Dec. 8, 2010
Georgia Tech Set To Play In 14th Consecutive Bowl Game
Georgia Tech will keep one of the nation’s longest active bowl streaks alive when the Yellow Jackets play in their 14th consecutive bowl game Dec. 27 against Air Force in the AdvoCare V100 Independence Bowl in Shreveport, La. (4:00 p.m./ESPN2). The Yellow Jackets, 6-6 overall and 4-4 in the ACC (third in the Coastal Division), will play in their 39th bowl game overall and will make their first appearance in the Independence Bowl.
The Dec. 27th game comes one month after Tech’s final regular season game — a 42-34 loss at Georgia.
Air Force, 8-4 and 5-3 in the Mountain West Conference, will have not played since a Nov. 18, 35-20 win at UNLV — the Falcons’ third consecutive victory to close the regular season. Air Force won those three games by a combined 125-65. The Independence Bowl will feature the nation’s top two rushing teams. Georgia Tech leads the nation in rushing (327.0 yards per game) and Air Force (317.9 ypg) ranks second.
Tech’s rushing attack is led by senior B-back Anthony Allen (102.1 ypg), who ranks second in the ACC in rushing and rushed for a combined 331 yards over the final two games of the regular season. Senior quarterback Joshua Nesbitt, who broke his right arm Nov. 4 at Virginia Tech, is questionable for the game.
Georgia Tech leads the all-time series with Air Force, 3-0. The two teams have not met since 1979 and have never previously met in a bowl game.
Quick Notes On The Yellow Jackets
— Georgia Tech’s streak of 14 consecutive bowl game appearances ranks tied for fourth nationally behind Florida State (29), Florida (20) and Virginia Tech (18).
— The Yellow Jackets finished .500 or better in ACC play for a conference-record 16th consecutive season.
— Tech ranks first nationally in rushing offense (327.0 ypg). The Yellow Jackets finished in the top five nationally in rushing in 2008 and 2009. Tech owns the second-highest rushing average in school history.
— The Jackets need a win in the bowl game to extend its streak of consecutive winning seasons to 14 and to snap their bowl-game losing streak of five.
— Three Yellow Jackets were named to the All-ACC team. Senior center Sean Bedford was named to the first team for the second straight year. He was joined on the first team by senior B-back Anthony Allen. Sophomore guard Omoregie Uzzi was named second team.
— If senior Joshua Nesbitt, the ACC’s all-time leading rusher among quarterbacks, does not return for the bowl game, sophomore Tevin Washington will make his fourth straight start.
— Senior B-back Anthony Allen rushed for 331 yards in his final two regular season games combined. Allen, who ranks second in the ACC in rushing, owns the 8th-most single-season rushing yards (1,225) in Tech history.
— The Yellow Jackets are 11-2 under head coach Paul Johnson in games decided by five points or less.
Georgia Tech-Air Force Series History
— Georgia Tech leads the all-time series, 3-0.
— The Yellow Jackets and Falcons have not met on the gridiron since 1979, a 21-0 Tech victory. The two teams also met in 1978 (a 42-21 Tech win in Colorado Springs, Colo.) and in 1977 (a 30-3 GT victory in Atlanta).
— In that 1978 game at Air Force, Georgia Tech’s Eddie Lee Ivery broke the NCAA single-game rushing record with 356 yards (more on page 3).
— Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson coached against Air Force six times while coaching at Navy between 2002 and 2007. The Falcons won the 2002 meeting, then Johnson’s Midshipmen won five straight.
— The Yellow Jackets are 6-2 all-time against teams currently in the Mountain West Conference. Tech’s last game against a MWC opponent was a 38-10 loss to Utah in the 2005 Emerald Bowl in San Francisco (Dec. 29, 2005).
