Georgia Tech's Attaochu hammers UNC

Said cornerback Rod Sweeting, “He was the reason why we won.”

A case can be made that Attaochu’s teammates also played significant roles, but you could start with the sophomore from Washington, D.C. Converging on Renner from the outside, Attaochu had three critical sacks, a forced fumble, a team-high nine tackles and a tipped pass that led to an interception.

Against North Carolina’s NFL-sized offensive tackles, Attaochu’s speed was little match.

“When you have big people, you’ve got to get around them,” Attaochu said.

Attaochu registered Tech’s first three-sack game since Derrick Morgan had three against Wake Forest in 2009, part of the Jackets’ seven-sack onslaught. Often using heavy protection schemes and quick passing, the Tar Heels had given up only one sack in their first three games.

Tech had North Carolina spooked. On a third down early in the second quarter, the Jackets lined up with neither of the two linemen nor the four linebackers taking a three-point stance — and the players stalking the line. The look caused a false start, then forced North Carolina to use a timeout.

“It got them offbeat a little bit,” Attaochu said.

Attaochu’s first two sacks ended North Carolina drives — the first caused a fumble — in the first half and improved Tech’s third-down conversion rate, which was an ACC-worst 47.9 percent entering the game.

In the second quarter, he thwarted a momentum change after North Carolina re-gained the ball via Tevin Washington’s first interception of the season. On the second play of the ensuing drive, Attaochu dropped into pass coverage and leapt to tip a pass that safety Isaiah Johnson caught as he fell backward.

“I felt like I came out energetic,” Attaochu said. “We always get pumped up before the game, but we were just ready to show what we can do in ACC play.”