This weekend won't be the first time that Eagles offensive coordinator Gary Tranquill and Irish defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta have faced one another. Tranquill and Tenuta have actually matched wits several times during their time roaming the sidelines of the ACC. Tenuta was the defensive coordinator for Georgia Tech from 2002-2007 while Tranquill was the offensive coordinator at North Carolina from 2001-2005. Tenuta and Tranquill both served on the same staff in 2001, under first year Tar Heel coach John Bunting.
The results of their previous encounters are mixed. While Tenuta's Yellow Jackets went 3-1 against the Heels from 2002-2005, they also allowed a healthy 378 total yards of offense per game. Tenuta's defenses did give up a lot of yardage but were able to hold the Tar Heels to under 18 points per game.
Here is a game-by-game look at how Tenuta's defenses have fared against Tranquill-led offenses while both coached in the ACC.
| Year | Game | Rush | C-A-I-Yds | Total | Turnovers | Outcome | |
| 2002 | Georgia Tech at UNC |
68 | 14-25-0-231 | 299 | 1 | W 21-13 |
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| 2003 | UNC at Georgia Tech | 157 | 26-40-1-289 | 446 | 2 | W 41-24 |
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| 2004 | Georgia Tech at UNC | 284 | 10-23-2-142 | 426 | 2 | L 34-13 |
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| 2005 | UNC at Georgia Tech | 61 | 18-39-3-280 | 341 | 3 | W 27-21 |
If you don't find these numbers particularly comforting, know that going into the Florida State game, Seminole defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews had even greater success against Gary Tranquill than Jon Tenuta. And we all know how that turned out for Florida State this year.