SAN FRANCISCO — Utah captain Jesse Boone touched them all. A fitting tribute considering today's Emerald Bowl game against 24th-ranked Georgia Tech is being played at SBC Park, home of baseball's San Francisco Giants.

At an official bowl function earlier in the week, Boone represented his teammates in thanking everyone who made the Utes' third consecutive bowl appearance possible. He included the BYU Cougars.

And rightly so, as it turned out.

Utah's 41-34 overtime win in Provo on Nov. 19 made the Utes bowl-eligible at 6-5.

Their reward, however, is a challenging one. Georgia Tech (7-4) is one of just two teams in the nation (USC being the other) with victories over a pair of top-10 teams this season. The Yellow Jackets defeated Auburn and Miami on the road en route to earning their ninth straight bowl bid.

In both contests, Tech's defense rose to the occasion — showing just why it ranks 10th in the nation overall. Utah, meanwhile, enters the contest with the country's 12th-best offense.

"It's a great matchup," Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said of the statistical showdown.

Georgia Tech coach Chan Gailey isn't so sure.

"There's a lot more to it than that. I think there's some things in the kicking game. Neither one of us has been extremely strong in the kicking game," he said. "So it is probably going to come down to — not a big play — but maybe a big mistake in the kicking game."

Then again . . .

"It could come down to how our offense plays against their defense. Who knows? You just don't know," Gailey said. "It could easily be something else."

Utah, though, is confident its offense will be a significant variable. Brett Ratliff will make his second consecutive start in place of the injured Brian Johnson. The Utes also have a 1,000-yard rusher in Quinton Ganther.

"They haven't really played an offense like ours all year so we have an advantage there," said Ratliff, who noted that a lot of opponents had trouble defending the Utes this season. "I'm just looking forward to getting out on that field and just seeing who wins."

Utah's offense against Georgia Tech's defense is an intriguing matchup. Offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig doesn't see either team having much of an advantage.

"They haven't faced an offense as open and spread as we are but they've had four weeks to look at the tapes," he said. "They'll have a great beat on what we've done."

Adjustments, thus, will be necessary.

"You do what you've done through the course of the season to get you there," Ludwig said. "There's just extra wrinkles that have to be added to try to offset your chances."