110th Edition of Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate

Nov. 23, 2015

THE FLATS – One of the great rivalries in college football is renewed Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium when Georgia Tech and Georgia clash in the 110th version of “Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate.” The game is sponsored by Atlanta BMW Centers.

Tech will honor its 22 seniors before Saturday’s game. The game is live on ESPN2, and can be heard on the Georgia Tech IMG Sports Network, locally on 680 The Fan and 93.7 FM.

QUICK SLANTS
• With a young offense, and battered by a rash of key injuries, Georgia Tech has found it difficult pulling out close games this season. Five of Tech’s losses this season have been one-score games. The Yellow Jackets held fourth-quarter leads versus Virginia Tech and North Carolina, were edged on a last-second 56-yard field goal by Pitt, and had the ball on the final possession versus UNC, VT and Virginia.
• The Jackets lead the ACC and are seventh nationally in rushing at 261.8 yards per game. Tech has finished among the top seven in rushing in each of Paul Johnson’s previous seven seasons on The Flats.
• The Yellow Jackets have scored 20+ points in 21 consecutive ACC games dating back to 2013 — the longest active streak in the ACC and tied with TCU for the longest active streak in the Power-5.
• Tech’s 23 freshmen to play this season (10 true, 13 redshirt) are the fifth-most among Power-5 programs.
• Junior QB Justin Thomas is third on Tech’s career list for rushing yards by a quarterback, overtaking Tech great and College Football Hall of Famer Joe Hamilton in the VT game. Thomas has gained 1,811 yards in his 35 career games.
• The Yellow Jackets rank second nationally in Red Zone TD percentage, converting 77.1% of their Red Zone possessions into touchdowns. Tech has scored 30 of 35 times in the Red Zone this season, with 27 touchdowns.
• Through 11 games, Georgia Tech remains among the least penalized teams in the nation. The Yellow Jackets are averaging just 3.3 penalties and 28.7 penalty yards per game — both rank second in the FBS.
• Georgia Tech ranks among the national leaders in long rushing plays: 10+ yards (84 this season, ranks 10th in the FBS), 20+ yards (26, 9th), 30+ yards (14, 9th), 40+ yards (11, 3rd) and 50+ yards (6, 4th).
• Junior K Harrison Butker owns Tech’s career PAT record, booting his 161st at Miami to break the previous record held by Tech great Luke Manget (1999-00). Butker is fourth all-time at Tech in points by a kicker (245).
• Senior DB Chris Milton is the FBS’s active career leader with seven blocked kicks. Georgia Tech has blocked 14 kicks since 2013 — the most in the FBS. Two of Milton’s seven career blocked kicks have come this season.

SERIES NOTES
• Georgia Tech and Georgia will meet for the 110th time overall and for the 65th time in Atlanta.
• The Bulldogs lead the all-times series overall, 64-40-5, and the series in Atlanta, 34-26-4.
• Eight of the last 11 games of the series have been one-score games, with each of the last two decided in overtime.
• The Jackets are looking to retain the Governor’s Cup and win consecutive games in the series for the first time since 2000.

MORE ON THE GEORGIA SERIES
• Georgia is Tech’s most commonly-played opponent.
• Although UGA records show two fewer losses in the series (64-38-5) on claims Tech used non-college players in 1943 and 1944 during World War II, the NCAA officially recognizes the series as 64-40-5.
• Tech snapped a five-game losing streak to the Bulldogs last year, winning in overtime 30-24 in Athens in OT. Kicker Harrison Butker made a 53-yard field goal as time expired to force overtime and defensive back D.J. White picked off a pass in OT to secure the Jackets’ win.
• The 109 all-time meetings between the two teams make Georgia Tech and Georgia the 17th-most frequently played series in the FBS.
• Eight of the last 11 meetings have been one-score games. The winning margin over the last 11 games has been 106 points, or just 9.6 points per game.
• Tech’s last win over the Bulldogs in Atlanta was a 51-48 overtime victory on Nov. 27, 1999.
• Saturday’s game marks just the third time since 1996 that neither Tech nor Georgia are ranked in the Top 25.
• The two teams first met in 1893, a 28-6 Tech victory in Athens. The teams have met every year since 1925.
• Head coach Paul Johnson is 2-6 all-time vs. Georgia, which includes one loss against Georgia when he was at the helm of Georgia Southern.
• The Yellow Jackets are 54-65-6 against teams from Georgia and are 207-215-24 against SEC teams.

TECH-GEORGIA TIES
• Georgia Tech has 75 student-athletes on its roster from Georgia. Georgia has 88 student-athletes on its roster from the state of Georgia.
• Georgia Tech’s Marcus Marshall and Georgia’s Keith Marshall are brothers – the two are from Raleigh, N.C. Keith is a junior tailback for the Bulldogs and Marcus is a B-back from the Yellow Jackets.
• Tech defensive coordinator Ted Roof held the same position at Auburn from 2009-11 while Georgia’s defensive line/associate head coach Tracy Rocker was the defensive line coach at Auburn during 2009-10. The two won a national championship with Auburn in 2010.

