Dec. 5, 2004
ATLANTA–Georgia Tech will face Syracuse in the Champs Sports Bowl, Dec. 21 at 7:45 p.m. ET at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla.
To purchase tickets for the Champs Sports Bowl, call 1.888.TECH.TIX or click here
The Yellow Jackets have a record of 6-5 overall, 4-4 in the ACC with all five losses coming at the hands of bowl-bound teams, including three defeats by teams currently in the Top 15.
Syracuse is also 6-5 overall, and with a 4-2 record in the Big East, the Orange won a share of the Big East title. Syracuse won three of its last four games, including a season-ending, 43-17 victory at Boston College.
“Syracuse has a lot of momentum,” said Tech head coach Chan Gailey. “They were very impressive in winning at Boston College in their last game. They’re a big, physical team that runs the ball very well.
“We are excited to be playing in our eighth straight bowl game, and we’re looking forward to the challenge of facing a very good Syracuse team. While our players are taking final exams this week, our coaches will be preparing for Syracuse, and we will begin practicing Friday.”
Georgia Tech and Syracuse have met just one time in football in the Kickoff Classic on Aug. 26, 2001 in East Rutherford, N.J., which Tech won, 13-7. Tech quarterback George Godsey passed for 224 yards and Joe Burns rushed for 113 yards and the Jackets’ only touchdown. The Tech defense held Syracuse to 242 yards of total offense (59 rushing, 183 passing).
Tech’s current seniors were on the team at that time, and three of them played in the game, though none significantly. James Butler and Johnathan Jackson played on special teams, and Levon Thomas got a few snaps at wide receiver.
Tech and Syracuse had two common opponents this season, Virginia and Connecticut. Both teams fell to Virginia by almost identical scores. Tech lost, 30-10, while the Orange fell, 31-10. Both teams defeated the Huskies, Tech by a 30-10 score and Syracuse by a 42-30 margin.
Georgia Tech will be one of just eight schools in the nation to play in a bowl game each of the last eight years. Florida State and Virginia Tech are the only other ACC schools in this elite group, which also includes Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Purdue and Tennessee. On their current streak, the Yellow Jackets have played in the 1997 Carquest Bowl, the 1999 and 2000 Toyota Gator Bowls, the 2000 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, the 2001 Seattle Bowl, the 2002 Silicon Valley Classic and the 2004 Humanitarian Bowl. Tech’s longest previous streak was six straight bowl games from 1951-56 under legendary head coach Bobby Dodd.
Georgia Tech enters the game with the nation’s best winning percentage in bowl games, among teams with at least 20 bowl appearances. Tech’s record stands at 21-11 for a winning percentage of .656 in postseason play. The Jackets lead Penn State (23-12-2, .649) and Southern California (27-15, .643). Tech ranks sixth all-time in bowl victories with 21 and 13th in appearances with 32.
Although the Yellow Jackets will be making their first appearance in the Champs Sports Bowl, formerly the Tangerine Bowl, the bowl was previously located in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and known as the Carquest Bowl, in which Tech defeated West Virginia, 35-30, in 1997. Georgia Tech’s bowl history also includes a rather memorable trip to Orlando as Tech defeated Nebraska, 45-21, in the 1991 Florida Citrus Bowl to clinch its 1990 undefeated season and national championship.
Tickets for the Champs Sports Bowl are priced at $45 and are now available on Georgia Tech’s athletics website, www.ramblinwreck.com or by calling the Georgia Tech Ticket Office at 1.888.TECH.TIX (Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. – 9 p.m., Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. – 6 p.m.).
Priority seating is available for Georgia Tech Alexander-Tharpe Fund contributors and football season ticket holders who place their orders by Wednesday, Dec. 8 at 9 p.m. Orders taken after the Dec. 8 priority deadline will be allocated on a first come first serve basis and will be available for pick up in Orlando.
For information on travel packages, Tech fans can contact the Georgia Tech Alumni Association at 404.894.2391 or visit the Alumni Association website at www.gtalumni.org. Bowl information is also available on the Champs Sports Bowl website at www.fcsports.com.–30–
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