Yellow Jackets Take A Productive Trip To Chapel Hill
Tech Beats UNC 41-34 --With A Little Late Help From An Old Accomplice
Georgia Tech won another game on Saturday. In a game that seemed to be slpping away, Jamal Haynes iced it for Tech with a lightning bolt dash up the middle for a 68 yard tie- breaking touchdown run with only seconds left to play. Carolina had time for a couple plays after the ensuing kickoff but after the final pass from UNC QB Jacoby Criswell fell to the ground at the Tech 5, the Jackets could finally take a breath.
The win was Tech's their second in a row. They are now 5-2 overall, 3- 2 in the ACC. It's a bit difficult to know how they stand in the league, since no other ACC team has played as many as five conference games and several have played only two.
The 5-2 overall record is the best that Tech has posted after seven games since back in 2014 under Paul Johnson. And as Brent Key often says, there are good teams throughout the ACC and winning consistently is difficult- as demonstrated by several games that could have gone either way.
Saturday's game in Chapel Hill was a good example. For most of the game, it felt like the Jackets were the better team. They crafted a couple of 10 point leads but could not build or even hold them, so here was Tech on their last possession hoping– hoping– to get in position for a field goal attempt.
Instead, on the second play of the possession, Haynes broke left through the line of scrimmage where he encountered ... no one. The Tar Heel defense had been stacked toward the edges, probably based on an expectation that Tech would go– or throw– wide in hopes of gaining yards and getting out of bounds. As Haynes entered the second level, he accelerated straight through the secondary and left the stunned UNC defense in his wake. The play looked familiar to Tech fans who saw similar moments from the Jackets under Geoff Collins (now the defensive coordinator for UNC) a couple of years back. Was it miscommunication, was it poor execution,, or what exactly was it in the Tar Heel D that allowed the knockout blow? Whatever the explanation, this time it was the other team's issue to explain. In a twist on the old saying, " It's not the x's and o's, it's the refs and the Geoffs." Tech had the UNC defense on the wrong foot most of the day. Haynes tie- breaking sprint was merely the final and most visible example.
And it's not the the Tar Heeks are low on talent – quite the opposite. But for Tech fans of recent vintage, it called to mind inexplicable breakdowns on Tech's defense under Collins, often blamed vaguely on " lack of communication " in the secondary, even though that secondary was populated by experienced players with NFL level talent ( think Juanyeh Thomas and Tariq Carpenter).
Jamal's dash happened so quickly that Tech had time to kick off . UNC actually had a few snaps to try their own miracle. It was not to be and tbe Jackets had again beaten the baby blue boys from Chapel Hill.
On the day, Tech went for 505 yards , 371 of that on the ground. That ground attack was poorly controlled by UNC defense even before Haynes' mad dash at the finish. All of which was reassuring to Tech faithful who have seen a definite spark in the ground game over the past two weeks.
The Yellow Jackets moved the ball fairly well throughout the game, but Mack Brown's team kept hanging around by virtue of their own tenacity on offense . That and a few Tech mis-plays on special teams kept the Jsckets from gaining full control. A UNC punt return for a score, combined with a couple of stout kickoff returns had Tech coaches scratching their heads.
Another big factor was an apparent injury to Georgia Tech QB Haynes King. He had an off day on his throwing accuracy, completing only 11 of 22 passes, far below his 70% completion rate for the season and he seemed to be favoring a shoulder into the second half. He was pulled for Zach Pyron in the fourth quarter and the Tech offense sputtered a bit until Haynes' long run.
As for Tech's defense, they had a pretty good day, albeit with a couple hiccups. They recovered two fumbles and registered a few sacks . And they allowed Carolina to convert only 4 of 14 third downs. Perhaps biggest of all, they held the Tar Heels to a field goal on their penultimate possession. That field goal tied it all up at 34, giving Tech a bit of flexibility in their play calling that ended up paying off big.
UNC gets a bye week to try to find a path forward after losing their fourth game in a row. After their bye, they travel to Virginia and then to Florida State.
Georgia Tech takes on Notre Dame in Atlanta at Mercedes Benz Stadium in a nationally televised game that kicks off at 3:30. The Irish have only one loss– to Northern Illinois. Since then they have won four straight and come into this game ranked #12.
Patrick Conarro
RamblinSports.com