Sept. 6, 2005
The No. 17 Georgia Tech football team will open up Atlantic Coast Conference play on Saturday, Sept. 10, against North Carolina in the home opener at Bobby Dodd Stadium/Grant Field. The game is slated for 3:30 p.m. and will be regionally-televised on ABC (WSB-TV in Atlanta) and will air on Atlanta flagship radio 790 The Zone (WQXI-AM 790).
Gailey’s Weekly Press Conference Transcript
The Yellow Jackets broke into the Associated Press Top 25 poll this week at No. 17, after their 23-14 upset of then-No. 16 Auburn, last Saturday night. Tech appears in the rankings for the first time since the 2001 season, where the Jackets finished No. 21 in the final AP poll.
“It really is not important to me because as quick as the national exposure comes, it can be gone the next day,” said Gailey on the national rankings. “There are a lot of games that have to be played, and what really matters is where we are at the end of the season. It’s a long journey and we just have to keep working at improving ourselves and stepping in the right direction.”
North Carolina was the only conference team not to open its season last week. The Tar Heels finished 6-6 in 2004 and return nine starters on defense and six on offense.
“They have nine returning starters on defense that played fairly well at the end of the year,” said Gailey. “I think that they have some question marks on offense but they have good receivers and linemen.”
Carolina enters the match-up with zero experience at the quarterback position. Senior Matt Baker played in 12 games over the last three seasons, but will make his first start this Saturday, after waiting patiently behind Darian Durant.
“Not knowing how some of these players like (Matt) Baker will play sometimes worries me more than knowing how they will play,” said Gailey. “He’s more of a thrower, while Darian Durant was a 240-pound fullback who could throw the football. We don’t know what to expect in some instances and whether their thought process might have changed since last year.”
With the departure of two tailbacks and another sidelined with an injury, UNC’s Barrington Edwards and James Arnold should see plenty of action in the backfield. Edwards, a transfer from LSU, came to Carolina last season and sat out due to the NCAA transfer rule, and Arnold is a true freshman from Mocksville, N.C.
Senior wide receiver Jawarski Pollock returns for UNC and needs just 18 more catches to become the school’s all-time leader in career receptions. Pollock was one of the main weapons for the Carolina offense that finished last season No. 2 in the ACC in total offense (390.2 yards per game).
The Yellow Jackets have won six of the last seven meetings against UNC, but dropped a 34-13 decision to the Tar Heels last year in Chapel Hill. Tech leads the overall series 20-17-3 and has a 13-7 advantage in Atlanta.
One of the concerns for the Rambling Wreck heading into this season was the inexperience on the offensive line. The Jackets’ frontline put some of the concerns to rest by only allowing one sack against Auburn. Senior tailback P.J. Daniels recorded his 11th career 100-yard rushing game, finishing with 111 on 23 carries.
“This year, we have a lot of athletic talent,” said Gailey on the offensive line. “As a result, we decided to use a few more schemes. It’s more of assignment football rather than having to read everything that the defense might throw at you. The one thing that was amazing was that Auburn had not shown much stunting on the defensive line. Our guys made the adjustment the other night and that was very impressive to me.”
Junior quarterback Reggie Ball had a solid effort for the Jackets in the opener, finishing 17-of-36, with one touchdown and one interception. Seven different Yellow Jackets made receptions with sophomore Calvin Johnson tallying four grabs, including one TD catch.
“Reggie was very much in control, both on the field and on the sideline,” said Gailey. “That’s one of the steps we have to take in order to get to where we want to be. I told everyone before the season started that I truly believe he will come out and have a very good year this year, but that consistency is the key.”
The Rambling Wreck defense continued to shine last Saturday with three sacks and nine tackles for a loss against the Tigers. Four Yellow Jackets made interceptions, KaMichael Hall, Dawan Landry, Philip Wheeler and Gerris Wilkinson, and Landry led Tech with 10 tackles.
This season marks the first with two divisions, the Atlantic and Coastal, in the ACC. The winner of each division will meet in the ACC Championship game on Dec. 3 in Jacksonville, Fla.
“It is definitely more important because not only is it a victory for you, but it’s a loss for them,” said Gailey of Tech’s first divisional match-up. “Playing the teams in your division carries twice as much weight.”
