Heisman insisted that the Bulldogs fulfill their obligations to play the game and threatened legal action if Cumberland backed out.

Despite receiving the opening kickoff, Cumberland never achieved a first down in the entire match and opted to punt on multiple possessions; the game's infamous score can be partially attributed to 97 percent of the game's plays occurring in Cumberland territory, with 64 of those plays occurring in its red zone.

In modern times, it is generally seen as risky to player health and unsportsmanlike to deliberately run up the score to such high numbers, meaning that college football games of more than 100 points have been infrequent since the 1940s.

Cumberland College, a Presbyterian school in Lebanon, Tennessee, had discontinued its football program before the season but was not allowed to cancel its game against the Yellow Jackets.

[3] He insisted on the schools' scheduling agreement, which required Cumberland to pay $3,000 (equivalent to $84,000 in 2023) to Tech if its football team failed to show.

[1][2] In fact, Heisman actually paid Cumberland $500 (equivalent to $14,000 in 2023) as an incentive to play the game; his letter to Cumberland's athletic department read in part: I hereby offer you the sum of $500 and an all-expenses-paid trip to Atlanta for your football team on the condition that you honor your contract by participating in and completing the Cumberland-Georgia Tech football game ...

Since this statistic did not account for the strength or weakness of a team's opponent, Heisman disagreed with the amount of weight the writers tended to assign to it, and he may have unleashed his players on Cumberland to make his point.

[1][6] Cumberland lost nine yards on its next possession, and Georgia Tech scored a fourth touchdown on another two-play drive.

[2][6] Several players on the heavily-outmatched Cumberland side suffered serious injuries during the game, including quarterback Charles Edwards, who was thrice carted off with concussions.

[2] Despite scoring 32 touchdowns, the Yellow Jackets did not complete or attempt a forward pass; all their yardage came on rushes, returns or defensive plays.

As a general rule, the only thing necessary for a touchdown was to give a Tech back the ball and holler, ‘Here he comes’ and ‘There he goes.’Sportswriter Grantland Rice wrote, "Cumberland's greatest individual play of the game occurred when fullback Allen circled right end for a 6-yard loss.

[9] While Cumberland's football team would eventually be restarted full-time (and change its nickname to the Phoenix in 2016), the two schools have not met in any sports since: Cumberland would eventually de-emphasize athletics, and currently competes in the NAIA, while Georgia Tech would go on to be a founding member of the Southeastern Conference before departing the SEC in 1964, and is currently a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference.