Birmingham Bowl

Georgia Tech (7-5) vs. Vanderbilt (6-6)

2:30 p.m. CST Friday (ESPN)

Protective Stadium in Birmingham

1 Interception has been thrown by Georgia Tech QB Haynes King in 236 passes this season. No other player with as many passes as King has thrown as few interceptions. Vanderbilt has intercepted nine passes in 2024.

4 Victories and four losses for SEC teams and two victories and two losses for ACC teams in the Birmingham Bowl. But none of the previous games matched teams from the conferences meeting in Friday’s game.

4 Georgia Tech coaches have produced an eight-win season within their first two years with the Yellow Jackets. All are in the College Football Hall of Fame – John Heisman, William Alexander, Bobby Dodd and Paul Johnson. Brent Key is in his second season as Georgia Tech’s coach, and the Yellow Jackets enter Friday’s game with seven victories in 2024.

4 Interceptions were thrown by Vanderbilt passers this season, the fewest in one season in the Commodores’ record book, which dates to 1946. The four interceptions were thrown by QB Diego Pavia, who has 277 passes this season. Nationally, only one QB who has as many passes as Pavia threw fewer interceptions this season – Missouri’s Brady Cook with three interceptions in 289 passes. Georgia Tech has intercepted five passes this season.

5 Major-college QBs have had at least 1,900 passing yards and 10 TD passes in a season with no more than one interception, with the group currently including Georgia Tech’s Haynes King, who has 1,910 passing yards, 11 TD passes and one interception in 2024. The players who have completed a season meeting those stats have been Virginia’s Matt Blundin in 1991, North Carolina State’s Russell Wilson in 2008, South Carolina’s Connor Shaw in 2017 and Alabama’s Jalen Hurts in 2017.

6 Years since Vanderbilt played in a bowl. The Commodores lost to Baylor 45-38 in the Texas Bowl on Dec. 27, 2018, in their most recent bowl. Vanderbilt has a 4-4-1 bowl record, including a 41-24 victory over Houston in Birmingham’s bowl on Jan. 4, 2014, which is the Commodores’ most recent bowl victory.

10 Consecutive losses for Georgia Tech to SEC opponents, including a 44-42 eight-overtime setback against Georgia in its previous game. Georgia Tech’s most recent victory over an SEC foe is a 33-18 victory over Kentucky in the TaxSlayer Bowl on Dec. 31, 2016. The Yellow Jackets have a 43-94-3 record against SEC opponents since leaving the conference after the 1963 football season. Vanderbilt has a 33-27 record against ACC opponents, including a 2-1 mark in bowls. Georgia Tech is 2-5 against SEC members in bowls since leaving the league.

14 Victories without a loss for Vanderbilt when leading entering the fourth quarter and 32 losses without a victory for the Commodores when trailing entering the fourth quarter since Clark Lea became the team’s coach. Vanderbilt has a 1-1 record when the game is tied at the end of the third quarter.

26 Victories and 20 losses for Georgia Tech in bowls. The Birmingham Bowl will be the 22nd different bowl for the Yellow Jackets.

43 More points have been scored by Vanderbilt than by its opponents in the fourth quarter this season. The Commodores have a 100-57 scoring advantage in the fourth quarter in 2024. For the season, Vanderbilt has outscored its opponents 320-277 – a margin of 43 points. Georgia Tech has outscored its opponents by seven points – 105-98 – in the fourth quarter this season.

83 Years since Vanderbilt defeated Georgia Tech. Since the Commodores downed the Yellow Jackets 14-7 on Oct. 18, 1941, Georgia Tech has beaten Vanderbilt 12 times and the teams have tied once. The Yellow Jackets have won the past six meetings. The teams most recently squared off on Sept. 17, 2016, when Georgia Tech took a 38-7 victory. The Yellow Jackets lead the series 20-15-3. The teams met 14 times as SEC members. Georgia Tech was in the league from 1933 through 1963.

259 Punt-return yards for Vanderbilt CB Martel Hight, the most in the SEC this season. Georgia Tech has yielded 210 punt-return yards, the most in the ACC this season. Hight has averaged 16.2 yards on 16 returns. Georgia Tech has given up an average of 9.1 yards on 23 returns.

716 Rushing yards for Diego Pavia in 2024, the most for a Vanderbilt QB in one season. Pavia’s 176 rushing attempts this season include six TDs.

FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE SEC, GO TO OUR SEC PAGE

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.