The End of an Era

Georgia Tech: 17 Consecutive Bowl Games

1997-2014

1. 12/29/1997: Carquest Bowl @ Miami, FL, vs. West Virginia, W 35-30
2. 1/1/1999: Gator Bowl @ Jacksonville, FL, vs. Notre Dame, L 28-13
3. 12/29/2000: Peach Bowl @ Atlanta, GA, vs. Louisiana State, L 28-14
4. 12/27/2001: Seattle Bowl @ Seattle, WA, vs. Stanford, W 24-14
5. 12/31/2002: Silicon Valley Bowl @ San Jose, CA, vs. Fresno State, L 30-21
6. 1/3/2004: Humanitarian Bowl @ Boise, ID, vs. Tulsa, W 52-10
7. 12/21/2004: Champs Sports Bowl @ Orlando, FL, vs. Syracuse, W 51-14
8. 12/29/2005: Emerald Bowl @ San Francisco, CA, vs. Utah, L 38-10
9. 1/1/2007: Gator Bowl @ Jacksonville, FL, vs. West Virginia, L 38-35
10. 12/31/2007: Humanitarian Bowl @ Boise, ID, vs. Fresno State, L 48-28
11. 12/31/2008: Chick-Fil-A Bowl @ Atlanta, GA, vs. Louisiana State, L 38-3
12. 1/5/2010: Orange Bowl @ Miami, FL, vs. Iowa, L 24-14
13. 12/27/2010: Independence Bowl @ Shreveport, LA, vs. Air Force, L 14-7
14. 12/31/2011: Sun Bowl @ El Paso, TX, vs. Utah, L 30-27
15. 12/31/2012: Sun Bowl @ El Paso, TX, vs. Southern California, W 21-7
16. 12/30/2013: Music City Bowl @ Nashville, TN, vs. Mississippi, L 25-17
17. 12/31/2014: Orange Bowl @ Miami, FL, vs. Mississippi State, W 49-34

Overall record: 6-11
Head coaches:

1. George O'Leary (1997-2000)
2. Mac McWhorter (2001, interim)
3. Chan Gailey (2002-2006)
4. Jon Tenuta (2007, interim)
5. Paul Johnson (2008-present)

 I matriculated at Tech in the fall of 2003, so I have some memories.

• 2004 Humanitarian Bowl: I remember P.J. Daniels running through Tulsa over and over on the blue turf.
• 2004 Champs Sports Bowl: I remember ESPN interviewing Syracuse's new athletic director as the rout was thoroughly underway. (I like to think the following happened after a reverse to Calvin Johnson went for a touchdown, but I don't remember the exact sequence of events.) When new AD was asked about long-time but recently on relatively hard times coach Paul Pasqualoni, he hesitated. Eight days later, he fired Pasqualoni. Syracuse has gone 45-77 since.
• 2005 Emerald Bowl: I remember making Eric Weddle making life miserable for an otherwise completely listless Georgia Tech squad in a game played in a wonderful baseball venue (but not so much a football venue).
• 2007 Gator Bowl: I remember someone on a GT message board saying that the band came back from their halftime show to find... something left by a West Virginia fan.
• 2007 Humanitarian Bowl: I remember a terrible audition by Jon Tenuta for the main job after Gailey got fired, and a disgruntled newly-hired Paul Johnson in the stands.
• 2008 Chick-Fil-A Bowl: the future looked so bright going into the game, new coach, fresh off the first win over UGA since I became a fan, etc. And then LSU defensive line proved that raw talent cancels all theories.
• 2010 Orange Bowl: I remember the last time Iowa was good. That defense was special.
• 2010 Independence Bowl: I remember watching this at my brother's apartment, mostly because I also remember that before this I forgot to set an alarm and slept for like 16 hours. I don't remember much of the game.
• 2011 Sun Bowl: I don't remember much about this game against Utah.
• 2012 Sun Bowl: the most hilarious game ever. Somehow Lane Kiffin would have to wait another 9 months to get fired.
• 2013 Music City Bowl: I remember attending this game. It was cold and we lost. After the game, my Dad and I stopped at a Buffalo Wild Wings. It was severely understaffed and were stuck there for like an hour and a half.
• 2014 Orange Bowl: I watched this game with my brother and parents at his house. It didn't really occurred to any of us, I don't think, how badly Georgia Tech was dominating this game until sometime late in the third quarter.

More on what this means for the future later. But for now, I'm not worried, and I'm not panicked.