Georgia Tech at Notre Dame Week 1 2007

Georgia Tech at Notre Dame (minus 3)

The History
Notre Dame is 27-5-1 against Georgia Tech and 15-2 when playing in South Bend.

The Players
Tashard Choice led the ACC with 1,473 rushing yards last season. Taylor Bennett replaces Reggie Ball as the Yellow Jackets quarterback and won’t have Calvin Johnson as a safety outlet. SS Jamal Lewis had 74 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss and 3 interceptions to lead Georgia Tech’s pass defense that was ranked ninth in the nation.

The only guaranteed starter for Notre Dame’s offense is senior tight end John Carlson. Questions remain at quarterback, running back and wide receiver. Jimmy Clausen had surgery in the spring and Demetrius Jones and Evan Sharpley haven’t set the world on fire. Senior Travis Thomas looks to be the front runner at running back and junior David Grimes is the only proven player at wide receiver.

The View
Jon Tenuta’s defense is going to wreak havoc on Notre Dame’s inexperienced offense. Couple that with the running of Tashard Choice and the Yellow Jackets are poised to make amends for last year’s loss on national television. Notre Dame is 15-2 against Georgia Tech when playing in South Bend. At 7:00 you can change that to 15-3.

Georgia Tech- 24 Notre Dame- 16


The Stats
Georgia Tech
Rushing offense: 162.4 (35th)
Passing offense: 169.6 (91st)
Total offense: 332.1 (67th)
Scoring offense: 24.9 (51st)
Rushing defense: 104.8 (20th)
Passing defense: 195.8 (49th)
Total defense: 300.6 (27th)
Scoring defense: 18.4 (27th)

Notre Dame
Rushing offense: 125.7 (72nd)
Passing offense: 264.1 (13th)
Total offense: 389.8 (23rd)
Scoring offense: 31.0 (16th)
Rushing defense: 136.8 (61st)
Passing defense: 203.4 (60th)
Total defense: 340.2 (65th)
Scoring defense: 23.8 (67th)