NCAA Football georgia tech Yellow Jackets

Turkey Legs to Go is FanHouse's complete travel guide for all of the 2008-2009 college bowl games. Here, we cover the Chick-Fil-A Bowl (Atlanta, Georgia), which pits Georgia Tech against LSU.

Overview/Matchup: Georgia Tech had a heck of a season under Paul Johnson in 2008 and they get rewarded with an upper tier ACC bowl. They get really rewarded because they don't even have to leave campus to play in the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Les Miles and LSU do, however, and there should be some pretty stout pressure on the Tigers to pull of a postseason dubya here, what with fans questioning Miles' ability to generate enough offense in the bayou.

Hotels: For luxury accommodation close to the stadium The Ritz-Carlton, Atlanta is your best bet. The Westin Peachtree has a higher rating, but its sleek design borders on frigid and leaves many guests feeling more like they've entered a bank than a hotel. In the mid-range category the Embassy Suites Centennial Olympic Park is a few hundred yards from the Georgia Dome and offers excellent service for the price. The open atrium and waterfall don't hurt either. For the budget-conscious traveler the Holiday Inn Atlanta Downtown is the best hotel in the area that offers rooms for less than US$100 per night.

Restaurants: After your team wins the big game, or maybe before if you're feeling confident, head to Bone's for a thick, perfectly grilled steak. The prices are steep but the food is worth it. If you're staying in downtown Atlanta, and you need a reasonably priced meal that will fill you up, look no further than Gladys Knight and Ron Winan's Chicken and Waffles.

And it might not end there. I can imagine many more publications and affiliations jumping on board, particularly after the impressive way the Yellow Jackets crossed out Georgia's dream season and put a K (we will make Westside Connection references, yes we will). Despite some questionable losses (dropping a home game to Virginia before the Cavaliers then lost their final four games of the year) and really, a decent core of defensive talent, Paul Johnson's first year at Georgia Tech was likely way more successful than most people anticipated, achieving the highest BCS ranking in the conference, despite being left out of the championship game, and garnering a bid to the Chick fil-A Bowl.

And now, for what seems like the first time since the Joe Hamilton-Dez White glory days, Georgia Tech seems primed to be not only an ACC titan but possibly a national power as well. But while the ACC coach of the year honors usually has a Cy Young-ish obsession with win-loss records without context of how they've really come about (see Al Groh, 2007), the most impressive aspect of Georgia Tech's season undoubtedly was the coaching, how Johnson put the fear of the triple-option into a league averse to offensive innovation. Whether it's here to stay or a Kevin Maas situation where everyone eventually figures out the offense. But only the future will prove if Johnson's squad is a yearly contender for the Orange Bowl or a yearly contender to meet his old squad at Navy in the Congressional Bowl. For now, he's ACC coach of the year.

What a night for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, completely gutting a previously resurgent Miami defense to the tune of 472 rush yards. It was the second-highest ground total ever surrendered by a Miami defense. Just last week we saw Miami hold Virginia Tech to 77 rushing yards and two yards a carry to go with six sacks in a 16-14 victory. Tonight was another story altogether as Georgia Tech ripped off a 41-23 victory that was not as close as the scoreboard would indicate.

In just the 11th game of Paul Johnson's brief tenure in Atlanta, he coached a masterpiece. At one point, four separate players were a threat to break 100 yards rushing, with a fifth totaling an additional 47 yards. Instead, only one player did so but in a big way. Tailback Jonathan Dwyer, the nation's next great option back, notched two touchdowns and 128 yards in the first half on just 10 carries including a highlight-reel 58 yard scamper.

This one was gory folks. Even Tech's defense got in on the action, with NFL-worthy defensive end Michael Johnson taking an interception back 26 yards for an early touchdown. But let's talk about the run game some more, as this was an exciting display of brilliant old-school football.

So he's not exactly the great Mike Rozier and we haven't seen a truly great option runner since 1997 and Ahman Green, but Georgia Tech's Jonathan Dwyer will most definitely do. Before leaving late in the first half with an injury, Dwyer did the following with his 10 carries against a hot Miami defense:

35-yard-carry, 0 yards, 3 yards, 12 yards, -1 yard, 58 yards (touchdown), 2 yards, 10 yards, 3 yards, 6 yards (touchdown). Most of his carries were inside Miami's 10 yard line where the defense could slow him down, but in the open field he was electric, including a certain highlight-reel cult hit 58 yard touchdown run where he barreled over, juked and then outran several defenders.

It was power, speed, shakes, vision and want-to all in one amazing play. And it wasn't his first like that this year. Watch enough Georgia Tech football and its obvious that as talented a runner quarterback Josh Nesbitt is (93 yards tonight, 591 yards in nine games this year), he keeps the darn ball too much. Backfield mate Dwyer is the real deal, and his 128 first-half yards and two touchdowns against Miami point to a bright future in college football.

With impeccable conference records of 4-2 and 4-3, Miami and Georgia Tech sit atop the ACC Coastal Division standings. They're also playing tonight. If Miami wins they're probably off to the ACC Championship and will certainly lock the thing up with another victory against North Carolina State the following week.

A Georgia Tech victory pulls the ACC into further chaos as North Carolina would also enter the picture. If you're into anarchy root for the boys from Atlanta. If you have any hope for a brand name team representing the ACC in the BCS, swallow hard and root for the 'Canes. Stylistically it's option football against a rapidly improving Miami defensive line. You should be watching.

