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Georgia Tech Football Countdown to Kickoff: Remembering Gary Lee’s 95-yard TD against UGA

By Dylan Callaghan-Croley

ATLANTA, GEORGIA - NOVEMBER 10: A general view of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets' football game against the Miami Hurricanes during the second quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - NOVEMBER 10: A general view of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets' football game against the Miami Hurricanes during the second quarter at Bobby Dodd Stadium on November 10, 2018 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Mike Comer/Getty Images) /
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With only 95 days until toe meets leather between Georgia Tech and Clemson on August 29th, we take a look at Gary Lee’s big 95-yard touchdown against Georgia in 1985.

For today’s countdown, let’s go back in time and go to the year 1985. It was a beautiful fall night in the final game of the regular season. It was a traditional Clean Old’ Fashioned Hate matchup between a 7-2-1 Georgia Tech team and a 7-2-1 Georgia team matched up at Grant Field for what would be an epic matchup between the two heated rivals.

It was a low-scoring affair for most of the game between two defenses that were among the best in the country that season. Which sets us up for the play of the game and possibly the play of the season for the Yellow Jackets.

It was 16-10 Georgia entering the final minutes of the third quarter when the junior wide receiver and kick returner Gary Lee was ready near the Jackets goal line for the kick. Lee received the ball at the 5-yard line and from there, no one was stopping him.

Lee got a huge hole off a contingent of Tech blockers blowing up the UGA defenders and no one came close to stopping Lee as he ran the kickoff 95-yards back for a touchdown. The closest any player came to stopping the future Detroit Lion was the Georgia kicker and he stood no chance.

Following their 20-16 win over UGA, the Jackets would go onto face Michigan State in the 1985 Hall of Fame Classic. The Jackets in that game would take down the Spartans 17-14 to finish their season 9-2-1 and finish as the No.19 ranked team in the country.

The 1985 season was the Jackets best season of the 1980s and the only season that they would go onto win more than eight games during the decade. It was also the only season in the 80s that they would appear in a bowl game. The 20-16 victory over the Bulldogs also gave the Jackets one of their three wins against UGA in the 80s.  You can read the original recap for the game here.

Only 95 days till kickoff…