Protective Stadium Birmingham, Alabama
SERIES HISTORY
Series Record (Streak): …………………………………….GT leads 20-15-3 (GT: W6)
at Georgia Tech: …………………………………………………………….. GT leads 13-11
at Vanderbilt: …………………………………………………………………..GT leads 7-4-3
Neutral Sites: …………………………………………………………………….. First Meeting
Last Meeting: ……………………………… GT 38, VU 7 (Sept. 17, 2016 – Atlanta, Ga.)
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Notes
TOP STORYLINES
• Georgia Tech makes its second-straight bowl appearance and renews a rivalry when it faces Vanderbilt in the 2024 Birmingham Bowl. • Georgia Tech has earned consecutive bowl berths for the first time since 2013 and 2014 with a 7-5 regular-season record. The Yellow Jackets are in search of bowl wins in back-to-back years for the first time since 2003 and 2004. • Tech is one of the most decorated bowl teams in college football history. The Yellow Jackets are making their 47th bowl appearance, which is tied for the 15th-most all-time. The Yellow Jackets’ 26 bowl victories are tied for the 11th-most all-time, and their .565 winning percentage in bowl games also ranks 11th. • This season’s Birmingham Bowl marks Georgia Tech’s second postseason appearance in Birmingham. In 1985, the Yellow Jackets topped Michigan State, 17-14, in the Hall of Fame Classic (later known as the All-American Bowl) at Legion Field. • Another historic aspect to this year’s Birmingham Bowl is the renewal of the Georgia Tech-Vanderbilt rivalry. The Yellow Jackets and Commodores, who were conference-mates for a total of 48 years in the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (1916-21), Southern Conference (1922-32) and Southeastern Conference (1933-63), are meeting for the 39th time overall, but the first time in the postseason. Tech leads the all-time series, 20-15-3. • The Yellow Jackets lead the all-time series, 20-15-3 but are 12-0-1 against the Commodores since 1948 and haven’t lost to Vandy since 1941. The Jackets have won six-straight in the series since a 10-10 tie in 1965. • The Georgia Tech-Vanderbilt rivalry spawned a traveling trophy – a cow bell – that has been awarded to the winning team since 1924. Tech has had possession of the bell since its 13-0 win over Vandy in 1948.
GEORGIA TECH vs. THE SEC
• Georgia Tech is 209-228-24 all-time versus current members of the Southeastern Conference. • Georgia Tech was a charter member of the SEC in 1933 and remained in the conference for 31 seasons through 1963. • Tech won five SEC championships in its 31 seasons in the conference (1939, 1943, 1944, 1951 and 1952). • Georgia Tech has previously played 15 of the 16 current SEC members (the Yellow Jackets have never met Oklahoma on the gridiron). • Tech has an all-time record of .500 or better against nine of the 15 SEC programs that it has played. • The Yellow Jackets have lost 10-straight games to SEC opponents, dating back to the beginning of the 2017 season. However, all 10 matchups have come against nationally ranked teams. • The Jackets have won their last three meetings against unranked SEC foes, all in 2016 — a 38-7 win over Vanderbilt, a 28-27 victory at Georgia and a 33-18 triumph over Kentucky in the TaxSlayer Bowl.
TECH vs. RANKED OPPONENTS
• Georgia Tech is 6-6 against ranked opponents under head coach Brent Key. • The Yellow Jackets are an ultra-impressive 6-1 against ranked Atlantic Coast Conference competition under Key, with four of the six wins coming away from home (26-21 at No. 24 Pitt – Oct. 1, 2022; 21-17 at No. 13/11 North Carolina – Nov. 19, 2022; 23-20 at No. 17 Miami (Fla.) – Oct. 7, 2023; 46-42 vs. No. 17 North Carolina – Oct. 28, 2023; 24-21 vs. No. 10 Florida State – Aug. 24, 2024; 28-23 vs. No. 4 Miami (Fla.) – Nov. 9, 2024). The Jackets suffered their only defeat to a ranked ACC opponent under Key in their 31-19 loss at Louisville on Sept. 21. • With a pair of wins over nationally ranked teams in each of the last three seasons, the Yellow Jackets have defeated multiple ranked teams in three-consecutive seasons for the first time since 1955-57. • Key became the second coach in Georgia Tech history to ever defeat a ranked opponent in his first game as the Yellow Jackets’ head coach when the Yellow Jackets knocked off No. 24 Pitt, 26-21, on Oct. 1, 2022. Tech head coaches were previously 1-4 when facing nationally ranked teams in their GT debuts (Bill Fulcher – L, 34-3 vs. No. 15 Tennessee – 1972; Pepper Rodgers – L, 31-7 vs. No. 2 Notre Dame – 1974; Bill Curry – L, 26-3 vs. No. 2 Alabama – 1980; Mac McWhorter – W, 24-14 vs. No. 11 Stanford – 2001 Seattle Bowl; Geoff Collins – L, 52-14 vs. No. 1 Clemson – 2019).
