Oct. 15, 2007
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Jackets Enter Homecoming vs. Army On High Note
Georgia Tech, looking to build momentum after a key win at Miami, hosts non-conference opponent Army Saturday for the first time in more than 30 years (12 noon/Raycom-Lincoln Financial TV).
This weekend is Homecoming on the Flats.
The Yellow Jackets, 4-3 overall and 2-3 in the ACC, are coming off a 17-14 win over Miami in their final appearance in Orange Bowl Stadium. Junior quarterback Taylor Bennett rushed for two third-quarter touchdowns and senior Tashard Choice ran for a career-high 204 yards as Tech overcame a 7-0 halftime deficit.
Travis Bell’s 39-yard field goal with 7:34 remaining proved to be the winning margin.
Army, 3-4, saw its two-game winning streak end last Saturday at Central Michigan, 47-23. Five first-half turnovers led to 20 Chippewa points, overshadowing an outstanding day by Black Knight wide receiver Jeremy Trimble (11 receptions for 169 yards and two touchdowns).
For Georgia Tech, Saturday’s game will be its final contest before hosting Virginia Tech Nov. 1 in a nationally-televised ESPN Thursday night game.
Georgia Tech and Army will meet for the first time since 1973 and for just the fourth time overall. The Yellow Jackets lead the all-time series, 2-1 (more series history on page three).
Tech Attempts To Keep Homecoming Streak Alive
There are two trends connected with Georgia Tech’s Homecoming games over the last decade: The Yellow Jackets have come out on top and the games have, for the most part, gone down to the wire.
Georgia Tech has won 11 consecutive Homecoming games. The last loss came in 1995, a 24-3 loss to Clemson.
Perhaps the most impressive part of the current streak is that the wins have come over quality ACC opponents. Last year Tech beat Miami on Homecoming. The previous year it beat Clemson, 10-9.
The Yellow Jackets haven’t played a non-conference foe on Homecoming since Central Florida in 1996.
Tech coach Chan Gailey’s teams have won all five Homecoming games by an average margin of 5.2 points.
Tech’s Strong Special Teams Will Be Challenged By Army
– Georgia Tech leads the nation in kickoff return defense, allowing just 15.62 yards per return. Army’s Corey Anderson ranks 22nd nationally in kickoff returns at 27.15 yards per attempt.
– The Jackets lead the nation in net punting and 14th in punt return yardage defense. Meanwhile, Army’s Jeremy Trimble averages more than 17 yards per return to rank seventh nationally. Trimble has returned a punt for a touchdown. Army ranks fourth nationally as a team in punt returns.
– Trimble poses a threat to the Yellow Jacket defense as well. The senior wide receiver has 155 career receptions for 1,988 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Georgia Tech-Army Series History
– Georgia Tech leads, 2-1.
– The Yellow Jackets and Black Knights will meet for the first time in 34 years — since a 14-10 Georgia Tech win in Atlanta on Oct. 26, 1973.
– All three previous meetings were played in Atlanta. That changes next year when the Yellow Jackets travel to West Point — the last contracted meeting on the horizon.
– Army’s only win in the series was a 16-13 victory over the Yellow Jackets on Sept. 25, 1971.
– The first time the two teams met on the gridiron was a 45-6 Georgia Tech victory on Nov. 8, 1952.
– Georgia Tech is 21-10 all-time against the service academies: 16-9 vs. Navy, 3-0 vs. Air Force, 2-1 vs. Army.
– Army is 0-2 vs. ACC opponents this season, losing on the road to Wake Forest (21-10) and Boston College (37-17) on consecutive weekends in September.
– Both Tech and Army have an open date next week.
– Georgia Tech head coach Chan Gailey has never previously coached against Army.
– Army coach Stan Brock is 0-0 all-time against Georgia Tech.
Jacket-Knight Player Ties
– Army has six players on its roster from the state of Georgia: Peter Anderson (Stone Mountain), Drew Coyle (Marietta), Mike Gann (Roswell), Arlance Jenkins (Dunwoody), Victor Ugenyi (Atlanta) and Greg Spencer (Sharpsburg).
– Jenkins and Yellow Jacket freshman Roddy Jones both attended Chamblee High School.
– Georgia Tech’s Jahi Word-Daniels and Army’s John Wright both attended Hoover (Ala.) High School.
– Tech’s Jake Blackwood and Army’s Matt Hernandez are both from West Palm Beach, Fla.
– Jacket freshman Mario Butler and Black Knight Dean Lisante are both from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.
– Georgia Tech has no players on its roster from New York.
Jacket-Knight Coaching Connections
– Georgia Tech head coach Chan Gailey has worked at a service academy before. He was an assistant coach at Air Force from 1979 to 1982, serving as defensive coordinator his final two years in Colorado Springs. While at Air Force, Gailey and the Falcons went 3-1 vs. Army.
– Army assistant coach Wally Ake was on the same Air Force staff as Gailey in 1981 and 1982.
– Georgia Tech offensive coordinator John Bond was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Army from 2000-04.
– Bond and Army assistant Tucker Waugh were on the same coaching staff at Illinois State in 1999.
– Army linebackers coach Robert Lyles was head coach of the Georgia Force of the AFL in 2001 and 2002. Lyles was also an assistant coach with the Atlanta Falcons in 1990 and 1991.
– Black Knight special teams coach Gary Miller was a Georgia Tech assistant coach (defensive line) in 1990 and 1991. He also coached at Marist (Ga.) School from 1986-89 and from 2002-03.
– Army tight ends coach John Misciagna served as Georgia Tech’s director of football operations from 1989 to 1991.
– Black Knight assistant coach John Tice played at Maryland, where as a senior in 1983 he played under former Georgia Tech head coach Bobby Ross. On that Maryland staff in 1983 was current Tech defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta, who was serving as a graduate assistant, and current Army tight ends coach, John Misciagna.
A Look At Two With Special Ties To Tech And Army
Pete Geren, Secretary of the U.S. Army
Pete Geren, who attended Georgia Tech from 1970-73, serves as Secretary of the Army. He was nominated by President George W. Bush on July 16th.
Geren is responsible for all matters relating to the United States Army: manpower, personnel, reserve affairs, installations, environmental issues, weapons systems and equipment acquisition, communications, and financial management.
Geren has been with the U.S. Defense Department for nearly six years, including stints as Special Assistant to the Secretary of Defense and Acting Secretary of the Air Force.
Col. Douglas Wheelock, NASA Astronaut
Wheelock, a native of Windsor, N.Y., is a West Point graduate with a master’s from the Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering at Georgia Tech.
NASA has assigned crew members, including Wheelock, to the space shuttle flight that will launch an Italian-built U.S. module for the International Space Station. That mission begins three days after the Georgia Tech-Army game, on Oct. 23.
Wheelock earned a Master of Science degree in Aerospace Engineering from Georgia Tech in 1992, with research in the areas of hypersonic and high temperature gas dynamics, flight stability and control, and automatic control and robotics. He was Team Leader of the Georgia Tech Aerial Robotics Design Team (1992).
Wheelock will be making his first spaceflight.
