Georgia Tech-Florida St. Preview

VIDEO PLAYLIST

• Georgia Tech Runs Over Florida St., 49-44

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Top 25 Overview

TALLAHASSEE, FL - 8:00 PM ET The level of interest in this game has been ratcheted up thanks to the turmoil surrounding FSU coach Bobby Bowden. The Seminoles are 0-2 in ACC play and face a Georgia Tech team coming off a win at Mississippi State. The Seminoles are 6-0 all-time at home against the Yellow Jackets.

Complete Top 25 Overview

Matchup
	W-L	PF	PA	HOME	ROAD	DIV	CONF
GT	5-1	199	159	3-0	2-1	1-1	3-1
FSU	2-4	179	169	1-3	1-1	0-1	0-3
· Complete Standings

In Close Games (7 points or less. Since 2001)
	RECORD
GT	10 - 14
FSU	9 - 14

Record When Scoring... (Since 2001)
	20 OR MORE	30 OR MORE	40 OR MORE	50 OR MORE
GT	54-9-0	30-3-0	12-1-0	4-0-0
FSU	61-17-0	46-1-0	26-0-0	10-0-0
	LESS THAN 20	LESS THAN 30	LESS THAN 40	LESS THAN 50
GT	11-34-0	35-40-0	53-42-0	61-43-0
FSU	8-22-0	23-38-0	43-39-0	59-39-0

TEAM AVERAGES & NCAA RANKS
OFFENSE	TM	PER GAME AVERAGE / NCAA RANK
Total Yards	GT	449.6 / 12th
	FSU	434.7 / 21st
Passing Yards	GT	140.5 / 116th
	FSU	298.3 / 15th
Rushing Yards	GT	314.1 / 2nd
	FSU	148.6 / 59th
Points Scored	GT	36.0 / 11th
	FSU	31.6 / 28th
Full Team Stats: Georgia Tech | Florida State

THIS WEEK'S LINE
FAVORITE	SPREAD	UNDERDOG	OVER/UNDER
FLORIDAST	3	GATECH	56
Full Daily Lines

Individual Leaders

Georgia Tech Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Nesbit... 46.4 1418 8 4 Blair 100.0 34 1 0

Florida State Passing   CMP% YDS TD INT Ponder 68.8 2717 14 7 Manuel 64.7 430 1 4

Georgia Tech Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Dwyer 183 1203 6.6 11 Nesbit... 218 847 3.9 16

Florida State Rushing   CAR YDS AVG TD Thomas 131 690 5.3 7 Jones 51 251 4.9 5

Georgia Tech Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Thomas 39 950 24.4 6 Peeple... 6 223 37.2 1

Florida State Receiving   REC YDS AVG TD Reed 53 671 12.7 0 Owens 53 652 12.3 3

Full Player Stats: Georgia Tech | Florida State

It will be interesting to see what kind of reception legendary Florida State coach Bobby Bowden gets when he runs out onto the field Saturday night at Doak Campbell Stadium. Georgia Tech knows what kind of response it's expecting from the struggling Seminoles.

With the head of Florida State's trustees calling for his job, Bowden will try to cap a tumultuous week by avoiding a third straight loss when the Seminoles welcome the No. 22 Yellow Jackets to Tallahassee.

Florida State (2-3, 0-2 ACC) has lost consecutive games and has also started 0-2 in the ACC for the first time. The Seminoles are off to their worst start since Bowden's first year in 1976, when they lost their first three games and finished 5-6 for their last losing season.

The chairman of the Florida State University trustees -- Jim Smith -- wants the 79-year-old Bowden, second to Penn State's Joe Paterno in career wins with 380, to retire at the end of this season.

Two days after the Seminoles lost 28-21 at Boston College, Smith said Monday the arrangement with Bowden as head coach and his successor, Jimbo Fisher, as offensive coordinator isn't working.

"We've got too many bosses out there," Smith said.

"Jimbo is in a very, very tough situation where people assume he has a whole lot more authority than he really has. He's getting blamed for a lot of things that's just not his fault."

The school's trustees don't have immediate authority over coaches, but they have significant influence since they are in effect the boss of university president T.K. Wetherell, who makes such hiring and firing decisions.

Wetherell said Wednesday that Bowden's job is safe for now, adding that the situation will be re-evaluated at the end of the season.

Bowden was appreciative of Wetherell's backing.

"I think he's wise and I'm very thankful," Bowden said. "You would like to go out on top. The season is not over. Let's get the season over and see what happens."

Georgia Tech (4-1, 2-1) is expecting a big response from Florida State, which is 6-0 at home all-time against the Yellow Jackets. Bowden was 12-0 against Georgia Tech before a 31-28 loss last season.

"I think they'll come together and I fully expect to get their best effort of the year," Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson said.

Jonathan Dwyer rushed for 145 yards and two touchdowns in last year's win for Georgia Tech. Dwyer is off to a strong start with 409 yards on the ground this year -- the third-best mark in the conference with quarterback Josh Nesbitt fourth with 363 to spearhead the Yellow Jackets' option attack.

That could be a problem for a Seminoles' defense that ranks 98th in yards allowed with 405.6 per game.

"It's one of those offenses that is completely different from what you're seeing every week and they run it fast so we are going to have to practice against guys that can't run it that fast," Bowden said. "I think normally it will rip you early and then you begin to get the feel of it and you better."

The status of the Seminoles' running game is up in the air after Jermaine Thomas took over for Ty Jones last Saturday and finished with 21 yards on 10 carries. Thomas' best effort came as a freshman in last year's loss to Georgia Tech with 130 yards on nine carries.

Florida State quarterback Christian Ponder leads the ACC in passing yards (1,423) and has thrown just one interception. He threw for a career-high 341 yards last week, but did not have a touchdown.

Georgia Tech took a break from conference play last week and won 42-31 at Mississippi State. Nesbitt threw for a career-high 266 yards and one touchdown while Dwyer carried 16 times for 83 yards and one score.

The Yellow Jackets are one of three ranked teams in the ACC's Coastal division while Florida State is in last place in the Atlantic division, which has no team in the Top 25. Georgia Tech, though, is wary of the Seminoles.

"You're never going to underestimate Florida State," Johnson said. "For all the people talking and all the moaning and groaning, I think it has been since 1973 since they had a losing season. That's pretty impressive, and the last time I checked I don't think Georgia Tech has even won in Tallahassee, so we've got a big challenge."