Jackets, Hokies Collide Thursday Night In Atlanta

Sept. 23, 2013

Jackets, Hokies Collide Thursday Night On The Flats
• The only two teams to have raised the ACC Coastal Division trophy — Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech — square off Thursday night on the Flats in a pivotal ACC showdown on ESPN at 7:30 p.m.
• The Yellow Jackets, who have won six straight ACC regular season games, are looking to solidify their hold of the Coastal Division and move to 3-0 in the ACC, while the Hokies will open their ACC schedule.
• The game can be seen nationally on ESPN with Rece Davis, Jesse Palmer, David Pollack and Samantha Ponder on the call — Georgia Tech’s second consecutive ESPN broadcast.
• On the radio, “Voice of the Yellow Jackets” Brandon Gaudin has the call on the Georgia Tech IMG Sports Network along with analyst Rick Strom and sideline reporter Randy Waters. The game can be heard on WYAY 106.7 FM in Atlanta, on Sirius 93 and XM 193 and on the web at RamblinWreck.com.

Quick Hitters
• Georgia Tech officially recognizes the 100th Anniversary of Historic Grant Field on Thursday night. The team will wear throw-back jerseys, and nearly 40 former football All-Americans are scheduled to return. A special 100th Anniversary Coin will be used for the pregame coin toss and fireworks will be part of the festivities.
• Bobby Dodd Stadium at Historic Grant Field is the most tenured stadium in the FBS and listed by ESPN.com as a bucket-list item for college fans.
• The Yellow Jackets grabbed sole possession of first place in the Coastal Division with a 28-20 come-from-behind, rain-soaked win over North Carolina Saturday in Atlanta. Tech needed to rally from down 13-0 in the first quarter and 20-7 in the second before imposing its will on the ground and pitching a second-half shutout.
• Tech’s defense has yielded just seven second-half points over the last five games, dating back to 2012.
• Conversely, the offense has scored at least seven points in 14 of the last 15 quarters dating back to 2012.
• The Jackets have won six consecutive regular-season ACC games — tied for their second-longest ACC winning streak in school history. Seven straight wins is the school record, set in 2009-10.
• Tech is 8-3 in its last 11 games overall dating back to last season.
• Tech has rushed for no less than 324 yards in every game this season and ranks fourth nationally in rushing offense (345.3), marking the sixth consecutive year the Yellow Jackets have ranked in the top five.
• Tech is also ranked second in the FBS in third-down percentage (.667), third in yards per completion (19.0), fifth in pass efficiency (200.54), 10th in scoring (45.3) and 11th in total defense (275.3).
• Head coach Paul Johnson picked up his 150th career win Saturday over the Tar Heels. Johnson is 150-65 in 17 years as a head coach and only nine active FBS coaches own more career wins.
• Vad Lee, a dual-threat sophomore QB and a week removed from winning ACC Offensive Back of the Week honors, is responsible for 10 of Tech’s 18 offensive TDs this year (seven passing, three rushing).
• Senior A-back Robert Godhigh, who stands just 5-foot-7 and weighs 190 pounds, leads the ACC with his 12.4 yards per play average. The former walk-on has eclipsed his rushing career in back-to-back games.
• Since ACC divisional play began in 2005, Georgia Tech is 27-15 vs. Coastal Division opponents. Under Paul Johnson, Tech is 16-11 vs. Coastal opponents.
• The Yellow Jackets have rushed for more yards than any FBS team since 2008, and in 2012, Tech surpassed the 20,000-yard rushing mark for the five-year period under head coach Paul Johnson.

The Virginia Tech Series
• Virginia Tech leads the all-time series, 7-3.
• The Hokies have won the last three and five of the last six meetings.
• Virginia Tech has won three of the five previous meetings in Atlanta.
• Virginia Tech holds a 3-1 series advantage in Blacksburg.
• Georgia Tech’s last win over the Hokies was a 28-23 win over fourth-ranked Virginia Tech in 2009.
• Virginia Tech won last year’s meeting, 20-17 in overtime, in a Labor Day night game to open the season in Blacksburg.
• Four of the last five have been decided by seven points or less.
• Virginia Tech’s 20-17 win over Georgia Tech in Blacksburg in 2008 marked coach Paul Johnson’s first loss as coach of the Yellow Jackets.
• This will be the 11th all-time meeting between the two teams and the sixth played on a day other than Saturday. This is the fifth time the two teams will meet on a Thursday night.
• The first meeting between the Jackets and Hokies came in 1990, a 6-3 Georgia Tech win in which Virginia Tech nearly spoiled the Yellow Jackets’ run to a share of the national championship.
• Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson is 1-4 all-time vs. Virginia Tech including a 1-1 mark in Atlanta.
• Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer has been on the sidelines for all 10 previous Georgia Tech-Virginia Tech games.
• Georgia Tech is 35-25-1 all-time against teams from Virginia.