Georgia Tech's Gator Bowl history

Georgia Tech running back Tashard Choice (22) had 27 carries for 169 yards and 2	in the Jackets' last Gator Bowl appearance in 2007.

Credit: Bob Andres

Credit: Bob Andres

Georgia Tech running back Tashard Choice (22) had 27 carries for 169 yards and 2 in the Jackets' last Gator Bowl appearance in 2007.

Georgia Tech returns to Jacksonville, Fla., for its eighth trip to the TaxSlayer Bowl, formerly known as the Gator Bowl.

Tech is 24-19 overall in its bowl history, dating back to its first bowl appearance in the 1928 Rose Bowl, which is memorable for all its own reasons.

When they face Kentucky at 11 a.m. Dec. 31 in Jacksonville, the Jackets will make the Gator Bowl their most frequent bowl game. They are 3-4 in the nation's sixth oldest bowl game.

This is how they've fared in each of those games.

1956 Gator Bowl

Georgia Tech's starting backfield -- halfback Paul Rotenberry (from left), quarterback Wade Mitchell, fullback Jimmy Thompson and halfback Ken Owen -- went through a final signal drill before the 1956 Gator Bowl clash with Pittsburgh in the Jacksonville, Fla.

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The meeting between Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh in Jacksonville - a rematch of the Sugar Bowl a season before - was the first of just seven bowl games in the 1956 college football season.

The fourth-ranked Jackets entered the game 10-1, their only loss a 6-0 defeat at the hand of SEC foe Tennessee.

Pittsburgh, an independent, entered the Gator Bowl matchup with a 7-3-1 record.

Behind quarterback Wade Mitchell, coach Bobby Dodd's Jackets defeated the Panthers for a second straight year in a bowl game, 21-14. The game - aired on CBS - marked the Jackets' sixth-straight bowl win.

1960 Gator Bowl

Arkansas All America halfback Jim Mooty (24) scoots 20 yards for the second and game-winning touchdown in the Gator Bowl game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at Jacksonville, Florida,, Jan. 2, 1960.

Credit: Jim Kerlin

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Credit: Jim Kerlin

Ninth-ranked Arkansas, Southwest Conference co-champions, faced a 6-4 Georgia Tech squad that had not made a bowl game since its 1956 Gator Bowl appearance.

The Razorbacks were coached by former Tech star Fank Broyles. Bobby Dodd's Tech team scored first, but could not stop the Razorbacks' All-America halfback Jim Mooty. The Jackets fell 14-7 in Jacksonville.

1961 Gator Bowl

Georgia Tech was ranked as high as No. 3 during the season. The Jackets, fresh off a win over state rival Georgia, entered the bowl game ranked 13th with a 7-3 record.

The Penn State Nittany Lions, also 7-3, were coached by Rip Engle.

The Yellow Jackets raced to a 9-0 lead, but could not contain Penn State quarterback Galen Hall, who passed for three touchdowns in the Nittany Lions' 30-15 win.

1965 Gator Bowl

Texas Tech All-American Donny Anderson fumbled on the Red Raiders' opening drive and the team never recovered. The Jackets rushed for 364 yards.

A 1-yard touchdown pass from senior Georgia Tech quarterback Jerry Priestley sealed the 31-21 win.

1999 Gator Bowl

Notre Dame quarterback Jarious Jackson is sacked by Georgia Tech defender Nate Stimson (56) in the second quarter of the 1999 Toyota Gator Bowl in Jacksonville, Fla.

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The Yellow Jackets returned to Jacksonville, Fla. after three decades to face Notre Dame on Jan. 1, 1999.

Tech jumped to a 21-7 halftime lead over the Fighting Irish, who donned green jerseys for the first time since 1995.

The Jackets were led by quarterback Joe Hamilton who threw for 237 yards and three touchdowns, while catching another in the 35-28 win.

2000 Gator Bowl

Miami's Mike Rumph disrupts a pass for Georgia Tech's Dez White in the fourth quarter in the Gator Bowl on Jan 1, 2000.

Credit: Renee' Hannans

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Credit: Renee' Hannans

The 23rd-ranked Hurricanes, playing on New Year's Day for the first time in five years, held Georgia Tech to its fewest points in 17 games and ended Joe Hamilton's career on a sour note with a 28-13 victory in the Gator Bowl.

It marked Tech's first loss in a bowl since the 1978 Peach Bowl, a span of seven games.

2007 Gator Bowl

Georgia Tech wide receiver Calvin Johnson (21) goes high to make this touchdown catch against West Virginia in the 2007 Gator Bowl.

Credit: Bob Andres

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Credit: Bob Andres

Wideout Calvin Johnson made nine catches for 186 yards and two touchdowns for Georgia Tech.

It was West Virginia, down by 18 in the third quarter, that made the biggest splash, scoring 21 unanswered points to win 38-35 over the Yellow Jackets in the last Gator Bowl appearance in 2007.