Sept. 3, 2007
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Georgia Tech Hosts Samford Saturday In Home Opener
Georgia Tech, coming off an impressive 30-point road win at Notre Dame, hosts Samford Saturday in the Yellow Jackets’ home opener at Bobby Dodd Stadium (1:30 p.m./ESPNU).
Senior running back Tashard Choice rambled to a career-best 196 yards and a suffocating Yellow Jacket defense held Notre Dame to minus-8 yards rushing last Saturday in South Bend, Ind. The nationally-televised win may vault Georgia Tech into the national rankings after handing the Irish their most lopsided season-opening defeat.
The Yellow Jackets, 1-0, were just outside the top 25 last week in both the Associated Press and USA Today Coaches polls.
Samford, 1-0, opened the season last Thursday night with a 23-21 home victory over West Alabama. Pat Sullivan, the former Heisman Trophy winner, is in his first season as head coach of the Bulldogs.
Georgia Tech won last year’s meeting with Samford, 38-6, and the Yellow Jackets are 7-0 all-time against the Bulldogs (more series information on page three).
Yellow Jacket Defense Puts On Impressive Display At ND
Last Saturday’s game — a Georgia Tech 33-3 victory at Notre Dame — was Chan Gailey’s 100th career game as a collegiate head coach. He may coach 100 more before he sees a more impressive display on defense.
Defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta’s defense held Notre Dame to minus-eight yards rushing, recorded nine sacks and 19 Irish offensive plays went for negative yardage.
Notre Dame, which has never endured a larger margin of defeat in a season opener, failed to score a touchdown in a season opener for the first time since 1985.
Nine different Yellow Jackets recorded at least a half-sack.
Georgia Tech forced and recovered three Irish fumbles.
Tashard Choice Rushes Into Group Of Nation’s Elite
The secret may be out.
Last year when the spotlight was focused on All-American wide receiver Calvin Johnson, Tashard Choice quietly led the ACC in rushing with 1,473 yards. Choice did not even earn one of two running back spots on the All-ACC first team (he was named to the second team).
After exploding for a career-high 196 yards and two touchdowns in front of a national television audience last Saturday at Notre Dame, Choice may have established himself as one of college football’s top running backs.
Choice has rushed for a school-record eight consecutive 100-yard games.
Quick Hits About Saturday
– Georgia Tech is looking to begin the season 2-0 for the fourth time in six seasons under coach Chan Gailey, and for the fifth time in seven seasons overall.
– Gailey will coach against his former team. Gailey served one season (1993) as the Samford head coach.
– The Yellow Jackets are 83-25-4 all-time in home openers, including a loss last season to second-ranked Notre Dame.
– Saturday is Band Day at Bobby Dodd Stadium.
Georgia Tech-Samford Series History
– Georgia Tech leads the all-time series, 7-0.
– The Yellow Jackets won last year’s meeting, 38-6, on Sept. 9 in Atlanta.
– The previous meeting — and only other meeting since 1945 — was a 28-7 Georgia Tech win on Sept. 4, 2004.
– The Yellow Jackets and Bulldogs met five times from 1903 to 1945 with each game resulting in a shutout victory for Georgia Tech. Samford was known as Howard in that era.
– Georgia Tech is 5-0 all-time in Atlanta vs. Samford and 2-0 against the Bulldogs in Birmingham.
– The two teams first met on the gridiron in 1903 — a 37-0 Yellow Jacket win in Birmingham.
– Georgia Tech head coach Chan Gailey, who once served as Samford’s head coach, is 2-0 all-time against the Bulldogs.
– Pat Sullivan, Samford’s first-year head coach, has never coached against Georgia Tech. While playing for Auburn from 1969-71, the Heisman Trophy winner went 3-0 vs. the Yellow Jackets.
– Georgia Tech is 70-75-7 all-time against high-level schools from Alabama (21-28-3 vs. Alabama; 41-47-4 vs. Auburn; 7-0 vs. Samford; 1-0 vs. Troy).
Tech’s Gailey Coached Samford For One Season
Georgia Tech’s Chan Gailey served as Samford’s head coach in 1993, his lone season with the Bulldogs.
Gailey led Samford to a 5-6 record — his only sub-.500 record ever as a head coach. He left the Birmingham school to join the staff of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2004.
Tech Assistant Modkins Familiar With Bulldog Staff
Georgia Tech running backs coach Curtis Modkins knows the majority of the Samford coaching staff very well.
Modkins was a standout running back at TCU in the early 1990’s. In 1992 and 1993, Modkins played under then-head coach Pat Sullivan, who now serves as the Samford head coach.
When Modkins’ playing career ended, he joined Sullivan’s coaching staff at TCU as a graduate assistant in 1995 and as a full-time assistant in 1996 and 1997.
Steve Brickey, Samford’s offensive coordinator, was a TCU assistant coach from 1993-97.
Chris Brasfield, Samford’s running backs coach, played at TCU in 1994 and 1995.
Andre Bruce, Samford’s secondary coach, played at TCU from 1995-98.
More Yellow Jacket-Bulldog Connections
– Georgia Tech has eight players on its roster from Alabama, including senior guard Nate McManus of Birmingham.
– Samford has 23 players on its roster from Georgia, including two — Sean Hill and Matt Knauss — from Atlanta.
– In 1984 and 1985, Samford director of football operations Larry Crowe was an assistant coach with the Birmingham Stallions. From 1982 to 1986, Tech’s head equipment manager Tom Connor served as the Stallions’ equipment manager.
