What: Humanitarian Bowl
Who: Georgia Tech (7-5) vs. Fresno State (8-4)
Where: Bronco Stadium, Boise, Idaho
When: Monday, 2 p.m.
WagerWeb.com line: Georgia Tech -6
The ACC's Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets take to the blue turf in Boise against the Fresno State Bulldogs of the Western Athletic Conference.
Georgia Tech will by coached by defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta. Jackets head coach Chan Gailey was fired after the regular season and will be replaced by Navy's Paul Johnson - after the bowl game.
Fresno, meanwhile, likes playing BCS conference schools. This will be the 34th game against a BCS league team in coach Pat Hill's 11 seasons at Fresno.
Only five of those games have been in Fresno. Hill's teams have won 11, anyway.
"Anywhere, anytime, anyplace, that's what we've been fed ever since I came here," sophomore tailback Lonyae Miller said. "Never put an opponent ahead of you."
They have beaten Kansas State, Washington, UCLA, Colorado, Oregon State and, in the 2002 Silicon Valley Classic, Georgia Tech.Fresno State and Georgia Tech both rank in the Football Bowl Subdivision's top 20 in rushing, averaging 204.7 yards (17th) and 202.5 yards (19th), respectively.Georgia Tech running back Tashard Choice dominated in the ACC -- he finished with 1,310 rushing yards, while no other player ran for more than 992. Choice ran for at least 100 yards eight times this season, tied for second-most in school history. He averaged 141.6 yards in the wins, but just 79.8 in losses.
"I am not going to do anything dumb, I am going to let him carry the ball," Tenuta said of Choice.
Choice has carried the load throughout the season. He rushed for a career-high 204 yards on 37 carries in a 17-14 victory over Miami. That game came at the end of a string of three games where he recorded at least 32 carries and 135 yards rushing.
The string ended when he suffered a knee injury against Army. After his surgery, Choice finished the season with three straight 100-yard games.
Tech QB Taylor Bennett has been inconsistent on the year, completing less than 50.0 percent of his asses for only 2,045 yards. In 12 games, the junior has thrown for only six scores and nine interceptions.
Freshman running back Ryan Matthews led Fresno State's ground game, accumulating 866 yards and 14 touchdowns with 12 coming in his last seven games. However, Mathews will not participate in the bowl game due to a collarbone injury. With Mathews sidelined, next in line for Fresno State is Miller, who rumbled for 571 yards and seven scores on 4.6 ypc. Clifton Smith and Antony Harding have also made contributions to the ground attack, combining for 876 yards and seven TDs.
QB Tom Brandstater did an excellent job managing the game for the Bulldogs. On the season the junior completed 61.2 percent of his throws, finishing the year with 2,369 yards and 14 touchdowns against five
interceptions.
The Yellow Jackets are 11th in the FBS in total defense, allowing just 310.3 yards per game and they give up just 100.2 yards per game on the ground, 12th-fewest in the FBS.
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