Georgia Tech gets what it needs in win against UNC

By Doug Roberson

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- It was only the first conference game of the season, but Georgia Tech's 30-24 win against North Carolina on Saturday was the kind of confidence-builder that the Yellow Jackets needed.

The offense dominated time of possession, the defense shut down the Tar Heels for the last three quarters, most of the special teams played well, even the passing game worked when called upon. All of the things that led to last week's loss at Kansas contributed to the win against North Carolina.

After the game, Tech players and coaches said this is the type of performance from which another conference championship can be built.

"They played hard; they played like they wanted to win," said coach Paul Johnson, who hasn't lost back-to-back games since he took over at Tech. The Jackets rushed for 372 yards. They finished with 448 total yards.

After the Tar Heels dominated the first quarter by holding the ball for 11 minutes, 11 seconds to Tech's 3:49, the Jackets held the ball for 31 of the remaining 45 minutes. Overall, Tech held a 10-minute advantage.

But despite dominating the majority of the final three quarters, with six minutes remaining, they led by only six points, and the Tar Heels had the ball. As was true for all but two possessions after the first quarter, Tech's defense responded.

Defensive end Izaan Cross knocked down a third-and-two pass. The Tar Heels converted the fourth down by a mere inches. But Cross sacked Yates a play later to set up a second-and-18. Then Mario Butler was called for pass interference on a pass that seemed uncatchable. The penalty gave the Tar Heels a new set of downs and a bit of confidence.

Instead of showing frustration, which occurred frequently last season and against Kansas last weekend, the defense dug in. On fourth-and-10 on Tech's 45-yard line, quarterback T.J. Yates couldn't find an open receiver and tried to pitch it to tailback Johnny White, who was stopped four yards short by Brad Jefferson.

Defensive coordinator Al Groh said the key to the stops that Tech made was the play of the offense. Because Tech held the ball so long, the coaches had time to make adjustments.

"A lot of times if you wait until the half, it's too late," Groh said. "We were able to get some things done during the second quarter and able to confirm those at the half."

Tech used a 73-yard run by Orwin Smith -- the Jackets' longest since Sept. 10 last season -- and a 23-yard touchdown pass from Joshua Nesbitt to Roddy Jones to take a 14-10 lead at the end of the first quarter.

North Carolina took a 17-14 lead on a 1-yard sneak by Yates on its only possession of the second quarter before Tech tied the score at 17 on an 87-yard drive that lasted 10 minutes, 32 seconds and finished the half. That was the second-longest Tech drive in the past 20 years.

It was not a pretty half for either defense. The teams combined for 460 yards, didn't create a turnover, didn't make a sack, didn't force a punt and were a combined 9-of-12 on third downs.

But North Carolina's defense got some breaks early in the second half. On consecutive possessions, Nesbitt made poor pitches. The first resulted in a turnover that the Heels cashed in three plays and 47 yards later for a touchdown for their last score.

Yates committed a crucial fumble after North Carolina stopped Tech on a fourth-down play later in the third quarter. The Tar Heels thought they had minimized the damage by forcing Tech into an uncomfortable third-and-11 at the 46-yard line, but Nesbitt hit Jones for 41 yards to convert. Two plays later, Nesbitt scored from the 1-yard line to tie the game at 24.

From there, Tech controlled the clock, and field goals by Scott Blair 46 and 36 yards secured the win.

"I think it's the type of deal that you can grow from," Johnson said. "We didn't play pretty. We made mistakes. But we won. We competed."