Jan. 7, 2004
Earning its school-record seventh consecutive bowl berth, Georgia Tech kicked off the year 2004 with an impressive 52-10 victory over Tulsa in the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho.
Although Idaho seemed an unlikely destination for a bowl game, the Treasure Valley turned out to be a Winter Wonderland for the Yellow Jackets (7-6 overall, 4-4 ACC), who put an exclamation point on a surprising season.
Picked to finish eighth in the Atlantic Coast Conference in preseason polls, Tech exceeded all expectations in 2003, highlighted by victories over bowl-bound teams Auburn, Maryland and NC State.
“No one outside of the team believed we could do this,” said Tech head coach Chan Gailey after winning the bowl game.
“A lot of people thought we might win two or three ball games. But this team just kept fighting, and that’s a tribute to a great group of young men and in particular a great group of senior leaders.
“What you hope is this is a springboard to what you see next season.”
The Tech offense, directed by true freshman quarterback Reggie Ball, featured the ACC’s leading receiver in senior Jonathan Smith, a second-team all-ACC selection, and second-leading rusher in first-team all-conference honoree P.J. Daniels as well as first-team all-ACC center Hugh Reilly. The duo of Smith and Daniels gave Tech a 1,000-yard rusher and a 1,000-yard receiver on the same team for the first time in school history.
Ball was named ACC Rookie of the Year after setting Tech freshman records for passing yards (1,996), completions (181) and total offense (2,380). He completed 52 percent of his passes with 10 touchdowns, and the 5-11, 192-pounder was also Tech’s second leading rusher with 384 yards and three scores.
Smith enjoyed the most prolific receiving season in Tech history, setting school records with 78 receptions for 1,138 yards. He leads the ACC in receptions and punt return average (11.7) while ranking second in receiving yards and all-purpose yards per game (120.7).
Likewise, Daniels posted one of Tech’s top rushing performances this fall with 1,447 yards and 10 touchdowns. He leads the ACC with 111.3 yards per game, the first Tech player to lead the league since 1989.
Defensively, the Jackets boast the ACC’s leading tackler in linebacker Keyaron Fox, sacks leader in defensive end Eric Henderson and free safety James Butler, who is second in the league in interceptions. All three were first-team all-ACC honorees, while linebacker Daryl Smith and tackle Travis Parker were honorable mention selections.
Tech’s defense, under coordinator Jon Tenuta, turned in outstanding performances against Auburn (three points, 230 total yards), Maryland (three points, 253 yards), Wake Forest (seven points, 277 yards) Florida State (14 points, 251 yards) and Tulsa (10 points, 144 yards).
The Jackets lead the ACC and rank 12th nationally in rushing defense (100.5), holding six teams under 100 yards, including NC State with minus-eight yards and Tulsa with minus-56 on the ground. Tech also finished 20th in the nation in total defense (322.2) and 27th in scoring defense (20.4).
On special teams, senior placekicker Dan Burnett hit 17 of 21 field goals, and Jonathan Smith returned two punts for touchdowns, leading the ACC in punt return average.
With its invitation to Humanitarian Bowl VII, Georgia Tech has earned a school-record seventh straight bowl berth. On their current streak, the Yellow Jackets have also played in the 1997 Carquest Bowl, the 1999 and 2000 Toyota Gator Bowls, the 2000 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, the 2001 Seattle Bowl and the 2002 Silicon Valley Classic. Tech previously played in six straight bowl games from 1951-56 under legendary head coach Bobby Dodd.
Georgia Tech is one of just 11 schools in the nation to play in a bowl game each of the last seven years. Florida State is the only other ACC school in this elite group, which also includes Florida, Georgia, Kansas State, Michigan, Nebraska, Oregon, Purdue, Tennessee and Virginia Tech.
“We’re very excited about the opportunity to play in our seventh straight bowl game,” said Gailey, who is the first Tech head coach to lead the Jackets to bowl games in his first two seasons. “Extending that streak was very important to our football team and especially to our senior class.”
Reilly, one of Tech’s 2003 captains along with Daryl Smith and tight end John Paul Foschi, agreed with his head coach.
“Since the end of last year, the emotions have been all over the place,” he said. “To come out with a winning season and get to a bowl game and perform like we did is amazing.”
