North Carolina Tar Heels: Jackets Sting Heels With Running Attack
Injury-marred Tar Heels fall as Georgia Tech’s offense racks up over 450 yards in 38 minutes of possession.
Generally, when a team only completes five of ten pass attempts, that team is usually a struggling offense heading into halftime. However, Georgia Tech (3-1, 2-0 ACC) didn’t need the air attack to shut down UNC (1-4, 0-3 ACC) Saturday afternoon at Bobby Dodd Stadium, 33-7.
Jordon Brown led the Tar Heels offensively with 41 rushing yards on eight carries, one of which was an eight-yard rush for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. He also caught a team-high nine passes for 57 yards. Chazz Surratt completed 18 of 30 passes for 141 yards while throwing an interception.
The Yellow Jackets carried the ball for a combined 66 times for 403 of Georgia Tech’s 456 total offensive yards. TaQuon Marshall led the way with 137 rushing yards on 27 carries with a touchdown. He also threw for 53 yards through the air on five pass completions. One of Marshall’s passes went to Ricky Jeune for a 12-yard touchdown late in the third quarter.
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KirVonte Benson also passed the century mark for the Yellow Jackets on the ground. He pounded the Tar Heel defense for 130 yards on 18 carries with a 63-yard score midway through the third. Jeune was Tech’s leading receiver, catching four of Marshall’s five passes for 37 yards.
Even when given the chance to capitalize on the few chances Georgia Tech faltered, the Tar Heels couldn’t pull through. Jason Strowbridge forced Marshall to fumble on the Jackets’ first possession of the second half. Cole Holcomb recovered for the Heels on the GT 48, and Surratt followed that up by throwing an interception to A.J. Gray. Immediately after, Benson powered ahead for his 63-yard touchdown.
North Carolina forced another fumble late in the third quarter, but three plays later, the Heels punted the ball away. Georgia Tech drove down the field on the next drive to kick a field goal before the UNC offense managed to put its first points on the board with 5:05 left in the fourth.
The Heels will return home to Kenan Memorial Stadium Saturday to host No. 22 Notre Dame. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m from Chapel Hill.