Georgia Tech to Face Mississippi State in Capital One Orange Bowl

Release from Georgia Tech Athletics:

The 12th-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets will face the 7th-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs in the 2014 Capital One Orange Bowl at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. The game is scheduled for Dec. 31 at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN.

Georgia Tech, ranked No. 9 in the Amway Coaches Poll and No. 10 in the AP Top 25, is playing in its 18th consecutive bowl game, which is tied for the second-longest active streak in FBS. It will be Tech’s seventh Orange Bowl appearance and first since 2010; the Jackets are 3-3 in their previous six trips Orange Bowl trips.

“Our football program is honored and excited to represent the ACC in the Capital One Orange Bowl,” Georgia Tech AD Mike Bobinski said. “To play in one of the ‘New Year’s Six’ bowl games that are part of the first College Football Playoff is a great accomplishment for our program.  I’m proud of our players, Coach Paul Johnson and our entire coaching and support staff for the effort they’ve each put forth to make this happen.”

The Capital One Orange Bowl will be the fifth series meeting between the schools and the first bowl game. Georgia Tech is 4-0 all-time vs. Mississippi State, including a 2-0 mark under head coach Paul Johnson.

“We are extremely excited for the chance to play in the Orange Bowl,” Johnson said. “Mississippi State is a great football team and we look forward to a great game.”

Georgia Tech (10-3) has posted just its ninth 10-win season in program history and the fourth in the ACC era, while making its fourth ACC Championship Game appearance.

Through 13 games, Tech is averaging 37.0 points and 468.8 yards of total offense, which both stand as the second-most in school history (40.7, 509.0 in 1999). Georgia Tech’s 333.6 rushing yards per game currently stand as the single-season school record.