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Yellow Jackets Host Duke in Second Straight Home Game

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ATLANTA – Georgia Tech hosts its second straight Atlantic Coast Conference contest as Duke visits Bobby Dodd Stadium/Grant Field Saturday at 12 noon for a regionally televised contest on the Jefferson-Pilot/ACC network (Fox Sports Net South in Atlanta).

The telecast features Steve Martin and Rick Walker in the announcers’ booth and Mike Hogewood on the sideline. The radio broadcast on the Georgia Tech-ISP Sports Network, including Atlanta flagship WGST 640 AM, has Wes Durham as the play-by-play voice and former Tech quarterback Kim King as the color analyst.

Tech has won two in a row, including Saturday’s 52-20 win over Wake Forest, to improve to 4-2 overall, 2-2 in the ACC. Duke (0-6, 0-3 ACC) is still looking for its first victory after falling to Florida State, 63-14.

“Duke is coming in after two tough games against Florida State and Clemson, both great football teams,” said Tech head coach George O’Leary. “It’s a team that we need to be ready for because on any given Saturday you can end up on the wrong side of the win-loss column if you don’t come out and execute like you’re supposed to.”

Tech quarterback George Godsey (Tampa, Fla.) has completed 108 of 176 passes for 1,341 yards and 14 touchdowns with just three interceptions. Against Wake Forest, he recorded career highs with 333 yards passing and four touchdowns.

Junior Kelly Campbell (Atlanta, Ga.) leads a balanced receiving corps with 29 catches for 444 yards and five touchdowns. He ranks 19th in the nation with a 24.5-yard average on kickoff returns. Sophomore Will Glover (Tampa, Fla.) has 20 receptions for 187 yards and two scores.

Joe Burns (Thomasville, Ga.) is Tech’s top rusher with 463 yards and six touchdowns on 102 carries, along with 17 catches for 145 yards. Backups Sidney Ford (Lindale, Ga.), 189 yards on 34 attempts, and Sean Gregory (Homewood, Ill.), 158 yards on 43 attempts, have also been effective. Ford (111 yards vs. Wake Forest) and Burns (123 yards vs. UNC, 100 vs. NC State) have given the Yellow Jackets three straight 100-yard games.

After a 578-yard effort by the offense against the Demon Deacons, O’Leary praised Tech’s offensive line, which is led by senior guard Brent Key (Trussville, Ala.) and senior tackle Chris Brown (Augusta, Ga.).

“I think the offense is getting better each week, and the key is the front line,” he said. “George is operating the offense the way he is supposed to, and we were able to break some big plays against Wake Forest. “

Especially noteworthy against the Deacons were Tech’s three big plays in the first half as Godsey threw touchdown passes of 53, 35 and 72 yards. Tech had entered the game with just four plays of 30 yards or more in the first five contests.

“I’ve seen improvement each week and we just need to continue that,” said O’Leary. “The timing of the passing game is getting better, and that goes along with the improvement of the offensive line and the run game.”

Sophomore linebacker Recardo Wimbush (Blakely, Ga.) is Tech’s top tackler with 55 hits and 10 tackles for loss. Sophomore defensive end Greg Gathers (LaPlace, La.) has 36 tackles and a team-leading seven sacks.

O’Leary looks for improvement from the defense after a lackluster performance against Wake Forest.

“I was disappointed in the effort with way too many missed tackles,” he said. “I need to get their attention this week because I’m not very happy with the defense right now.”

The Yellow Jackets lead the ACC in turnover margin at +1.33. The Tech defense has eight interceptions by eight different players, and the Jackets have recovered eight fumbles.

THE SERIES VS. DUKE
Georgia Tech has won five in a row and nine of the last 10 meetings to take a 37-29-1 lead in the series with Duke. The Blue Devils’ only victory in the 1990s was a 27-12 decision in Atlanta in 1994.

The two schools have met every year since 1933, making this Georgia Tech’s second-oldest continuous series, behind the Tech-Georgia rivalry. The only schools that Tech has played more than Duke (67 times) are Georgia (94) and Auburn (90).

LAST MEETING WITH DUKE
In 1999 in Durham, all-America quarterback Joe Hamilton completed 23 of 34 passes for 324 yards and two touchdowns while leading Georgia Tech to 10 points in the final seven minutes in the Yellow Jackets’ 38-31 win. With Tech trailing 31-28 midway through the fourth quarter, Luke Manget’s 22-yard field goal tied the game with 7:12 to play, and on Tech’s next possesion, tailback Sean Gregory scored from 19 yards out with 2:56 left. The key play on the winning drive was a 36-yard completion from Hamilton to Kelly Campbell, who caught 11 passes for 190 yards.

In 1998 in the last meeting in Atlanta, Hamilton passed for 259 yards and three touchdowns in Tech’s 41-13 victory.

WIN OVER WAKE RANKS AMONG MOST PROLIFIC
Georgia Tech’s 52-20 win over Wake Forest represented the Yellow Jackets’ third-highest scoring output in an ACC game. The only ACC games in which Tech scored more were a 63-35 win over Wake Forest in 1998 and a 59-21 win over NC State in 1986.

Tech’s 32-point margin of victory is its fifth-highest in an ACC game and highest since a 47-14 win over Duke in 1993.

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Georgia Tech has won 13 of its last 15 home games, with both defeats coming at the hands of Florida State (2000 and 1998). In 11 of those 13 home wins, Tech has scored 40 or more points.

JACKETS BAG SACKS
The Georgia Tech defense has recorded 16 sacks in the last three games, which equals the Yellow Jackets’ total for all of last season.

Tech collected a season-high seven sacks against NC State, the Jackets’ best total since a seven-sack effort against Maryland in 1997. Tech followed with six sacks in its win over North Carolina and three versus Wake Forest.

For the season, Tech has 23 sacks, led by Greg Gathers with seven.

COOL HAND LUKE
Sophomore placekicker Luke Manget (Conyers, Ga.) has broken the school record for consecutive extra points. Manget is a perfect 76-for-76 in his career, breaking the previous record of 70 in a row by Scott Sisson over the 1989-91 seasons.

After just 17 games, Manget, who is 17-for-25 on field goals, ranks 7th in Tech history in career points by kicking with 127.

CAMPBELL ECLIPSES TD RECORD
With two touchdown catches against Wake Forest, junior flanker Kelly Campbell broke the Georgia Tech career record. Campbell caught his 15th and 16th touchdowns against the Demon Deacons to break the Tech record previously shared by Dez White, Buck Martin and Gary Lee.

Last fall, Campbell shattered Tech’s season records with 69 receptions for 1,105 yards and 10 touchdowns. He now ranks 6th in Rambling Wreck annals in career receptions (109) and 5th in yardage (1,680).

SPECIAL TEAMS SPECIAL
Georgia Tech’s special teams play has been steady in all phases. The Jackets lead the ACC in net punting (42.8, second in the nation) and kickoff coverage (17.4) and are second in kickoff returns (23.9, sixth in the nation).

Punter Dan Dyke is fifth in the nation (44.8 average), and kickoff return specialist Kelly Campbell is second in the ACC and 15th nationally (24.5 average). Placekicker Luke Manget has hit six of nine field goals and has made 76 consecutive PATs.

The leading tackler on special teams is receiver Kerry Watkins (LaPlace, La.) with six, while Kelley Rhino (Alpharetta, Ga.) and Alex Tetterton (Duluth, Ga.) each have five.

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