Paul Johnson
Georgia Southern will be playing its second ACC opponent this season, and this time it will be in-state as they travel to Atlanta to take on Georgia Tech.
Like NC State, the Yellow Jackets football program began in 1892 and their first game against Mercer University on Nov. 5, 1892 ended in a 12-6 loss.
Georgia Tech’s biggest rival is the University of Georgia, in which the two programs experienced the first contest in 1893. The Yellow Jackets won the inaugural game by a score of 28-6 and currently hold a losing record by a tally of 39-64-5 in the annual meeting dubbed as “Clean, Old Fashioned Hate.”
Georgia Tech has won four national championships, with the last one coming in 1990. The team has also won 15 conference championships: two in the ACC, five in the SEC, three in the Southern Conference and five in the SIAA.
The NCAA vacated in the Yellow Jackets 2009 conference championship in the ACC in 2011. Currently Georgia Tech is under probation until 2017 after originally playing ineligible players, but now impermissible texts from coaches to recruits have extended the universities penalty.
Georgia Tech has played in four conferences in the programs history. First beginning in the SIAA or Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association from 1894-1913 and 1916-1922. They then made a move to the Southern Conference where they stayed until 1933 when they joined the SEC.
The Yellow Jackets stayed in the SEC until 1964 before becoming an Independent school tied to no conference for 14 years. In 1979 they made a move to the ACC and have remained in the conference ever since then.
Georgia Tech over the school’s history has made some national history of its own, including the largest victory in college football history back in 1916 with a 222-0 win over Cumberland University.
Along with that the Yellow Jackets have had 50 First Team All-Americans with the most recent one being Derrick Morgan in 2009.
Detroit Lions receiver Calvin Johnson, Denver Broncos receiver Demaryius Thomas and Tennessee Titans linebacker Derrick Morgan are all notable players that played for the Ramblin’ Wreck.
Built in 1913, Bobby Dodd at Historic Grant Field, located on North Avenue in Midtown Atlanta, is the home of the Yellow Jackets. The stadium holds 55,000 fans and was renovated last in 2003. It is one of the oldest venues used in college football.
Georgia Tech has won over 700 games in its time as a football program putting it at No. 24 all-time in victories.
The Eagles will look to make history in one of college football’s most historical grounds on Saturday as they look for their first ever win against the Yellow Jackets.