Jackets, Cavaliers Clash in Charlottesville

Oct. 26, 2015

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Looking to build on a win on its last-second win, Georgia Tech hits the road Saturday for an ACC Coastal Division clash in Charlottesville vs. Virginia. Tech has won three straight in the series and five of the last six.

The game is live on the ACC’s regional sports networks, including Fox Sports South, and can be heard on the Georgia Tech IMG Sports Network, locally on 680 The Fan and 93.7 FM.

QUICK SLANTS
• The Jackets are fresh off a thrilling win over No. 9 Florida State in what is being called the “Miracle on Techwood” as Lance Austin returned a blocked field goal 78 yards for the winning touchdown as time expired.
• The FSU win improved head coach Paul Johnson to 6-3 in home games versus Top 25 teams, 3-1 versus Top 10 teams.
• Tech is tied for second nationally in Red Zone TD percentage, converting 78.6% of its Red Zone possessions into touchdowns. The Jackets’ 22 touchdowns in the Red Zone are 10th-most in the FBS.
• Through eight games, Georgia Tech remains the least penalized team in the nation. The Yellow Jackets are averaging just 3.3 penalties and 30.4 penalty yards per game — both FBS lows.
• Tech has amassed 71 rushing plays of 10+ yards — tied for the third-most in the FBS behind Baylor (82) and Georgia Southern (76).
• Tech was named the AutoNation National Team of the Week this week, while Jamal Golden earned both Walter Camp National Defensive Player of the Week and ACC Defensive Back of the Week, Lance Austin was the ACC Special Teams Player of the Week and Harrison Butker was a Lou Groza National Kicker of the Week.
• Junior QB Justin Thomas is 4-3 in his career versus Top 25 teams — 3-3 against teams ranked 10th or higher.
• The combined record of Tech’s last six opponents is 37-5, with fi ve of the six currently ranked in the AP Top 25. Tech’s schedule to date is ranked as the second-toughest nationally, behind Texas.
• Georgia Tech has played 17 previous times on Halloween, and the Yellow Jackets are 10-7 when playing on Oct. 31 and have won three straight Halloween games.
• Senior DB Chris Milton is the FBS’s active career leader with seven blocked kicks. Georgia Tech has blocked 14 kicks since 2013 — the most in the FBS. Two of Milton’s seven career blocked kicks have come this season.
• The 2015 season marks the 25th anniversary of Georgia Tech’s 1990 National Championship. A full season of events are planned and a special 25th Anniversary coin will be used by the game officials for every coin toss at home.
• One of Tech’s all-time great victories came at Virginia during the Jackets’ 1990 National Championship season. Tech beat the No. 1 Cavaliers, 41-38, on a field goal with seven seconds left.

SERIES NOTES
• Georgia Tech and Virginia will meet for the 38th time on the gridiron and the 33rd time as ACC rivals.
• The Yellow Jackets lead the all-time series, 19-17-1, and have won three straight and five of the last six.
• Georgia Tech has won two of the last three in Charlottesville, but UVA leads the series at Scott Stadium 10-4-1.

MORE ON THE UVA SERIES
• One of Tech’s all-time greatest victories was a 41-38 win against UVA in Charlottesville in 1990 when the Cavaliers were ranked No. 1 nationally and the Jackets went on to win a share of the national championship.
• Tech’s Scott Sisson nailed a 37-yard field goal with seven seconds remaining to beat Virginia in 1990, which stands as one of two Tech victories over a No. 1-ranked team in school history.
• The two teams have met every season since 1982.
• Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson is 5-2 all-time against Virginia.
• Georgia Tech is 38-26-1 all-time against teams from Virginia.

