Barring two plays, the Georgia Tech defense was able to keep the North Carolina offense in front of it. That was about the best that could be said for the Yellow Jackets, however.
Steadily driving with its up-tempo pace, the Tar Heels chewed up the Jackets with a near-even run-pass balance.North Carolina ran 88 plays, passing 47 times and running 41, and gained 579 yards. It was the most yards Tech has allowed since giving up 601 to Clemson in 2012, the final game of Al Groh’s tenure. The Tar Heels feasted on third down, converting 10 of 15, and making both fourth-down conversion tries.
“So basically they were 12 for 15,” coach Paul Johnson said. “You’re not going to win many games (with that sort of performance).”
Starting wtih their third possession, the Tar Heels scored touchdowns on six out of seven possessions, with no scoring drive measuring less than 52 yards.
Besides wide receiver Ryan Switzer’s 68-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Marquise Williams in the second quarter, North Carolina’s longest play was the back-breaking 36-yard touchdown catch on fourth down by wide receiver Mack Hollins early in the fourth quarter. After that, the longest pass play was 21 yards and the longest run 14 yards. Still, the Tar Heels made considerable hay, averaging 6.6 yards per play, often on the zone-read run plays that gave Tech problems in the Duke loss last week. They were well ahead of their season average of 5.6 yards-per-play.
“We talked going in, I knew they were going to get some (yards) passing,” Johnson said. “They’ve struggled to run the ball and they ran for (almost) 200 yards.”
With defensive coordinator Ted Roof’s intent to first avoid big plays, the Jackets were counting on, as they have throughout the season, the opposition to give the ball up through turnover or punt, or settle for a field goal. It didn’t happen nearly enough. With time to throw, Williams was razor sharp, completing 38 of 47 passes for 390 yards with four touchdowns against one interception. It’s the fifth most passes a player has completed against Tech.
“Just give those boys credit,” linebacker Quayshawn Nealy said. “They came out fighting and they made some big plays on us.”
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