• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Tenuta to guide Georgia Tech in Humanitarian Bowl

Dec 31, 2007 - 12:11 PM Georgia Tech (7-5) vs. Fresno St (8-4) 2:00 pm EST Humanitarian Bowl December 31

BOISE, Idaho (Ticker) -- Before a new coaching staff takes over, Georgia Tech faces Fresno State in the Humanitarian Bowl on New Year's Eve.

On November 26, the Yellow Jackets' football program was shaken when Chan Gailey was fired after six seasons. Gailey was let go despite guiding the Yellow Jackets to a bowl in each of his seasons in Atlanta.

Joe Tenuta, who served as defensive coordinator under Gailey, will guide the Yellow Jackets in this contest. Tenuta will be auditioning for a spot on the staff of Paul Johnson, who was hired as Gailey's replacement.

Under Tenuta, the Yellow Jackets have been stellar defensively, leading the nation in sacks and ranking 12th against the run and in total yards allowed.

Overall, the Yellow Jackets are making their 11th straight bowl appearance. In 2002, they did drop a 30-21 decision to Fresno State in the Silicon Valley Bowl.

This is the Yellow Jackets' second appearance in Boise. In 2004, they coasted to a 52-10 rout of Tulsa.

After finishing third in the Western Athletic Conference, the Bulldogs garnered a bowl berth for the eighth time in nine seasons.

The Bulldogs rely on their running game. Ryan Mathews (866 yards, 14 touchdowns) leads four backs who have surpassed 400 yards on the season.

Fresno State has won three of its last four postseason games.