Notre Dame-Ga. Tech Rivalry Should Not Disappoint

ATLANTA, Sept. 1, 2006 — -- If you like football as chess match, if you like seeing two of the smartest coaches in the game feint, thrust and jab at each other like a couple of Olympic fencers, you will love watching No. 2 Notre Dame play at Georgia Tech on Saturday (ABC, 8 ET).

Jon Tenuta has made a name for himself by installing aggressive, successful defensive schemes.

Calling the plays on one side of the line of scrimmage will be Fighting Irish coach Charlie Weis, admired as an offensive mind for years with the New England Patriots. Weis proved during last year's revival of the long-dormant Irish that he can control the rhythm of a college game with the same cleverness and élan he used in the NFL.

Calling the plays on the other side of the line will be Yellow Jackets defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta, who has scaled over the wall of anonymity that conceals most assistant coaches. Five times in the last two seasons, an unranked Georgia Tech team has upset a ranked team, allowing an average of 15 points per game in the victories. Eleven times in the last two seasons, the Yellow Jackets have held an opponent to fewer than 275 total yards.

They have accomplished this by ratcheting up the pressure on opposing quarterbacks, forcing them to respond more quickly than they are prepared to do.

"In my whole career, I've always believed in being aggressive and attacking," Tenuta said. "It has always worked."

Saturday's game has penetrated the sporting psyche of a city that rarely made Georgia Tech a priority in the last four decades. The ESPN College GameDay set is up. Home run king Hank Aaron, who still lives in Atlanta, called the athletic department midweek, looking for tickets (he will be a guest in the box of athletic director Dan Radakovich).

The Hammer and the rest of a sellout crowd of 55,000 at Bobby Dodd Stadium will watch as the Yellow Jackets attempt to slow down an offense expected to be among the best in the nation. Seven starters, led by preseason All-Americans Brady Quinn at quarterback and Jeff Samardzija at wide receiver, return from a team that averaged 36.7 points and 477.3 yards per game.