GEORGIA TECH ON FRIDAYS
• This week’s game marks only the 21st time in school history that Georgia Tech will play a game on a Friday. • The Yellow Jackets are 12-8 all-time in games played on Fridays — 8-6 in the regular season and 4-2 in bowl games. • The Birmingham Bowl is the Yellow Jackets’ second-straight Friday game and its second-consecutive Friday bowl game. • Tech closed the regular season by playing at archrival Georgia on Black Friday (Nov. 29). The Jackets lost an epic 44-42, eight-overtime battle. • Last season, Georgia Tech defeated UCF, 30-17, in the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl on Friday, Dec. 22.
TECH IN THE ACC STANDINGS
• Georgia Tech has finished tied for fourth place in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 5-3 conference record each of the last two years. • Georgia Tech’s consecutive fourth-place finishes came after it was picked to finish 12th out of 14 teams in the ACC’s 2023 preseason poll and 10th out of 17 teams in the league’s 2024 preseason poll. • The consecutive winning records in ACC play mark the first time since 2013 (5-3) and 2014 (6-2) that the Yellow Jackets have finished above .500 in conference action in back-to-back seasons.
Vanderbilt Commodores Notes
STORYLINES BIRMINGHAM BOWL BOUND
• For the 10th time in school history, Vanderbilt football is headed to a bowl game. The Commodores will face Georgia Tech in the Birmingham Bowl at Protective Stadium. • Vanderbilt is in the postseason for first time since 2018 when it dropped at 45-38 decision to Baylor in the Texas Bowl. The Dores are looking for their first postseason victory since the 2013 campaign when Jordan Matthews earned MVP honors in a then-BBVA Compass, now Birmingham, Bowl win over Houston. • With the return to the Birmingham Bowl, Vanderbilt will have played six of its 10 bowl games in Alabama or Tennessee. • Vanderbilt and Georgia Tech have met 38 times with the Yellow Jackets holding a 20-15-3 edge in the series. Tech won the last meeting, 38-7, in Atlanta in 2016. • The teams were both members of the Southeastern Conference from its founding until 1963 when Georgia Tech departed to become an independent. Vandy’s last win in the series was in Nashville in 1941. • Vandy and Georgia Tech have never met in the postseason, while it will be Vanderbilt’s fourth bowl game against an ACC team. The Dores defeated Boston College and NC State in the Music City Bowl in 2008 and 2012, respectively, and fell to NC State in the 2016 Independence Bowl.
BOWL HISTORY (4-4-1)
GAME NOTES DOMINANT DIEGO
• Diego Pavia’s 17 passing touchdowns ranked seventh in the SEC during the regular season. The 17 touchdowns are sixth most by a Commodore in a season. • On the ground, no Power 4 quarterback had more rushing yards at the conclusion of the regular season as he went for a Vanderbilt quarterback-record 716 yards. He is fourth among Power 4 signal-callers with 28 rushes of at least 10 yards on the season. • For his career, Pavia leads active Power 4 quarterbacks with 2,147 rushing yards, while his 6,556 career passing yards are eighth among active FBS quarterbacks. • He was named one of 16 semifinalists for the 88th Annual Maxwell Award, as well as one of 16 semifinalists for the Davey O’Brien Award. • His performance in the win over top-ranked Alabama on Oct. 5 landed him SEC Offensive Player of the Week. He was also named the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback of the Week and the Maxwell Award Player of the Week. • He became the 13th quarterback since 2004 to defeat Alabama and Auburn in the same season and just the fourth to do so without playing in the SEC West (Stetson Bennett, Deshaun Watson, Matthew Stafford). He is the seventh quarterback in that same time frame to have at least three career wins over the Tigers and Tide, joining Jayden Daniels, Bennett, Joe Burrow, Jarrett Lee, Jordan Jefferson, Stafford and JaMarcus Russell. • Pavia piloted a deadly efficient offense in 2023 while leading New Mexico State to 10 wins. He ranked among the top 35 in FBS in passing touchdowns, points, passing yards per attempt and passing efficiency last season. In addition, Pavia ranked fifth among FBS quarterbacks in Pro Football Focus’ Elusive Rating.
