Thursday" games. Not since 1933 had a Gamecock team been victorious over Clemson and the 14th-ranked Tigers were heavily-favored again. A record crowd of 23,000 saw the Gamecocks take a 6-0 lead just four minutes into the contest. The Gamecocks added two more scores to up the ante to 18-0 before the Tigers finally came alive late in the third quarter. However, the Gamecocks prevailed, as Coach Enright took the satisfying ride to the center of the field on the shoulders of his players. USC President J. Rion McKissick wisely cancelled classes the next day.

Final Score: Missouri 45, Kansas 6
Date: November 22, 1941
Site: Memorial Stadium, Lawrence, Kansas
Head Coach: Don Faurot
Title: "The Iceman Cometh"
Necessity is the mother of invention, as common wisdom states. That was the situation that Mizzou Coach Don Faurot found himself in for the 1941 season, with All-American QB "Pitchin" Paul Christman having graduated. Faurot came up with an innovative offensive scheme that he called the Split T formation, and it would go on to revolutionize college football for years to come, as it is credited with being the granddaddy of all option offenses - everything from the Wishbone to the Veer. By season's end, Faurot's offense had found high gear, as it outscored its last eight foes by a 219-25 margin and climbed to No. 8 in the rankings with a 7-1 record and the nation's top rushing attack (308 yards per game). With only rival Kansas standing in the way of a Big Six Championship, Faurot's offense ran roughshod over the Jayhawks despite playing in a downpour for most of the day in Lawrence and cruised to a 45-6 win. Six different Tigers would score on the day, while RB Harry Ice led the charge, rushing for a school-record 240 yards on only eight carries (an astonishing 30.0 average). Not far behind was All-American Bob Steuber, who had touchdown runs of 47 and 55 yards of his own, ending with 158 rushing yards in all on 10 carries, as the Tigers outrushed KU by a whopping 449-69 margin. The 39-point win marked the largest victory by either side in the series to date, which began in 1891, and Ice's rushing record stood at Mizzou for 57 years, until broken by Devin West in 1998. The '41 squad would go on to finish ranked seventh in the final polls with an 8-2 record.

Final score: Mississippi State 6, Ole Miss 0
Dates: fall of 1941; November 29, 1941
Site: Multiple
Head coach: Allyn McKeen
Title: 1941 SEC Champions
The fall of 1941 saw Mississippi State claim its only SEC Football Championship, posting an 8-1-1 overall record and a 4-0-1 mark in conference play. The year was capped with victories at No. 14 Ole Miss on Nov. 29 (6-0) and at San Francisco on Dec. 6. Future College Football Hall of Famer Allyn McKeen's squad forced Ole Miss into six turnovers. Quarterback Jennings Moates' 38-yard rushing score proved to be the difference and the Memphis Commercial Appeal called the day "The Greatest Day in Mississippi State Football history." Over 28,000 were in attendance to witness the shutout in Oxford. Historians later wrote, "None of them knew that a Japanese attack force had sailed for Pearl Harbor just four days earlier."

Final Score: Georgia 21, Alabama 10
Date: Oct. 31, 1942
Site: Grant Field, Atlanta, Georgia
Head coach: Wally Butts
Due to war time gas rationing, Georgia's home game was moved to Grant Field. Led by Frank Sinkwich, who would win the Heisman Trophy, the Bulldogs were down 10-0 at the start of the fourth quarter but came from behind to win with Sinkwich throwing two touchdown passes to his hometown buddy George Poschner (Youngstown, Ohio). Because of Rose Bowl interest, the game was attended by several Eastern sportswriters which enhanced Georgia's goal for Pasadena where they defeated UCLA 9-0 resulting in a national championship.

Final score: Auburn 27, Georgia 13
Date: November 21, 1942
Site: Memorial Stadium, Columbus, Georgia
Head coach: Jack Meagher
No. 1 Georgia went into the game undefeated and a two-touchdown favorite in Columbus, Ga., before a crowd of 18,000. Georgia All-Americans Frank Sinkevich and Charlie Trippi were no match for the Tigers, led by Monk Gafford, who rushed for 119 yards and ran back three punts. Georgia closed the gap to 20-13 with seven minutes remaining, before Auburn' "Meagher's Marauders" mounted a five-minute drive and held the Bulldogs to a field goal to protect the upset win many called the greatest in the first half-century of Auburn football.

Final Score: Georgia 14, Alabama 0
Date: Nov. 2, 1946
Site: Sanford Stadium, Athens, Georgia
Head coach: Wally Butts
Georgia won 14-0 in a match that included two of the greatest players ever to play in the SEC-Charley Trippi of Georgia and Harry Gilmer of Alabama. Trippi, was a headlining success on both offense and defense (along with sensational punting) to win a big game on the way to an undefeated season, the only big-time team in the country without a loss. The offensive star, Trippi at safety also was part of a defense that kept Alabama's great quarterback, Harry Gilmer, from completing a single pass.

Final score: Kentucky 13, Oklahoma 7
Date: Jan. 1, 1951
Site: Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, Louisiana
Head coach: Paul "Bear" Bryant
Title: Wildcats End Sooners' Streak, Earn Share of National Championship
Summary: Kentucky defeated No. 1-ranked Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl, ending the Sooners' 31-game winning streak - at the time, the fifth-longest winning streak in NCAA history. Tackle Walt Yowarsky was the game's most valuable player, recovering two fumbles and repeatedly disrupting the OU backfield. In the first quarter, following a Yowarsky fumble recovery, All-America quarterback Vito "Babe" Parilli hit Wilbur Jamerson with a 22-yard touchdown pass. Jamerson scored again on a one-yard dive in the second quarter and the UK defense made the scores stand up the rest of the way. The game capped an 11-1 season, a school-record for wins that featured UK's first SEC championship. UK also was national champion for the 1950 season according to the Sagarin Computer Ratings, one of four schools with a claim on the '50 crown, according to the NCAA record book.