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North Carolina’s inability to stop the run resulted in a shocking 41-34 loss to Georgia Tech on Saturday.
After UNC tied the game at 34-34 with 44 seconds to go, the Tar Heels somehow gave up a 68-yard TD run up the middle by Jamal Haynes. Haynes was given the ball on second down after a short completion to start the Yellow Jackets’ drive. The play call was simply designed to get a first down and stop the clock in the hope of getting some yards against a UNC defense that was protecting against a big play.
So much for that.
Georgia Tech rushed 48 times for 371 yards and five TDs against the Tar Heels. Haynes had 19 carries for 170 yards, while QB Haynes King had 11 carries for 107 yards and two scores before leaving the game due to injury. Yes, North Carolina gave up a 68-yard TD run against a Georgia Tech offense that had backup QB Zach Pyron in the game. The pass Pyron threw immediately before Haynes’ run was his first pass attempt of the game.
It was an embarrassing performance for a North Carolina defense that’s currently run by former Georgia Tech head coach Geoff Collins. The Yellow Jackets went to a bowl game for the first time since 2018 under coach Brent Key in 2023. Key replaced Collins four games into the 2022 season after a 1-3 start and the Yellow Jackets never won more than three games in a season during Collins’ three-plus year tenure.
The loss is the fourth straight for North Carolina after the Tar Heels opened the season with three straight wins. It’ll inevitably raise questions about the immediate and long-term future of coach Mack Brown, who told his players that he’d resign if they didn’t think he was capable of being the team’s coach after a 70-50 loss to James Madison in Week 4. Since that loss, UNC fell 21-20 to Duke after jumping out to a 20-0 lead and was outscored 10-0 in the fourth quarter in a 34-24 home loss to Pitt.
Georgia Tech, meanwhile, is 5-2 and now just needs one more win to be bowl eligible. The Yellow Jackets haven’t been to back-to-back bowl games in a decade.