Feb. 27, 2012
A quick first glance at Georgia Tech’s 2012 football opponents:
Boston College (Oct. 20)
— 2011 Record: 4-8 overall, 3-5 ACC
— Allowed 17 or fewer points in four of the final five games of the 2011 season
— Tailback Montel Harris needs 868 yards in 2012 to become the ACC’s all-time leading rusher
— Georgia Tech leads the all-time series, 5-2
— The two teams will meet for the first time since 2008, in Chestnut Hill, when Tech came away with a 19-16 win in Paul Johnson’s first-ever ACC game
— Boston College will come to Atlanta for the first time since 2007 when Eagle quarterback Matt Ryan engineered a 24-10 over the Yellow Jackets in a battle of two nationally-ranked teams
Brigham Young (Oct. 27)
— 2011 Record: 10-3 overall
— Defeated Tulsa in the Armed Forces Bowl, 24-21
— The Cougars won nine of their final 10 games in 2011
— Quarterbacks Riley Nelson and Jake Heaps, who split time in 2011, both return in 2012
— Also returning is receiver Cody Hoffman, who had 61 receptions for 943 yards and 10 touchdowns
— The all-time series is tied, 1-1
— Tech beat BYU in Atlanta in 2002 (28-19) and the Cougars beat the Yellow Jackets in 2003 in Provo (24-13 on a Thursday night)
At Clemson (Oct. 6)
— 2011 Record: 10-4 overall, 6-2 ACC
— The 2011 ACC champions, beating Virginia Tech in the league championship game
— Lost to West Virginia in the Orange Bowl
— Ranked 22nd in the final AP and USA Today Coaches polls in 2011
— Coach Dabo Swinney was the 2011 Bobby Dodd National Coach of the Year
— Has a new defensive coordinator (Brent Venables)
— Quarterback Tajh Boyd set an ACC record last season with 38 touchdowns responsible for
— Clemson is 12-2 under Swinney when playing at home, with one of those coming to Georgia Tech in Swinney’s first game as head coach
— When the ACC league schedule expands to nine games, Clemson will continue to be Tech’s permanent partner from the Atlantic Division
— Georgia Tech leads the all-time series, 43-13-2
— The Yellow Jackets have won five of the last six meetings
Duke (Nov. 17)
— 2011 Record: 3-9 overall, 1-7 ACC
— The Blue Devils have won three or more games in four straight seasons for the first time since 1985-91
— Georgia Tech leads the all-time series, 48-30-1
— The Yellow Jackets have won the last eight and 16 of the last 17 meetings
— Duke will be looking for its first win in Atlanta since 1994
At Georgia (Nov. 24)
— 2011 Record: 10-4 overall, 7-1 SEC
— Lost to LSU in the SEC championship game
— The Bulldogs will return quarterback Aaron Murray, who may be the SEC preseason player of the year
— In 2011, Georgia lost its first two games and its last games, sandwiching a 10-game winning streak in between
— Georgia leads the all-time series, 62-39-5
— The Bulldogs have won 10 of the last 11 meetings
At Maryland (Nov. 3)
— 2011 Record: 2-10 overall, 1-7 ACC
— Will have new offensive (Mike Locksley) and defensive (Brian Stewart) coordinators in 2012
— Tied for eighth nationally in 2011 with 16 fumble recoveries
— Georgia Tech leads the all-time series, 14-6, including a win last season in Atlanta
Miami (Sept. 22)
— 2011 Record: 6-6 overall, 3-5 ACC
— None of Miami’s losses were by more than eight points in 2011
— Five underclassmen declared for the 2012 NFL draft
— The Hurricanes are the only ACC team not returning their starting quarterback, although Stephen Morris has plenty of experience
— Georgia Tech leads the all-time series, 10-7
— The Hurricanes have won the last three meetings
Middle Tennessee State (Sept. 29)
— 2011 Record: 2-10 overall, 1-7 Sun Belt
— The Blue Raiders struggled the last half of the season, losing their final six games
— Tech beat MTSU in 2010 and 2011 to take a 2-0 lead in the all-time series
At North Carolina (Nov. 10)
— 2011 Record: 7-6 overall, 3-5 ACC
— Lost to Missouri in the Music City Bowl
— Under the direction of new head coach Larry Fedora
— Running back Giovani Bernard was the ACC Freshman of the Year (1,253 rushing yards)
— Georgia Tech leads the all-time series, 26-18-3
— The Yellow Jackets have won three straight and six of the last seven meetings with the Tar Heels
Presbyterian (Sept. 8)
— 2011 Record: 4-7 overall, 3-3 Big South
— The Blue Hose are no strangers to playing on the road against FBS schools.
Presbyterian played last season at California, and both Wake Forest and Clemson on the road in 2010
— Presbyterian closed the ’11 season with two victories by a combined score of 83-20
— Blue Hose coach Harold Nichols has a new defensive coordinator, Drew Wateson
— Nichols and Tech coach Paul Johnson both have a history at Georgia Southern – Nichols was an assistant coach in Statesboro from 1992-95
— The last time Tech played a Big South opponent – a 10-7 win over Gardner-Webb in 2008 – the Yellow Jackets were fortunate to escape with a victory
— Tech leads the all-time series 3-0 and the two teams will meet for the first time since 1937
— The Jackets hosted the Blue Hose three consecutive seasons (1935-36-37) and Tech won all three games via shutout (33-0, 55-0, 59-0)
Virginia (Sept. 15)
— 2011 Record: 8-5 overall, 5-3 ACC
— Lost to Auburn in the Chick-fil-A Bowl
— The Cavaliers doubled their win total from 2010 (4-8)
— UVA’s Mike London was the 2011 ACC Coach of the Year
— Virginia leads a close all-time series, 17-16-1
— Last year’s UVA win in Charlottesville was a turning point in the season for the Cavaliers
— Former Virginia head coach Al Groh is Georgia Tech’s defensive coordinator
At Virginia Tech (Sept. 3)
— 2011 Record: 11-3 overall, 7-1 ACC
— Lost to Clemson in the ACC Championship game
— Lost to Michigan in the Sugar Bowl
— Ranked 21st in the final 2011 AP poll, 17th in the USA Today Coaches Poll
— The Hokies have won 10 games or more in each of the last eight seasons – all under coach Frank Beamer
— Virginia Tech leads the all-time series, 6-3
— The Hokies have won the last two and four of the last five meetings
— The Yellow Jackets will be looking for their first win in Blacksburg since 2006