FEWEST INTERCEPTIONS
• Diego Pavia’s four interceptions thrown this season are the fewest by a Vanderbilt quarterback in a season with at least 200 attempts since 1996. • He topped the mark held by Jay Cutler (2004), Riley Neal (2019), Jordan Rodgers (2012) and Larry Smith (2010). • With 277 attempts, Pavia hit the mark with more passing attempts than three of the four who previously held the record (Rodgers had 319 attempts). • As a team, Vandy’s four interceptions this season are the fewest on record (1946). The previous low total for interceptions thrown was five in 2004 and 2012. It is just the 13th time since 1946 that Vanderbilt has thrown fewer than 10 interceptions in a season.
SPECIAL PLAYS, SPECIAL PLAYERS
• The Commodores claimed three All-SEC awards on special teams. Jesse Mirco (punter) and Martel Hight (return specialist) were chosen to the second team and Brock Taylor was named the third-team kicker. • Vanderbilt’s special teams efficiency of 72.0 according to ESPN’s FPI ranks third among FBS programs and leads all SEC teams. • Vandy is first in the SEC and sixth in FBS with 16.2 yards per punt return. Hight leads all SEC players and is second nationally in punt return average. • Mirco is averaging 48.0 yards per punt on the season, best in the SEC and second in FBS. • Mirco was named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week (Nov. 4) after averaging 52.9 yards on a career-high eight punts at Auburn. • Taylor drilled a program-record 57-yard field goal at Missouri on Sept. 21. Taylor has five makes of 50 or more yards this season, making him the first player on record to accomplish the feat at Vanderbilt. • Taylor has been named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week twice this season. His 18 field goals are second-most by a Commodore in a season. Taylor is 11-for-11 over the last eight games. • In the regular-season finale vs. Tennessee, Junior Sherrill took the opening kickoff back 100 yards for a touchdown, which marked Vandy’s first kickoff return for a touchdown since Aug. 26, 2023 vs. Hawai’i. • The 100-yard return was the longest by a Commodore since Sept. 20, 2014 vs. South Carolina. It was the first kickoff return for a score that Tennessee had given up since the 2021 season when Missouri accomplished the feat.
BEAR-LEA SCRATCHING THE SURFACE
• Head coach Clark Lea was named the SEC Coach of the Year after leading Vanderbilt to its first postseason appearance since 2018. He’s the first Commodore coach to win the award since Bobby Johnson in 2008. Johnson was Lea’s coach during his playing career at Vandy. • Lea has also been named AFCA Region 2 Coach of the Year and is a finalist for the National Coach of the Year. • He was also named to the Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year watch list after Vanderbilt’s historical first half of the season. • Many of the positive developments this season have come after Lea retooled the coaching staff following the 2023 season. In addition to taking over defensive coordinator duties, Lea hired a new offensive coordinator (Tim Beck), director of sports performance (Robert Stiner) and chief consultant (Jerry Kill). • With 11 new hires on the football coaching staff and over 50 new student-athletes on the roster, Lea’s Commodores have made history this fall. With victories in six of its first nine games, Vanderbilt recorded its best start since 1982 and is bowl eligible for the first time since 2018.
BOWLING ON THE PLAINS
• Vanderbilt defeated Auburn 17-7 on Nov. 2 to collect its first win at Jordan-Hare Stadium in its 10th visit all-time. • With their sixth win, the Commodores became bowl eligible for the first time since 2018. • The Commodores defeated both Alabama and Auburn in the same season for the first time since 1955. • The Dores held the Tigers to seven points, fewest versus a Power 4 opponent since Kansas State in 2017 and fewest against an SEC opponent since Missouri in 2015. • Jesse Mirco finished the game with eight punts for 423 yards. His average of 52.9 yards per punt was second-best by a Vandy punter (minimum five attempts) in a single game. Mirco was named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week. • Diego Pavia became the 13th starting quarterback since 2004 to defeat both Alabama and Auburn in the same season.
BROCKET LAUNCHER
• Brock Taylor made his 17th field goal at LSU, a 47-yarder, to move into second on Vanderbilt’s season field goal record list. He increased his season total to 18 field goals with a make vs. Tennessee in the regular-season finale and is now two shy of matching the program record of 20 set by Carey Spear in 2012. • Taylor is 11-for-11 in the last eight games. • He connected on a program-record 57-yard field goal at Missouri on Sept. 21. Taylor has five makes of 50 or more yards this season, making him the first player on record to accomplish the feat at Vanderbilt. • Taylor has been named SEC Special Teams Player of the Week twice this season and was named a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award on Nov. 19.