SENIOR DAY 2015
• Georgia Tech will honor its 22 senior football players before Saturday’s game.
• During their time on The Flats, this class has helped the Yellow Jackets to a pair of ACC Coastal Division titles in 2012 and 2014, an Orange Bowl win last season over Mississippi State and a 2012 Sun Bowl victory over Southern Cal.
• Tech’s seniors include: DB Zach Allen, OL Trey Braun, QB Tim Byerly, OL Bryan Chamberlain, S Jamal Golden, DT Adam Gotsis, AB Roberto Hinojosa, OL Errin Joe, LB Tyler Marcordes, CB Chris Milton, LB Domonique Noble, WR Brandon Oliver, AB Denis Onwualu, LB Rusty Scott, OL Tim Seager, BB Patrick Skov, S Demond Smith, AB Broderick Snoddy, DE Tyler Stargel, DB Tyler Teknipp, LS Sean Tobin, and CB D.J. White.

TECH-UGA SERIES HIGHLIGHTS
• Nov. 26, 1949: Tech 7, Georgia 6. The Grant Field victory that started “The Drought,” Bobby Dodd’s eight-year mastery of Georgia.
• Dec. 1, 1984: Tech 35, Georgia 18. In Athens, this was Curry’s turnaround game for the program, one that ended a six-game losing streak to UGA.
• Dec. 2, 1989: Tech 33, Georgia 22. Jerry Mays ran for 207 yards to help complete a remarkable 7-4 Tech turnaround after an 0-3 start.
• Nov. 28, 1998: Tech 21, Georgia 19, in Athens. Brad Chambers’ 35-yard field goal in the final seconds ended a seven-game losing streak to UGA.
• Nov. 27, 1999: Tech 51, Georgia 48, in overtime. In the most thrilling game in Bobby Dodd Stadium annals, Joe Hamilton’s last home game was triumphant. Luke Manget’s second-chance, OT field goal sent Tech fans into euphoria. Many of them carried Hamilton — who was second in the Heisman Trophy voting that season — on their shoulders and around the stadium.
• Nov. 29, 2008: Tech 45, Georgia 42, in Athens. Paul Johnson’s first Tech team overcame a 26-12 halftime deficit to break a seven-year skid against a Bulldog team that was ranked No. 1 in the preseason. Freshman Roddy Jones ran for 214 yards.
• Nov. 29, 2014: Tech 30, Georgia 24 (OT), in Athens. Harrison Butker booted a game-tying, career-long 53-yard field goal as time expired to force overtime after a Malcom Mitchell TD catch that gave UGA a 24-21 lead with 0:18 left. Tech’s Zach Laskey scored on the first possession in overtime and D.J. White intercepted Hudson Mason to seal the win.

@Plays Friday |  * Plays Saturday | ^Plays Dec. 5 |  # Plays Dec. 12

SCORING STREAK CONTINUES
• Georgia Tech has scored 20+ points in 21 straight ACC games, which is the longest active streak by any team in the Power 5. Tech’s streak began in 2013.
• No other league team owns a current streak that extends beyond this season. Clemson has scored 20+ points in each of its eight games this year.
• Tech has scored less than 20 points just 10 times in the 62 conference games (16%) under Paul Johnson — seven of those came during Johnson’s first three seasons on The Flats.

YOUTH SERVED
• Georgia Tech has played 23 freshmen this season, including 10 true freshmen. Of those 10 true freshmen, six have started at least one game.
• Tech’s 23 freshmen played rank as the sixth-most in the FBS and fifth-most among Power-5 programs.

LYNCH EMERGING IN OFFENSE
• Redshirt freshman A-back Clinton Lynch enjoyed a career game at Virginia, which highlighted the emergence of Lynch within Tech’s spread option offense.
• Lynch scored all three of Tech’s touchdowns — all on big plays: a 49-yard rush, a 30-yard catch and a 22-yard catch.
• The Norcoss, Ga., native is tied for the team lead with eight total touchdowns this year, and has also rushed for a two-point conversion (at Notre Dame).
• His 631 all-purpose yards this season are second on the team and his six touchdowns over the last six games leads the team in that span.

THOMAS RISING TECH’S CHARTS
• With 31 career TD passes, Justin Thomas ranks sixth on the Yellow Jackets’ all-time list. He needs two more to overtake Eddie McAshan (1970-72) in fifth (32).
• In the Virginia game, Thomas became just the 11th quarterback in school history to pass for 3,000 career yards.
• His 3,113 career passing yards puts him 11th on Tech’s all-time list. He’ll need 406 yards to crack Tech’s top 10.

BLOCK PARTY
• The Jackets tied for the FBS lead last season by blocking six kicks — two punts, two field goals and two extra-point attempts — and since 2013, no team in the FBS has more blocked kicks than Tech’s 14.
• Senior Chris Milton has seven of Tech’s 14 since 2013, including his fifth career blocked punt against UNC. He led the FBS with three blocked punts in 2013.
• Milton is the active career leader in the FBS in blocks with seven, while senior teammate Adam Gotsis has swatted four kicks in his career, which also ranks among the NCAA’s active career leaders.
• Tech’s 14 blocked kicks since 2013 are the most by any team in the FBS over that span.