TECH-UVA CONNECTIONS
• Offensive line coach Mike Sewak was a three-year letterman for the Cavaliers from 1978-80 as an offensive lineman and earned a degree in psychology from Virginia in 1981.
• Linebackers coach Andy McCollum served the same role from 2007-09 at NC State when Virginia’s associate head coach and linebackers coach Mike Archer was the defensive coordinator at for the Wolfpack from 2007-12.
• Virginia’s associate head coach for defense and defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta was the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach for the Yellow Jackets from 2002-07.
• Georgia Tech’s Buzz Preston was the running backs coach from 1994-97 at Washington State and was on staff with Virginia’s special team’s coordinator and tight ends coach, Larry Lewis. Lewis coached at Washington State from 1989-98 as the defensive ends coach, assistant head coach and special teams coordinator.
• Georgia Tech has one student-athlete on its roster from Virginia – redshirt senior offensive lineman Tim Seager (Blacksburg, Va./Blacksburg).
• Virginia has four student-athletes on its roster from Georgia – redshirt freshman tight end Jordan Ellis (Suwanee/Peachtree Ridge), redshirt freshman cornerback Darious Latimore (Lawrenceville/Central Gwinnett), junior offensive tackle Eric Smith (Decatur/Columbia) and freshman defensive end Steven Wright (Waycross/Ware County).
• Georgia Tech’s Francis Kallon and Virginia’s Darious Latimore both attended Central Gwinnett High School in Lawrenceville, Ga.
• Georgia Tech’s Rod Rook-Chungong and Virginia’s Kirk Garner, Myles Robinson, Andre Levrone, Brendan Marshall and Vincent Croce are all products of Our Lady of Good Counsel High School in Olney, Md.

NOTING THE FSU WIN
• Tech handed Florida State its first ACC loss since Oct. 6, 2012, snapping a 28-game conference winning streak.
• The blocked field goal returned for a touchdown is believed to be the first in Tech’s modern history (since 1950) – records do not indicate any previous such play – and is the first time an ACC team blocked a field goal in the final minute of regulation since 2008 when Georgia Tech did it versus Gardner-Webb to preserve a 10-7 win.
• It was the first blocked field goal returned for touchdown in the fourth quarter of a game since 2005 when Boise State did it to Hawai’i in a 28-28 tie with 11:23 remaining. Boise went on for a 44-41 win.
• It also stands as the first blocked field goal returned for a touchdown in the final minute of a game since 2011 when USC did it to Utah. USC was leading at the time 17-14 and won 23-14.
• The blocked field goal represented the first fourth-quarter miss of Aguayo’s All-American career.
• It was the first blocked kick of senior Patrick Gamble’s career and the first TD for sophomore Lance Austin.
• Tech shut out Florida State in the second half.
• Tech did not lead for the 60 minutes of game time — its only lead coming as time expired during the blocked field goal return by Lance Austin.
• Tech finished with 3.0 sacks and 4.0 tackles for loss against Florida State after having none last week against Pitt.
• FSU came in averaging 159 yards rushing, but was limited to just 70 by Tech’s defense.

ATLANTIC DIVISION SUCCESS
• Since Paul Johnson arrived in 2008, Georgia Tech’s 16-5 regular-season record versus the Atlantic Division is the best by any Coastal Division team–by 4.5 games.
• The next best Coastal team in crossover games since 2008 is Virginia Tech at 11-9.
• Tech is 4-4 in the regular season games versus Clemson and 3-0 versus Florida State.

MARSHALL LAW
• True freshman Marcus Marshall earned his first career start at B-back against Pitt and validated it with a game-high 159 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
• Marshall was named the ACC Rookie of the Week for his efforts against Pitt. He became Tech’s first ACC Rookie of the Week honoree since QB Jaybo Shaw in 2008. The other Yellow Jackets to have earned Rookie of the Week awards are RB Jonathan Dwyer (2007), RB Rashaun Grant (2004) and WR Calvin Johnson four times in 2004.
• He did his damage on just 10 carries, averaging 15.9 yards per rush, including two different carries of 58 yards.
• Marshall’s 508 yards rushing this season are the most by a true freshman running back under Paul Johnson and his 72.6 yards per game rank seventh in the ACC.
• In Tech’s season opener, Marshall rushed for 184 yards and two touchdowns.

DOWNLOAD GEORGIA TECH GAMEDAY APP (Download: App Store | Google Play)
Download the official GameDay app for iPhone and Android to get the latest news, scores and alerts, plus access to FREE live streaming of the IMG Georgia Tech Network game broadcasts. The TuneIn App provides free streaming for all game and weekly Paul Johnson Radio Show broadcasts. If you already have the app, be sure to visit the app store to download the latest update.

For the latest information on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, follow us on Twitter (@GeorgiaTechFB), Facebook (facebook.com/GTAthletics), and Instagram (@GTAthletics) or visit us at www.ramblinwreck.com.