Humble start for Whisenhunt

Tomorrow, the Jackets face a Notre Dame program that is one of the most high profile programs in college football today. In a series dating back to 1922, the Fighting Irish have dominated Tech holding a 26-5-1 series lead.

In 1980, Tech and Notre Dame played one of the most memorable games in the series. The No. 1 ranked Fighting Irish left the Flats disappointed after the teams played to a 3-3 tie.

There was nothing memorable about the 1980 version of the Jackets up until that fateful Saturday. Tech ran out onto the field on Nov. 8, 1980 with a 1-7 record against the No.1-ranked team in the nation, Notre Dame, with the lone win coming against Memphis State in the third game of the season.

Tech's rookie head coach Bill Curry was behind much of the success on that day. Curry, a 1965 graduate with a B.S. in Industrial Management, was brought in because he was a Tech man with a winning attitude that could turn Tech's football program around.

"If you ever get where you are comfortable losing, then you better hit the road," Bill Curry said in an interview, "Tech will not tolerate losing, and we have the attitude that we are supposed to win. That means we should win at the highest level. Everyone that has walked up the Hill knows what I am talking about because it starts in the classroom. You're either a winner or you are sent home,"

Adding to the difficulty of playing against the No. 1 team in the country, there were significant injury problems for Tech. Both of the quarterbacks listed on Tech's depth chart that had significant playing experience were injured.

The starter against Notre Dame was a senior by the name of Mike Kelley. During the season, Kelley had sustained an injury to his throwing shoulder which kept him out for over a month. Behind Kelley was Ted Peeples who was not listed on the active roster for the game. That situation forced Curry to call upon a walk-on true freshman by the name of Ken Whisenhunt during the week to take snaps if Kelley was unable to finish the game. Whisenhunt is currently the offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Before he was a coach in the NFL, he was a student-athlete at Georgia Tech from 1980 to 1984.

"Before the game that week, we were running in plays from the sidelines. I remember that I was playing a little bit of receiver. So they gave me the play on the sideline and I ran into the huddle to give the play to the quarterback and there was no quarterback. I turned and looked back at the sideline and they said 'No, you're the quarterback!' They didn't anticipate that I would play, and I did not anticipate that either," Whisenhunt said.

The game started off poorly for Tech as Mike Kelley took a jarring shot to his shoulder seven minutes in. Head coach Bill Curry would be forced to put in his utility quarterback, Ken Whisenhunt.

"I don't remember a whole lot about the game, but I do remember looking into [Whisenhunt's] eyes and saying, 'Kid, just get the snap on the next play' and then we will get you the next play. I remember distinctly him looking back at me and saying 'no problem, coach' and turning and running onto the field like he had been doing it all his life. I remember getting goose bumps thinking that this kid may be special," Curry said.

Despite Curry's praise for his poise, Whisenhunt had a different take on his first series. "I was a little intimidated. I remember [Notre Dame] punting the ball to our four-yard line. So my first snap at quarterback was against the No. 1 team in the country with our backs to the end zone. I was just thankful that I didn't fumble it," Whisenhunt said.

It turned out that Whisenhunt was able to handle the pressure. On a drive in the second quarter, the Jackets scored their only points of the game to give them a 3-0 lead. "I remember on one of those plays I sprinted out, and it was designed to go out to the flat. I saw Jeff Keisler, who was also a freshman, streaking up the middle and I just let it go to him. I remember thinking 'I hope that he turns around', and right before it got there he turned around and caught it. It was a big play in the drive that set up the field goal," Whisenhunt said.

The lead held up until 4:44 left in the fourth quarter when Notre Dame's Harry Oliver kicked a game-tying field goal that just cleared the crossbar.

Statistically, the two teams combined for only 392 total yards of offense. The Tech defense played their best game of the season against Notre Dame. While they were unable to put together a complete defensive effort for the majority of the season, allowing an average of 28.6 in the first eight games of the season.

On this day Tech's defense stood tall in the face of an offense that averaged the same number of points per game. When considering Notre Dame's decisive size advantage over Tech, this was a feat of monumental proportions.

"[Notre Dame] was bigger than most NFL teams to me. I was in the NFL the year before that. I was the offensive line coach for the Packers in 1979. The offensive line for Notre Dame was bigger than the one I coached the year before, but I didn't tell my team that," Curry said.

While the Irish were able to come back and tie the game, it did little to make them feel any better about the outcome. In Notre Dame's press conference after the game, a reporter reminded then head coach Dan Devine that the Irish had not lost. Devine just looked up and smiled "meekly" at the reporter, according to an article in the AJC from Nov. 9th, 1980. Devine also was quoted as saying that, "I was out coached by Bill Curry. That's not an easy thing to say, but it has to be said."