Aug. 30, 2001
ATLANTA– – The Georgia Tech football team begins its 89th season at Bobby Dodd Stadium at historic Grant Field when the 11th-ranked Yellow Jackets (1-0) host The Citadel (0-1) in Saturday’s home opener, which begins at 6 p.m.
Originally built by members of the Georgia Tech student body in 1913, Tech’s home field is the oldest on-campus stadium in NCAA Division I-A. The Rambling Wreck’s 398 victories at Bobby Dodd Stadium/Grant Field are more wins than any other Division I-A program in its current facility. The stadium is scheduled for a major renovation and expansion following the 2001 season.
The Yellow Jackets have won 15 of their last 17 home games, and in 12 of those 15 home wins, Tech has scored 40 or more points.
With Citadel featuring a new head coach in former Alabama assistant Ellis Johnson and a true freshman quarterback in Mazzie Drummond, Tech enters the game with little knowledge of what to expect from the Bulldogs.
“You hope your experience takes over when you face a team without having any film on them,” said Tech head coach George O’Leary following Thursday’s practice at Rose Bowl Field. “You go back to your basics and fundamentals and hope that some of your experienced players can adapt to things that we haven’t seen and that our system gets us involved in a lot of things that are successful.”
O’Leary announced that he planned to use junior punter Dan Dyke (Winter Springs, Fla.) in the first half and junior Chris Morehouse (Vernon, Conn.) in the second half. Last week, Dyke punted three times for a 45.3-yard average with one inside the 20, while Morehouse averaged 43.0 yards with one touchback on his two attempts.
Tech senior defensive tackle Merrix Watson of Charleston, S.C., one of four South Carolina natives on the squad, was named one of the Yellow Jackets’ game captains for this week, along with senior tight end Russell Matvay of Coram, N.Y.
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