Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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40 OCT. 31, 2020 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED BY LOU SOMOGYI MASSIVE MAKEOVER Georgia Tech's 11-year era from 2008-18 under triple-option/flexbone guru Paul Johnson might someday be viewed in a more favorable light via the passage of time. During Johnson's era, the Yellow Jackets captured four Coastal Divi- sion crowns in the ACC and even finished No. 8 in the country in 2014 after winning the Orange Bowl. However, because Johnson's offense was branded from a national perspec- tive as "outdated" and one that only the military academies should operate in order to remain competitive, the general sentiment was it was time to join the rest of the Power Five schools in updating to more of a conventional offense such as the spread/pro style. Under 2019 first-year head coach Geoff Collins, this required a mas- sive overhaul in recruiting and the infrastructure, resulting in a 3-9 de- but that included a loss to Football Championship Subdivision foe The Citadel and a 24-2 defeat to Temple — where Collins was the head coach in 2017-18 (15-10 record). Year two already has seen some progress with upsets of both Florida State (16-13) and Louisville (46-27), but the realities of the continued makeover reared itself on Oct. 17 with a 73-7 thrashing from No. 1 Clemson. The recruiting has been on an up- swing under Collins, notably a No. 25 class ranking from Rivals in 2020, highlighted by landing four-star fig- ures in dual-threat quarterback Jeff Sims and running back Jahmyr Gibbs, who was ranked as the No. 70 overall player in the country, a little bit ahead of Fighting Irish freshman running back Chris Tyree (No. 78). Both are already in starring roles while a third freshman, tackle Jordan Williams, also is starting on offense. They helped lead Georgia Tech to four straight 400-yard total offense outputs to begin the season, the first time that has happened for the pro- gram against four Division I-A/Foot- ball Bowl Subdivision foes since 1999. Defensively, Georgia Tech has a little bit more of a veteran look, led by senior linebacker David Curry. Regardless, this matchup features one of the oldest teams in Notre Dame history against a Georgia Tech roster that has been in flux and is leaning much more on a growing youth movement. SOUTHERN (DIS)COMFORT Among teams from the South, Georgia Tech is the most-faced op- ponent in Notre Dame's football his- tory. The series extends back to 1922, with the Irish holding a commanding 28-6-1 advantage. The next nearest any southern team has faced the Fighting Irish is Miami, a series that began in 1955, with an 18-8-1 record posted against the Hurricanes. However, the rivalry with Miami during the regular season — the two teams had played every year but one from 1971-90 — was called off for 22 years (not including the 2010 Sun Bowl) because of an enmity that developed, and particularly awful treatment Notre Dame administra- tors and fans received on their later visits to Miami, after the Hurricanes became a superpower. It was similar with Georgia Tech, without becoming a power. In the 15 years from 1967 through 1981, the Fighting Irish and Yellow Jackets played 12 times, with a three- year hiatus from 1971-73 the lone inter- ruption. Unfortunately, the series be- came notorious for the lack of southern hospitality during Notre Dame's visits in the 1960s and 1970s that included an anti-Catholic sentiment, plus the fact that southern schools didn't begin to integrate their rosters with black play- ers until after 1970. Frequently on Notre Dame's visits to Georgia Tech, dead fish (symboliz- ing back then Catholic protocol to eat fish on Fridays) were hurled at the Irish sideline from the stands, and soon other trajectories such as liquor bottles, ice and even eggs became part of the ritual. GAME PREVIEW: GEORGIA TECH Top STorylineS Second-year head coach Geoff Collins landed Rivals' No. 25-ranked recruiting class in the country last year, injecting some much-needed impact talent into Georgia Tech's program. PHOTO COURTESY GEORGIA TECH