Sept. 3, 2015
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POSTGAME NOTES [GAME 1]
GEORGIA TECH YELLOW JACKETS (1-0) 69, ALCORN STATE BRAVES (0-1) 6
SEPTEMBER 3, 2015 • ATLANTA, GA. • BOBBY DODD STADIUM (49,196)
GAME NOTES
– The game began Georgia Tech’s 123rd season of football and the team’s all-time record improved to 713-477-43.
– The Yellow Jackets improved to 86-33-4 all-time in season-opening games, including 7-1 under head coach Paul Johnson.
– Tech opened the season on a Thursday night for the first time since beating Western Carolina, 63-21, in 2011.
TEAM NOTES
– Tech’s 69 points against Alcorn State are second in the modern-era for points scored behind the 70 points the Jackets scored in wins against Navy in 2001 (70-7) and Elon in 2013 (70-0).
– For the second time under Coach Johnson’s tenure, the Yellow Jackets did not commit a single penalty. The other game was against Syracuse on Oct. 19, 2013.
– Georgia Tech, which scored the first time it touched the ball an FBS-leading 71.4 percent of the time last season, did so again Thursday by marching 63 yards in five plays to grab a 7-0 lead thanks to Justin Thomas’ 13-yard touchdown run.
– Dating back to last season, it’s the seventh time in the last eight games that Georgia Tech has scored on a touchdown on its first possession.
– Tech’s 34 first-quarter points are a modern day school record for most points in a quarter — the previous record was 32 points in the fourth quarter versus Chattanooga on Nov. 9, 1985 — a 35-7 Tech victory.
– The Jackets’ 48 first-half points were the second-most in modern school history — the record being 52 in the first half versus Alabama A&M on Nov. 23, 2013 in a 66-7 win.
– The Yellow Jackets scored on each of its three takeaways in the game.
– Tech finished with 476 yards rushing, surpassing 200 yards rushing as a team for the 15th consecutive game to extend the nation’s longest active streak.
INDIVIDUAL NOTES
– Four players made their first career starts — all on offense: junior AB Isiah Willis, sophomore WR Ricky Jeune, sophomore RG Shamire Devine, graduate BB Patrick Skov.
– Skov, who transferred from Stanford in the off-season after playing 39 games for the Cardinal, had 14 career carries for 25 yards and four touchdowns. He finished Thursday night with 12 carries for 72 yards and three touchdowns.
– True freshman BB Marcus Marshall racked up 184 yards on just eight carries for an average of 23 yards per carry and two touchdowns. It is the most rushing yards by a Jacket since Jonathan Dwyer gained 189 versus Wake Forest in 2009.
– Tech’s third, fourth, fifth and 10th touchdowns of the night were first career touchdowns for Isiah Willis (1-yard rush), junior WR Micheal Summers (19-yard catch), true freshman BB Marcus Marshall (49-yard rush) and sophomore QB Brady Swilling (1-yard rush).
– That 49-yard TD run was also Marshall’s first career carry.
– Senior DT Adam Gotsis made his team-leading 29th consecutive start.
