Cash some tickets Thursday night with proven winner Christian Alexander and his pick pack, or throughout the rest of the college campaign with his season pack.

N.C. State (1-2, 0-2 Atlantic Coast) at Georgia Tech (3-1, 1-1 Atlantic Coast)
Thursday, October 6 at 7:30 PM
TV: ESPN Surface: Natural Grass (Bobby Dodd Stadium)
Line: Georgia Tech -4

Well, all good things must come to an end, and the 4-0 perfect record on Thursday nights came to a crashing halt last week in Fort Collins, Colorado. No since in wasting any time rehashing the gory details, time to shake off the loss and move on to this week with the opportunity to start another winning streak.

N.C. State has gotten off to a rough start this season. (AP Images)

For fans of Thursday night football, you will certainly feel at home this week as we head to Atlanta and the campus of Georgia Tech. This is the 13th consecutive year that the Yellow Jackets have played in a Thursday night game and their 18th overall, more than any other school.

Georgia Tech will be facing a wounded N.C. State team that has its back against the wall. Much was expected from the Wolfpack this season, but a 1-2 start has Coach Chuck Amato on the defense.

N.C. State has failed to find any consistency on offense since the departure of quarterback Philip Rivers after the 2003 season. QB Jay Davis is making strides, but has yet to develop the consistency that is needed from the all-important position.

As one would expect from the former defensive coordinator of many dominating Florida State defenses, the strong suit of Amato’s Wolfpack is once again their defense. Then again, after their arch-rivals from Chapel Hill posted 321 yards of offense and 31 points on them in Raleigh, NCSU fans are starting to question whether that defense can really be called a "strength." As I said, the seat under Amato is getting a little warm.

But make no mistake, in defensive ends Mario Williams and Manny Lawson along with linebacker Stephen Tulloch, the Wolfpack have an abundance of defensive talent and certainly have to be respected as one of the top units in the ACC.

Speaking of wounded teams, N.C. State will meet a Georgia Tech squad that if not wounded, certainly is bruised and battered after its last outing. In that game in Blacksburg, VA against Virginia Tech, the Yellow Jackets were pasted by a final tally of 51-7, marking their worst defeat since an identical woodshed beating by Georgia in late 2002.

Georgia Tech has had over 10 days to pick up the pieces of that loss and try to get back on track. Coach Chan Gailey and his crew figure to lean on a trio of offensive weapons to accomplish that task this Thursday.

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QB Reggie Ball has been the starter for Tech since the first day of his freshman season. In fact, Ball made his collegiate debut on a Thursday night in 2003 in Provo, UT against BYU (a 24-13 BYU win). Ball has a ton of potential, but he occasionally makes questionable decisions that lead to turnovers. His main target is sophomore sensation Calvin Johnson, the top receiver for the Yellow Jackets with 18 receptions for 378 yards. Johnson has 10 touchdown catches in his young 16-game career.

Ball is supported by a very capable running game with tailback P.J. Daniels, who is averaging 94 yards per game. Daniels will have his work cut out for him against the aforementioned NSCU defense, a unit only allowing 102 yards per game on the ground.

Similarly, the Georgia Tech defense has been nasty against the run, allowing opponents only 84 yards per game on the ground to go along with 10 interceptions. The bad news for the Jackets' defense coming into this game is that they will likely be without senior end Eric Henderson, who is recovering from a sprained right ankle. One of their top defensive players, Henderson has a sack and a forced fumble in his two games.

Both teams have been marred by sloppy play thus far this season, with the Wolfpack averaging 10 penalties a game while Tech is averaging 64 penalty yards a game on nine flags.

If Amato is going to quiet his critics and get his squad back on track, he’ll have to not only do it in hostile territory but also against a team that N.C. State has had little success against in recent history. Georgia Tech has won four in a row, and nine of the last 10 against N.C. State.

Christian Alexander's Thursday night season record:

Christian took his first Thursday night loss of the season last week as the Air Force couldn’t maintain a second-half lead, eventually falling to Colorado State 41-23. Alexander is now 4-1 on Thursday nights in 2005.