We'll be here to chronicle the madness, starting around 730 ET. The wise guys have Miami a field goal favorite right now. Chat application after the jump.

Rich Rodriguez is an unhappy man.

A seriously unhappy man.

A get an audit notice from the IRS, and find out there's no Santa on Christmas Eve unhappy kind of man.

This, of course, means there are an entire state of Ohioans with the general disposition of a man who just won the lottery twice.

But of all the fans that should find immense reasons to cheer in the Big House-sized egg Rodriguez's spread-like-Ebola offense has laid in Ann Arbor, none should be giddier than Georgia Tech fans.

There, but by the grace of the triple option, go thee.

If Georgia Tech first-year coach Paul Johnson seems like an unlikely beneficiary for the glow of the flames of Michigan's season, that too, is fitting.

An unfailingly polite coach who likley changes the sheets on his own bed and leaves a mint for the maid and peppers his conversation with phrases like "happier than a pig in slop," Johnson is an unlikely star on the big stage of college football.

He's about as menacing as your accountant, but through nine games this season, Paul Johnson is the baddest coach on the first year block. Alan Dershowitz couldn't make the argument better than simply pointing to Rodriguez' contentious stumbles.

Both coaches entered difficult situations, trying to implement radically different systems onto personnel recruited for skills that might as well be jai-alai.

For Rodriguez and Johnson it was like trying to build a stock car out of four wheels, a door and a cupholder.

Johnson turned out a speed demon that starts 14 freshmen, but that's eighth in the nation in rushing yards, second in the ACC in total offense, is 8-3 with wins over Florida State , Boston College and a nationally televised tattooing of Miami Thursday night.

Rodriguez is 3-8 and was buried in turn four by Toledo.

I'll be honest ... as much bravado as I showed preceding Virginia's game against Georgia Tech (and to all the commenters who really redeemed GT's rep with their remarkable grammar- I went to both UGA and UVA and my checkbook's doing fine, thanks), when UVA went down 14-3 in the first quarter, it looked like another textbook example of how Al Groh follows up a strong showing at home by completely crapping out in a road contest.

And then, well, UVA pulled out their 2007 playbook and scored an improbable win against the 21st-ranked Yellow Jackets, capitalizing on turnovers and a sudden inability for GT's dynamic running game to get anything going.

If I were a Georgia Tech fan, I'd be feeling pretty darn good right now. Having lain waste to such dynamic, powerful squads such as Jacksonville State, Gardner-Webb, Duke (hypocrisy alert, but roll with me), Clemson playing with a coach who's been at the gig for a handful of days and Mississippi State, the Yellow Jackets have rambled to a healthy #18 ranking in the AP poll. You rarely see this sort of confidence exuded from GT without the usage of words like "pwn3d!" on "n00b."

Combine that with one of the most frightening mascots and color schemes in all of sports, and you have the sort of muscle that can back up the "Real Men Don't Wear Orange" ticket plan offered by GT for their home games against Virginia and Miami, both teams who indeed feature an orange color scheme and in a manner also unlike that of GT, female fans. Can't hate on the joke, though- whatever it takes to fill up Bobby Dodd with something other than curious UGA onlookers who happen to be in the area.

The ACC Championship game is being held in Tampa this year. So far by the way the teams have played, no one has exactly declared themselves as the early leader. After this Saturday, the ACC will be lucky to have one team ranked in the top-25.

At least that is my guess at this point. The ACC looks like a random assortment of teams that aren't too good, but not horrible. Rather than see any shake-out today, things became even more muddled as every team has at least one conference loss. That's something since all but two of the teams have played only three ACC games at this point.

The three teams ranked in the top-25 coming into this week all lost. Virginia Tech, North Carolina and Wake Forest all went down in road games. There are no clear favorites right now. Virginia Tech looked like it could be the class of the conference, but then struggled on offense and fell to Boston College. BC lost to Georgia Tech. GT, though, lost to VT. Meanwhile Wake got killed by Maryland. Of course Maryland got killed by Virginia. While Virginia scored the big win over North Carolina, they also got killed by Duke. And when you get beaten by 28 by Duke -- no matter how improved they might be -- there's just no coming back from that with credibility.

Maybe Florida State? Well, they had to struggle and fight to pull out the win on Thursday over an NC State team that has not won a conference game yet. Plus Florida State lost to Wake Forest.

At this point the only sure things are that Duke, Clemson and North Carolina State have no shot.

Clemson's former starting quarterback Cullen Harper, benched -- possibly via text message -- preceding the departure of his head coach, remained benched when Dabo Swinney took over as head coach. Today's starter -- redshirt freshman quarterback Willy Korn -- has lasted all of four offensive possessions before giving way back to Harper. Who knew the Tigers had such a quick hook?

There is speculation that Korn was injured on his last possession, but we think the interception and pair of turnovers spelled doom regardless.

"Punt, punt, interception, interception" is no way to go through life, particularly at home before 85,000 frustrated South Carolinians against an option-mad, ball-controlling Georgia Tech team. Harper hasn't been much better, although he probably should be given that he was the preseason ACC Offensive Player of the Year.

And just as I write this, Harper tosses an interception to end the first half. Malaise, thy name is Clemson.