CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – Zach Gibson threw for 174 yards and Georgia Tech scored 21 unanswered points for a 21-17 road win against No. 13 North Carolina on Saturday.
Georgia Tech (5-6, 4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) trailed 17-0 late in the first half, but started to methodically move the ball. All three of its scoring drives were for 68-plus yards and culminated with rushing touchdowns.
A 6-yard score on the ground by Hassan Hall with just over 11 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter proved to be the ticket for the Yellow Jackets, who kept their bowl hopes alive and improved to 4-3 under interim coach Brent Key.
“I don’t think there was anyone in the locker room that could tell you that it was 17-0,” Key said. “That is who this team is. Regardless of the score, adversity and what takes place in a game, they take it one play at a time.”
North Carolina (9-2, 6-1 ACC) was riding a six-game winning streak and clinched the ACC’s Coastal Division last week. The Tar Heels had a chance to regain the lead late in the fourth quarter, but Josh Downs dropped a 4th-and-11 pass from quarterback Drake Maye in the end zone with just over four minutes remaining.
Maye, who had emerged as a possible Heisman contender as a redshirt freshman, failed to score a touchdown for the first time this season and had a season-low 202 yards passing. He was also sacked a season-high six times by Georgia Tech, three of which came via Keion White.
After UNC went ahead 17-0 with a little more than three minutes left in the first half, Georgia Tech held the Heels to 97 yards of offense on their final 33 plays.
“I thought we were mature enough to play in what would be called a trap game,” UNC coach Mack Brown said. “I thought we were beyond that after Virginia, but we obviously weren’t. I thought we did a poor job of preparing them and didn’t play well enough to win.”
DUAL QB SYSTEM
With previous starters Jeff Sims and Zach Pryon sidelined because of injuries, the Yellow Jackets split quarterbacking responsibilities between Gibson and Clemson transfer Taisun Phommachanh. Gibson took more snaps and was responsible for the bulk of the passing yards, and Phommachanh ran for a score and helped Georgia Tech milk the clock late in the fourth.
THE TAKEAWAY
Georgia Tech: For the second time this season, the Yellow Jackets looked unfazed on the road against a ranked opponent. Georgia Tech’s balanced effort on offense (187 passing yards and 186 rushing yards) stymied UNC, and the Yellow Jacket defense did something few have done against UNC’s offense this year: limit the big plays and defend well in the red zone.
“If a team can get all the way down there and come out with three points, we’re satisfied with that,” said Georgia Tech safety LaMiles Brooks, who picked off Maye in the second half. “No points at all, that’s even better.”
UNC: The Tar Heels looked flat on offense for much of the night. After running back Elijah Green‘s 80-yard rushing score on their first play from scrimmage, they amassed only 285 yards the rest of the night and scored just 10 points on five red-zone visits.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
The Tar Heels are likely to see a considerable drop after falling to a Georgia Tech team that had lost three of its last four. The loss also effectively ends any outside shot the Tar Heels had at eyeing the College Football Playoffs.
UP NEXT
Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets head to rival Georgia, the top-ranked team in the nation, on Saturday.
UNC: The Tar Heels host rival North Carolina State on Friday.
