While the team was off last week, starting receiver Micheal Summers suddenly quit without providing an explanation other than “he didn’t want to play anymore”, according to coach Paul Johnson. “If we don’t play better against the run it doesn’t matter what anybody is going to do”.
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GT and VT have been regular guests on ESPN’s Thursday Night Football, since the network began the package in 1991 and this week’s game will mark the 31st all-time appearance for the Yellow Jackets and the 30th for the Hokies – which rank first and second nationally. The Yellow Jackets’ run includes a pair of games – the Seattle Bowl in 2001, followed a year later by a trip to the Silicon Valley Bowl – that have since gone out of business.
Outside of a stunning upset of Florida State, there hasn’t been much to cheer about at Georgia Tech. In all, the Yellow Jackets are 7-11 during their bowl streak.
“When you look back on the season, it’s frustrating”, Johnson said.
Running back Marcus Marshall leads Georgia Tech with 526 rushing yards. We’ve got to do both.
Georgia Tech will have to stop surging Travon McMillan, a redshirt freshman who leads the Hokies in rushing with 665 yards and three touchdowns. The Yellow Jackets’ streak began in 2013, following a 17-10 setback versus Virginia Tech.
Virginia Tech has played 12 teams on Thursdays, six times against Boston College, five against Georgia Tech (winning all of them) and three each against Miami and Maryland. He has a combined 62 carries for 247 yards and three touchdowns in his last two games. “That’s been a big part of it when we play and that will be a huge part when we play on Thursday. We’ve killed ourselves with untimely turnovers all year and against a team as good defensively as Virginia Tech you don’t want to do that”.
Neither team is going to represent the Coastal Division in the ACC Championship game this season, something that has happened only once since its inception in 2005. Virginia Tech needs to win twice in its last three games to get the six wins generally required for bowl eligibility – something the Hokies are looking to earn for a 23rd consecutive season.
“I think everybody understands it and knows it. I’m not sure I’ve heard any of the players talk about it”, Johnson said. Based on that I see us shading the juice towards the Hokies a bit, and could close the game G-Tech -3.5 (even money).
The Thursday night games are common for these two teams.
Over the years, Georgia Tech was often the opponent.
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Twelve of the teams Tech plays this season advanced to a 2015 NCAA Regional (St. John’s, South Carolina, Louisville, Chattanooga, Northwestern, UCF, Virginia Tech, Georgia, Kansas, Pitt, North Carolina and NC State), and NC State made it to the Super Regionals. We’ve got a good routine for how we handle it, and we’ve had a lot of great Thursday night games on the road and … in Lane Stadium.
