UNC Football: Tar Heels vs Georgia Tech Game Review
By Matt Hamm
The second half GT took all of 15 seconds to reclaim the lead on a kickoff return that he took out of his own end zone and went the length of the field. Up five, Tech went for two and failed to convert on a terrible pass that went out the back of the end zone GT up 34-29.
The offensive show continued when Renner hit Bernard on a 78 yard reception and run for a TD who got a great block from Quinshad Davis. UNC took the lead 36-34, two TDs scored in the first 34 seconds of the second half.
The defense, apparently determined to allow this game to set some records in terms of total points in Kenan Stadium by allowing another TD and giving up the lead on a 10 play 70 yard drive taking up 4:29 of the clock as the teams continued to trade scores GT up 41-36.
After coming up with the ball on a fumbled kickoff return, Renner threw an interception on the first play of the drive to a defensive lineman at the 20 yard line giving Tech an excellent chance to make it a two score lead. The defense did a nice job of shutting down Tech forcing fourth down and a 35 yard FG attempt that was nailed extending the lead to eight 44-36.
After going three and out UNC faked the punt falling short of the first down and giving Tech great field position at the Tar Heel 27 yard line. They paid for it the very next play giving up a 27 yard TD run giving GT a 51-36 lead. Piling onto the Tar Heels misery was Gio Bernard twisting his ankle on the next possession as Carolina attempted to come back down 15. Two plays later they were forced to punt with 5:44 left in the third.
Tech came right back and scored on a spectacular 32 yard TD reception by Godhigh for a 22 point GT lead 58-36 with 3:10 left in the third. UNC responded with Bernard on the sideline marching the ball down the field 68 yards on a drive that took just 1:55 to cut the lead. Quinshad Davis continued his big day getting into the end zone on a 11 yard reception giving him a team leading 93 yards on six receptions.
UNC pulled within one score when Tim Scott picked off a Vad Lee pass and took it 34 yards for the score pulling UNC within eight 58-50. Tech took the air out of Carolinas new found momentum with a seven play 81 yard drive for a TD extending the lead back to 15, 65-50. With 11:02 to go these teams put up 115 total points with 11:02 left, 967 yards of combined total offense. With the score the game set the record for the most points in an ACC football game.
Gio Bernard re-entered the lineup on the ensuing possession, I can’t count how many times this season I’ve let out a sigh of relief to see him return from an injury. Tech came up with a big stop forcing a Carolina punt after three straight passes. The ensuing GT possession looked like all the others as they continued to wear down the Tar Heel defense on the ground. Tech seemingly put the game out of reach with a 34 yard FG that extended the lead to 18, 68-50. After stopping the Heels on their next possession Tech secured a big win.
Final Score: UNC 50 Georgia Tech 68
To conclude, The first half was a shootout, or terrible defense either way you want to look at it. The second half was the same, except Georgia Tech outscored Carolina in the second half.
In the end the two UNC turnovers, the 100 yard kickoff return for a TD and the botched fake punt burnt Carolina. Not to mention the complete inability to stop anything Georgia Tech did on offense.