Tech’s special teams not very special

It was the first thing Paul Johnson pointed to in his postgame press conference.

“We got destroyed in the kicking game,” he said.

How bad were special teams?

Tech’s average starting field position was its 24. North Carolina started on average at its 40.

Scott Blair missed field goals from 40 and 52 yards. The second one would have been a 47-yard try but Tech was flagged for 12 men on the field.

“We screwed that up,” Johnson said, explaining that coaches subbed for a player they thought was hurt, but the player went back out onto the field. “The way we kicked the ball, I don’t know if we would have made it anyway, but it surely didn’t help.”

Trailing 7-0 in the third quarter, Tech lined up for a 47-yard field goal into the wind. Instead Blair took a direct snap, but his pooch punt bounced into the end zone.

The defense forced a three-and-out, then Roddy Jones fumbled Carolina’s punt. The Tar Heels recovered at Tech’s 30 and scored a touchdown six plays later.

Tech rolled up 423 yards but played with a long field all day.

“The field-position game was definitely in their advantage,” Johnson said. “We never had a short field. Ever.”

Carolina netted 38.7 yards per punt, while Tech netted just 26.2 yards.