NEW HIGHTS
• Sophomore cornerback Martel Hight leads the SEC and ranks second in FBS with a 16.2 punt return average. He leads the Commodore defense with two interceptions on the season. • In the win over Alcorn State this season, Hight became the first Dore with 100-plus punt return yards since Jonathan Krause on Nov. 24, 2012 at Wake Forest (110 yards). Hight’s punt return for a touchdown was the first since Krause’s at Wake Forest in 2012. • He is now the first Commodore to have 100-plus punt return yards in a season since the 2019 campaign, reaching the mark in just two games. • Hight emerged as a key cog in the Commodore defense last season, playing in 11 games with 38 tackles, two break-ups and an interception return for a touchdown. • When Hight registered a 37-yard interception return for a touchdown against UNLV last season, he became the first Vanderbilt freshman in school history to return an interception for a touchdown and the first Dore of any age to do so since 2019.
JUNIOR AS A SOPHOMORE
• Fellow sophomore Junior Sherrill has continued to build on his contributions from his freshman campaign last season. Sherill finished with 20 receptions for 293 yards and two touchdowns while playing in all 12 contests. He surpassed all three totals in 10 games this season. • The Nashvillian has made at least one catch in 23 straight games and has multiple receptions in eight consecutive contests. • Sherrill received the opening kickoff vs. Tennessee and returned it 100 yards to the house for Vandy’s longest kickoff return for a touchdown since 2014. • He had a personal-best five catches for 62 yards and a receiving touchdown vs. No. 5/6 Texas on Oct. 26. • Sherrill was rated the No. 8 freshman wide receiver in the nation by Pro Football Focus.
SEDRICK THE ENTERTAINER
• Sophomore running back Sedrick Alexander tallied a career-high 21 carries in the win over top-ranked Alabama on Oct. 5, matching his career-best with two rushing touchdowns, and was included on the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Honorable Mention List for the week. • Alexander found the end zone in each of the first three games this season. The sophomore also scored in three games last season. • The Texan played in all 12 games as a freshman, logging 504 all-purpose yards, 371 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns. • He led SEC freshmen in rushing yards and touchdowns and was named to the league’s All-Freshman team. • Alexander has been named to the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Watch List entering 2024.
THE BECKONING
• Vanderbilt’s offense has been transformed under new offensive coordinator Tim Beck’s watch. • Vandy’s ESPN FPI offensive efficiency (66.6) ranks 32nd in FBS. The Dores finished the 2023 campaign ranked 120th and were 76th in 2022. • Among FBS programs this season, the Commodore offense ranks ninth in red zone offense, 30th in third down conversions, 33rd in passing yards per completion, 40th in time of possession and 43rd in team passing efficiency. • Beck was named a semifinalist for the Broyles Award.
SCORING ON THE BEST
• Vanderbilt was the second-highest scoring team against a pair of College Football Playoff squads this season, both of whom were led by defensive coordinators named a finalist for the Broyles Award. • Vanderbilt’s 24 points against Texas were the second-most scored against the Longhorns. Georgia scored 30 in a win over Texas the week before the Longhorns played Vandy. Only Georgia and Vanderbilt eclipsed 20 points against Texas on the season (UGA scored 22 in the SEC Championship game). • Likewise, Vandy’s 23 points against Tennessee were the second-most scored on the Volunteers this season. Again, only Georgia scored more points than Vandy against the Vols (31) and Vanderbilt and Georgia were the only teams to eclipse 20 points on Tennessee this season. • Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski and Tennessee defensive coordinator Tim Banks were both named finalists for the Broyles Award. Vanderbilt offensive coordinator Tim Beck was a semifinalist for the Broyles Award this season.
VS. RANKED TEAMS
• In games against opponents in the AP Top 25 at the time of the game, Vanderbilt showed marked improvement in addition to securing its first-ever win against the No. 1 team in the nation. • This season, Vanderbilt averaged 28.5 points per game against ranked teams after scoring 18.0 last season and 5.7 in Lea’s debut 2021 campaign. • In total scoring, Vanderbilt was outscored by just 14 points in four games against ranked teams. The 2022 team saw a deficit of 207 points over five games. • This year’s Commodores allowed 32.0 points per game to ranked teams this season compared to 39.0 last year and 52.6 in 2022. • Vanderbilt averaged over 300 yards of total offense against ranked teams this season for the first time under Lea, while holding ranked opponents under 450 yards per game for the first time in that span. • The Commodores scored 12 touchdowns in their four games against ranked teams after scoring just one offensive touchdown in three such games during Lea’s initial 2021 season. • Individually, Diego Pavia led Vandy in both rushing and passing against the top 25, averaging 63.0 yards on the ground and 169.3 passing yards in four games, both high-water marks for a Commodore against ranked teams the last four seasons.
