March 22, 2013
Georgia Tech will begin spring football practice on Monday, and the Yellow Jackets are tentatively scheduled to practice every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday leading up to the April 19 spring game.
FRIDAY NIGHT ON THE FLATS
Last year Georgia Tech played its annual spring game on a Friday night and nearly 20,000 fans — a Tech spring game record — were on hand. Tech will play its spring game on Friday night again this year, at 7:30 p.m., in Bobby Dodd Stadium.
NOTING THE `13 SCHEDULE
— Ten of Georgia Tech’s 12 opponents won six games or more last season.
— The Yellow Jackets’ first three games come against teams from the state of North Carolina.
— Georgia Tech played in an ESPN Thursday night game for 19 consecutive years before that streak was snapped last season (the Yellow Jackets played in an ESPN game on Labor Day night at Virginia Tech).
— The Yellow Jackets have played two games with a short turn-around before, including last season when Tech played at Virginia Tech on a Monday, then hosted Presbyterian on Saturday. Tech, however, has not played two conference games with a five-day turn-around since 2001.
— Georgia Tech’s ACC opener comes against Duke for the first time since 1994 and the Jackets will play their first ACC game in Durham for the first time. — Games 2-5 all come against ACC Coastal Division opponents.
— When Tech plays back-to-back road games at Miami (Oct. 5) and BYU (Oct. 12), the Yellow Jackets will fly a combined 4,342 miles. Tech will go from playing at sea level (at Miami) to playing at 4,500 feet above sea level the following week (at BYU).
— Tech will play on the road just once after October 26th and that game — at Clemson (Nov. 14) — is within driving distance of the Flats.
— The Jackets’ game against Clemson (Nov. 14) falls later in the calendar than any season since 1945.
— With two Thursday night games on the schedule, there will be four Saturdays this fall when Georgia Tech does not play.
— The Yellow Jackets have won six straight and 13 of their last 14 home openers.
— The Yellow Jackets will play two nationally-televised Thursday night games in the same season for the first time since 2009 when they beat visiting Clemson (30-27) and lost on the road against Miami (17-33).
NEW FACES ON THE COACHING STAFF
Ted Roof, the former Georgia Tech standout and a widely-respected veteran coach, takes over this spring as the Yellow Jackets’ defensive coordinator.
Roof returns to his alma mater after serving as defensive coordinator at Penn State in 2012, and at Auburn in the Tigers’ 2010 run to the national championship.
Mike Pelton also joins the Georgia Tech staff, where he will coach the defensive line. Pelton spent the past two seasons at Auburn, his alma mater, where he was a standout player for the Tigers.
CELEBRATING 100 YEARS: GRANT FIELD
Georgia Tech will celebrate 100 years of playing at Grant Field in 2013. Several pieces of the celebration, including a logo, will be introduced shortly.
NOTING THE YELLOW JACKETS
— Since the ACC initiated its championship game in 2005, Georgia Tech has played in the title game three times — 2006, 2009 and 2012.
— The Yellow Jackets have played in a bowl game 16 consecutive seasons.Tech’s consecutive bowl streak of 16 years trails only active streaks by Florida State (31), Florida (22) and Virginia Tech (20).
— The Yellow Jackets have rushed for more yards than any FBS team since 2008, and in 2012, Tech surpassed the 20,000-yard rushing for the five-year period under head coach Paul Johnson.
— Georgia Tech has ranked in the top four nationally in rushing in each of the past five seasons.
— Georgia Tech has finished .500 or better in ACC play for 18 consecutive seasons – the longest such streak by any team nationally.
— Tech has won 40 games over the last five seasons combined for an average of 8.0 wins per season.
— The Jackets have finished .500 or better overall in 14 of the last 15 seasons. – Tech has scored 15 non-offensive touchdowns in Paul Johnson’s five seasons as head coach (three each season).
TECH APPROACHING 700 VICTORIES
Georgia Tech enters the 2013 season six wins shy of 700 all-time victories. The Yellow Jackets’ all-time record in 120 seasons of football is 694-468-43. Tech would be the 15th Division I team to reach 700 wins.
