No. 22 Football Hosts Defending Coastal Champs Duke

Oct. 6, 2014

THE FLATS – After only their fifth 5-0 start since 1957, the No. 22/23 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (5-0, 2-0) host the defending ACC Coastal champion Duke Blue Devils (4-1, 0-1) on Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Kickoff is set for 12:30 p.m. ET on the ACC Network.

RUN JT, RUN
Redshirt sophomore Justin Thomas ranks third among FBS quarterbacks in rushing yards per game, and has rushed for 329 yards in the last three games.

SERIES HISTORY
Saturday marks the 82 series meeting with Georgia Tech owning a 50-30-1 overall advantage. The two teams first met in 1933 and have every season since. Duke is Georgia Tech’s third-most played rival – behind only Georgia (108) and Auburn (92). Tech has won the last 10 and 18 of the last 19 meetings.

10’s A CROWD
After six weeks of the college football season, Georgia Tech is one of only 10 undefeated teams remaining in FBS – Arizona (5-0), Auburn (5-0), Baylor (5-0), Florida State (5-0), Georgia Tech (5-0), Marshall (5-0), Notre Dame (5-0), Ole Miss (5-0), Mississippi State (5-0), and TCU (4-0).

MYTH BUSTERS
One myth of Paul Johnson’s spread option offense is that it can be shut down when teams have more than one week to prep for it. Tech is 6-2 against its last eight opponents that had more than a week of prep – wins in 2012 vs. Duke, North Carolina, USC; 2013 vs. Elon and North Carolina; 2014 vs. Wofford.

3RD DOWN CONVERSIONS
Georgia Tech leads the nation in 3rd down conversions with a conversion rate of 58.1 percent (36 of 62). Georgia Tech is the only FBS team ranked in the Top 10 in both 3rd down and 4th down conversions. The Yellow Jackets are tied for 8th, converting 85.7 percent of 4th down tries (6-of-7).

EATING UP YARDAGE
QB Justin Thomas’ 704 career rushing yards ranks 10th all-time for Georgia Tech quarterbacks. Thomas needs 296 yards to become only the 6th 1,000-yard rushing QB in Georgia Tech history. Thomas needs  230 yards to become the  5th Georgia Tech QB to rush for  700 yards in a season.

WHAT A DIFFERENCE
DeAndre Smelter has 339 total receiving yards through five games, including three 100-yard outings. In his first season with the Jackets in 2013, Smelter had only 345 receiving yards in 13 games.

SCORING STREAK
Georgia Tech has played 216 consecutive games without being shut out – the eighth-longest active streak in the nation. The last time the Yellow Jackets were blanked came Oct. 18, 1997 – a 38-0 loss at No. 3 Florida State. Georgia Tech hasn’t been shut out at home since Nov. 30, 1957 – a streak of 354 consecutive home games at Boddy Dodd Stadium.

NET-WORKING
Senior B-Back Zach Laskey has recorded only THREE negative carries (only four yards lost total) in 307 career rushing attempts – or 0.9 % of his career rushing attempts. 

ONE FOR YOU, AND YOU, AND YOU…
Georgia Tech’s defense has forced nine turnovers – all recorded by a different player (Quayshawn Nealy, Demond Smith, Lawrence Austin, KeShun Freeman, Corey Griffin, Paul Davis, D.J. White, Isaiah Johnson, and Jamal Golden).

KING OF BLOCKS
Junior DB Chris Milton is tied for second in the FBS lead with two blocked kicks this season. He has five in the last two seasons. He ranked second overall in 2013 (3), and was the only player in the nation to block three punts.

THE Paul Johnson RADIO SHOW
The Paul Johnson Radio Show returns for the 2014 season and will be held Monday nights from 7-8 p.m. at Hudson Grille Midtown (942 Peachtree St NE). Hosted by the “Voice of the Yellow Jackets” Brandon Gaudin, the one-hour live call-in show can be heard statewide on the GT IMG Sports Network. If you can’t attend, you can call and ask Coach a question at 866-477-7020. You can also submit questions on Twitter using #GTRadio or through the GT Athletics Facebook page.

The first 25 Georgia Tech students to show their BuzzCard at each of the Paul Johnson Radio Shows will receive either a free dessert or free wings. Additionally, there will also be a GT burger special for $5.95 and free valet parking.

DOWNLOAD GEORGIA TECH GAMEDAY APP (Download: App Store | Google Play)
Georgia Tech Athletics joined forces with IMG and SportsLabs to develop the Georgia Tech Gameday app to keep Yellow Jackets fans connected to the action while on campus or watching from home. The Georgia Tech Gameday App will replace the current official app for Georgia Tech Athletics.

The Georgia Tech Gameday App is packed with robust social, on-campus and stat-driven features that enhance the gameday experience by delivering: free live game audio; real-time Instagram and Twitter feeds from the team and fans; the official game-day guide with key times, events and need-to-know information including stadium maps and parking to plan the day; live conference and Top 25 scores, real-time stats; opt-in alerts for weather updates, pre-game events, play-by-play information and more.

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