Georgia Tech Football: Jackets drop third straight; fall 38-22 to UNC
By Lee Cagle
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets dropped their third straight game on Saturday in a 38-22 loss to UNC.
Despite a better offensive performance, the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets still couldn’t find their way back into the win column on Saturday afternoon against North Carolina.
Georgia Tech would start the game with a big play on the first possession for North Carolina with an interception of Sam Howell by defensive lineman Antwan Owens. That turnover would not lead to points for the Yellow Jackets however as the offense struggled early on against the Tar Heels.
James Graham got the nod as the starting quarterback on Saturday and looked good overall but was unable to put the ball on his receivers going down the sideline when they did take shots, leading to stalled drives. The offense as a unit did seem to take a big step forward today which is really all any Tech fan can ask for right now.
North Carolina has its share of sloppy offensive play dropping several wide open deep balls that would have been touchdowns for the Heels. Sam Howell was everything he was billed as going 33-for-51 for 376-yards, and four touchdowns. Of course, he did, have the one interception early in the game. Credit to Howell as he was the first quarterback this year to successfully pick apart a Jackets secondary that was among the best in the country entering the game.
In the first half, it was entirely North Carolina as the Tar Heels dominated both sides of the ball, taking a 21-0 lead into halftime. The Tar Heels were able to keep a tired Tech defense on the field while the offense for the Jackets couldn’t stay on it, mustering up less than 100-yards in the first half.
The Jackets would finally get on the board with two monster plays in the third quarter. The first of the two was from running back Jordan Mason who broke through for a 56 yard rush and then the Jackets finally found the endzone for the first time in over six quarters on a 28 yard pass from James Graham to wide receiver Malachi Carter.
The defense, which was on the field for most of the game it felt like, played very well but every time they had an opportunity to Carolina into a hole they couldn’t seem to finish the play to truly bury them. With the lack of depth that the Jackets are currently dealing with the defense must have been dead tired as the game went on especially in the secondary as they faced 51 passing attempts for the game.
The offense, after scoring in the third quarter, couldn’t really capitalize on the momentum and would not score again until the fourth quarter to match a UNC score. That would put the score at 24-15 UNC with just over 12 minutes to go in the game. However, North Carolina was able to find the back of the end zone two more times before the game would come to an end.
The final score would be 38-22 and the game one could say was ultimately decided by UNC converting 3rd and long situations at an alarming rate. The “money down” as it has started to be known, was a real problem for the Tech defense today and will be something to watch as we go forward.
The Jackets showed flashes of life at points during this game, which after the last two weeks, they really needed. James Graham was solid at quarterback may be the answer to the offensive question going forward but the Jackets still have a long ways to go before getting to where they need to be to be competitive, week in and week out.