Georgia Tech’s 66-31 win over Louisville Friday night was remarkable in many ways. Here are 15 of them, culled from Georgia Tech’s sports communications office, sports-reference.com and research.
1. Tech's 542 rushing yards were the second most in coach Paul Johnson's tenure, second only to the 604 gained against Kansas in 2011, another 66-point game. It was the third highest total in Tech's modern era (1950 and forward).
2. Tech averaged 7.6 yards on first down, 10.3 yards on second down and 5.1 yards on third down. The Jackets ran 67 plays and got to third down just seven times (10 percent of all plays) and never got to fourth down. For the sake of context, going into Friday, third-down plays accounted for 17 percent of the Jackets' snaps.
3. Tech was 16-for-23 converting second downs (70 percent).
4. Tech's 66 points were the second most it has scored in an ACC game, behind the 68 put up on North Carolina in 2012.
5. The 66 points scored on Louisville were the most ever scored on a team coached by Bobby Petrino, surpassing the 65 scored by the 2010 Auburn team, which went on to win the national champoinship.
6. Of Tech's 20 400-yard rushing games against FBS competition under Johnson, the Jackets' 8.3 yards-per-carry average was fourth highest (behind Kansas in 2011, Virginia in 2012 and Miami in 2008).
7. Tech had 10 possessions, nine if the final game-ending one-play drive is thrown out. Of the nine, Tech drove for touchdowns on eight and a field goal on the other. In so doing, the Jackets captured 97 percent of all available yards.
8. Tech has scored 60-plus points in back-to-back weeks. In the history of the ACC, only three other teams have accomplished that feat, Florida State in 1992, Tech in 2015 (Alcorn State and Tulane) and Louisville in 2016.
9. Tech's two passing attempts (against 65 rushing attempts) were the fewest in a game in Johnson's tenure. The previous low was four (against Maryland in 2012 and North Carolina in 2010). The school record for fewest passing attempts in the modern era (1950 and forward) is zero, against Notre Dame in 1976 and Tennessee in 1977.
10. Backup quarterback Tobias Oliver continued to showcase his big-play ability with a 65-yard run on his third play of the game. He finished with 103 yards and two touchdowns on just eight carries.
In 54 rush attempts this season, Oliver has 13 rushes for 10 yards or more and four for 20 yards or more and two of 60 yards or more, which was tied for most nationally going into Saturday’s games.
More from Friday’s game:
Steve Hummer: All Tech does is score, and gallop past Louisville
]11. Starting quarterback TaQuon Marshall ran for 175 yards on 23 carries for two touchdowns, his season high and his second highest career total, behind his 249 yards in his starting debut against Tennessee last season.
Friday’s game was the first in which Tech had two quarterbacks rush for 100 yards.
12. Tech's defense secured its 11th, 12th and 13th takeaways of the season, surpassing its season total for the 2017 season (10). Tech is 46-17 against FBS teams in Johnson's tenure when recording two or more takeaways.
13. The Jackets did not commit a turnover for the second game in a row. It's just the third instance in Johnson's tenure that Tech has gone consecutive games without a turnover.
14. Tech also did not commit a penalty on offense (not counting an unsportsmanlike conduct flag after a touchdown) for the second game in a row.
15. Juanyeh Thomas' 95-yard interception return for a touchdown in the fourth quarter tied for the fifth longest in school history and tied for longest in an ACC game (Ken Swilling, N.C. State, 1989).
