GAME NOTES: The 15th-ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets open the 2009 college football season with a seemingly easy matchup against FCS foe Jacksonville State. These two teams met for the first time ever in the opener last season, and Tech won that game by a 41-14 final.

Last season, Jacksonville State finished tied for second in the Ohio Valley Conference with an 8-3 overall record. The Gamecocks finished 23rd in The Sports Network final poll, and they are 19th in the 2009 preseason poll.

"One of the biggest challenges that we have is simulating their offense, it's hard to do," said Jack Crowe, head coach of the Gamecocks. His team appears to be clearly inferior to the Yellow Jackets in regard to talent, so Crowe and his staff clearly have a tall task just to remain competitive.

The first year of the Paul Johnson era went extremely well, as Georgia Tech finished 9-4 overall in 2008, including a 5-3 mark in the ACC, good for a share of the Coastal Division title. Unfortunately, it was Virginia Tech that represented the division in the ACC Title game.

With a string of 12 straight postseason appearances on the line, Johnson's second season in Atlanta does come with some pressure, as the program owns its highest preseason ranking since 2001. However, this is a team that seems loaded with a league-high 19 starters back. The non-conference schedule is fairly favorable, with the exception of the annual meeting with Georgia, and most tough ACC games will be played at home.

Crowe announced recently that senior quarterback Ryan Perrilloux has been suspended for the opener for violation of team rules. Perrilloux is a transfer from LSU who is one of the FCS's most talented signal callers, but he has been in trouble more than once during his collegiate career.

"Since the incident, Ryan has demonstrated his responsibility to this team and this University," says Crowe. "I expect this to just be a one-time incident. This does not change his role as the quarterback on this football team and he will start the game against Florida State," said Crowe.

The plan is to play Marquise Ivory at quarterback in this first game. A good athlete, Ivory got some experience under center a year ago, but he figures to be under constant pressure by Tech.

Defensively for the Gamecocks, Carnell Clark and Alexander Henderson have garnered plenty of pre-season hype based on their performance last season. Clark was second on the team with 68 tackles as a junior and landed on the AP All-America squad. He was a First Team OVC selection, adding two interceptions and a blocked kick to his tackle totals.

Henderson led JSU last season with 103 stops and finished fifth in the OVC and 16th nationally with 10.3 tackles per game. The senior linebacker is an honorable mention selection this year. He was the only player in the nation to record a pair of 20-tackle games last season and was an OVC First Teamer as well.

Shifting over to Georgia Tech, Paul Johnson used to coach Navy, and he has brought the run-heavy option-style offense to Atlanta. Last season saw Tech rumble for 273.2 yards per game on the ground while averaging 5.6 yards per carry. On three separate occasions, Tech rushed for over 400 yards in a game, including a mind-boggling 409 yards in the season-finale against Georgia.

Don't expect much to change in 2009, thanks to ACC Player of the Year Jonathan Dwyer, who racked up 1,395 yards and 12 TDs last season. The most dangerous aspect of the offense is that while Dwyer can carry the load, he doesn't have too, with other talented runners in the fold.

"I think Jonathan is a great kid," said Johnson of his star runner. "He's got a lot of God-given ability - a very talented young man. He has some things he needs to work on, but the sky is the limit for him. He has all the tools."

Quarterback Josh Nesbitt (693 yards, seven TDs) can get it done on the ground as well, but he is also a capable passer. In 2008, Demaryius Thomas led the team in receiving with 39 catches for 627 yards (16.1 ypc) and three TDs.

The Georgia Tech defense returns its top five tacklers from a year ago, including the entire linebacking corps, highlighted by Kyle Jackson and Sedric Griffin. Jackson, unfortunately, is dealing with a foot injury that will keep him out of this opener, and there is no doubt that the void will be tough to fill if the injury lingers. The secondary is another area of strength, led by All-America safety Morgan Burnett, who paced the team in tackles (93), while ranking third nationally in interceptions last year (seven).

The Yellow Jackets made things very difficult for opposing QBs in '08, racking up 34 sacks on the year, but that was due in large part to a stellar defensive line. A lot of that production is now gone, so expect the coaches to monitor the line play closely against Jacksonville State. The hope is that junior end Derrick Morgan (6-4, 270) can build off a fantastic sophomore season in which he racked up 51 tackles and seven sacks.

There is no reason to expect this game to be even remotely close, especially with Perrilloux out of the JSU lineup. The Yellow Jackets will move the ball on the ground at will, and Dwyer will get off to a Heisman-worthy start.