Well, Tech lost to unranked LSU and unranked Auburn and the week before they played Alabama they tied an unranked FSU team. Sure, the Jackets had talent they just about always did with Dodd. But who would you pick: a team with Joe Namath and Lee Roy Jordan (whom the Bear said was pound for pound the best player he ever coached) along with Bill Battle, Ray Ogden, Cotton Clark and others or a team that lost three games that year and struggled to score. Granted, Bear was worried about the rain and Dodd's game day coaching and he should have been but they were number one and playing an unranked Tech team albeit one that Dodd said had his best offensive line.
As far as 1964 goes, playing Tennessee, Alabama, and UGA in a row would have tested the mettle of any team even one with All American Bill Curry at center and linebacker. Playing Alabama in 1962 was bad enough but it could have been worse. Ole Miss was undefeated that year. Good thing Dodd refused to play them because of Hemingway Stadium in Oxford only having a capacity of 25,000 and Dodd wanted to make money. Going to Oxford and Starkville was not going to fill up the piggy bank in those days.
Easily pick the GT talent over bama talent that year. I did mention how good 2 of the bama players were.
If I remember, most played both ways then and GT had FOUR on the LOS scrimmage that played in the NFL. Not to mention the others. We should have lost, maybe, one game before playing bama. Tying an FSU team back then was almost as bad as curry losing / tying to Furman in the 80s.
As for 64 we easily had better talent than ut & ugag then. Easily. People should not confuse those teams in the early to mid 60s with where they are now.
Dodd was almost delusional as regards scheduling. It was almost as if he thought every opponent should come here. Sports does not work that way. Look at the 52 schedule.
And if not going to Miss. to play was due to $, and he made more by playing another team here - what happen to all the $ he cornered the market on? And going to duke back then was more $ than Miss.? As Dodd said to Vaught during a press function before the 71 Peach Bowl - “the reason I didn’t want to play you there is you would have beat the hell out of me.”
If money was the reason for not playing there, then why could the argument not be made now we should only play at CU or ugag? Why shouldn’t WFU and puke play almost every game on the road now? As said, that is not how sports should be played.
Dodd was a great coach and did a lot for GT. But WE had better talent than bama in 62 and much better than ut & ugag in 64.
But days gone now. Stay cool this summer!