Georgia Tech will face Vanderbilt in the Birmingham Bowl

As confirmed by the Atlantic Coast Convention, Georgia Tech’s 2024 season finale will happen within the Birmingham Bowl on Friday, December 27 towards Vanderbilt at 3:30 PM EST on ESPN.

As bowl bulletins got here out of the ACC, it adopted expectations that Tech would seemingly go to both Birmingham or Boston, in the end taking Birmingham.

This will likely be Tech’s first recreation towards Vanderbilt in a postseason setting after 38 earlier conferences. Tech hasn’t misplaced to Vanderbilt since 1941, going 12-0-1 within the final 13 video games. The groups final performed in 2016, a 38-7 victory for the Jackets. All-time, Tech is 20-15-3 towards Vanderbilt in soccer, the primary recreation happening in 1892 when the Institute was not even 5 years previous.

Notably, the groups play for a cowbell trophy, created by Ed Cavaleri in 1924, one of many few rivalry trophies the Jackets have a historical past with. Based on Tech radio host Andy Demetra, the trophy’s location was just lately unknown till Jackson Mathews, a amenities supervisor, discovered it whereas trying to find printer toner in 2016 within the now-demolished Edge constructing. It is not usually a bowl recreation coincides like a trophy rivalry recreation!

Contemplating Tech was utterly out of the limelight for the Peach Bowl by not making the School Soccer Playoff, the Birmingham Bowl is geographically the closest place Tech may have performed compared to campus. Even when this is not the favourite bowl (as many gamers expressed on Twitter), that is nonetheless top-of-the-line locations we may have drawn to get a number of graduate college students within the constructing.

When it comes to personnel, the bowl recreation does not rely towards video games performed whereas redshirting or not, so it is potential we may see backup quarterback Aaron Philo take some snaps in case Haynes King is not 100 but % wholesome. That stated, here is what Brent Key needed to say concerning the King in Bowl Recreation press convention:

Zach Pyron won’t be seen as he entered the switch portal.

If Tech have been to win, it might be their first 8-win season since 2016.

Workers suggestions

Chris: It is… good I assume? In all probability a 6/10 for me. It is not notably thrilling, nevertheless it’s a great place for the fan base, and Vandy’s a workforce that bought a number of consideration this season, so a possible win over them can be good for the model. On the finish of the day, location and opponent are usually not crucial; what issues is that we come away with a convincing victory.

Ben: I stated earlier that I actually did not care who we ended up enjoying so long as the gamers and coaches have a superb time. I stand by her. I feel Birmingham additionally works as a result of it is commuting distance for each fan bases. Vandy’s QB has made some noise this season, so I am excited to see how Tech handles him. I am excited, and I hope you might be too.

Logan: I feel it is fantastic. Plenty of good tales. Foolish Bowl, renewal of a rivalry, Two distinctive offenses dealing with off, two groups which can be upset by many wins. Not everybody thinks the world of Vandy, however they’ve had a superb yr and ought to be a problem. I am glad we’ve got a superb opponent within the bowl. I want it was a extra enjoyable place, nevertheless it’s a superb place to succeed in followers, in order that helps. I hope we’ve got a superb turnout.

Jack: I am all for it. Positive, Birmingham is not the sexiest vacation spot to play our bowl recreation in, however the recreation is in UAB’s model new stadium, 1000’s of scholars are inside driving distance, and we’ve got a historic rivalry besides. Plus, we’ve got a superb TV spot for that a part of the vacation season the place folks type of neglect what day of the week it’s and simply depart the TV on all day. It ticks the bins we would like ticked. It was all scrumptious to me as we managed to get win quantity 7. I am additionally unsure if we might even get to an 8 win if we ended up shifting to a different bowl, so this feels just like the pure place for us this season. I do know this workforce will likely be able to play, so I am largely excited to spend one other day with this Georgia Tech soccer workforce that all of us love a lot.

Nishant: I am unable to say I am terribly excited. It is good to get a bowl towards an SEC workforce, and I liked our house and residential with Vandy in 2009 and 2016. And seeing Diego Pavian will likely be enjoyable. All that stated, this as a postseason recreation simply feels… anticlimactic. It is a workforce I’ve clear recollections of enjoying, which spoils probably the most enjoyable facet of cup season for me—enjoying groups you’d by no means see in any other case. However it’s additionally simply one other reminder that irrespective of how dramatic this season was, this was a 7-5 workforce that (like each different 6-6 or 7-5 GT workforce ever) bowl selectors may safely ignore in the course of the ACC bundle. The excellent news is that Birmingham is a simple day journey from Metro Atlanta, so for the primary time in a decade I can go see Tech’s bowl recreation. So ultimately I am unable to be too mad.

Carter: This recreation was bred in a laboratory to be the least thrilling bowl recreation Georgia Tech has had since enjoying within the Independence Bowl fourteen years in the past. The nightmare bowl situation is enjoying in an uninteresting bowl towards an uninteresting opponent. Georgia Tech bought each. Vanderbilt is a workforce 4 hours away from Atlanta that Tech has already performed home-and-home in latest reminiscence. In the meantime, six-win Virginia Tech will play in Charlotte.

collar: I fall someplace within the Jack/Chris/Ben vary of opinions, having had the good thing about studying everybody’s responses. I knew going into this that I would not have the ability to take part, and I am assured that the gamers will likely be handled nicely no matter the place they find yourself, so I wished followers of the sport to have the ability to fairly get into a superb stadium vacation spot, and we have been actually hoping for a greater date and time than we have gotten within the final two bowl assignments taken by Tech. After I made the journey to Detroit myself the day after Christmas in 2018 and having necessary household commitments within the final yr because it was the Friday evening earlier than Christmas weekend final yr, I really feel I can converse with authority that these have been actually terrifying moments. A superbly weathered afternoon recreation with one other day’s house between the again of Christmas (inside cheap driving distance for a fan base that’s notoriously journey poor) and being in a model new stadium are all positively constructive. If it was towards a G5 workforce, I may need different aid ideas, nevertheless it’s an SEC matchup towards others The varsity, we’ve got a historic rivalry trophy, which additionally marked some notable and talked about historic upsets this season, leads me to imagine that it’s going to garner a considerable amount of consideration and story buzz within the lead as much as the sport. Name it the Cinderella bowl, or one thing. It is not good, however a bowl-time-worthy and driveable towards a Energy 4 opponent with historic and present narratives of curiosity is about as good a setup as a 7-5 workforce may ask for. It is a win.

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