UNC Football: Tar Heels falter late against Georgia

UNC blows a chance to show the nation what they can do on Saturday

The North Carolina Tar Heels entered Satruday’s Chick-fil-A Kickoff game attempting to open the season with a win over an SEC opponent.

Instead, the Tar Heels left the Georgia dome with the same result as they left Charlotte in after last year’s season opener.

The Tar Heels held a 10 point lead in the third quarter and looked like they might actually pull off the upset. But the Bulldogs stormed back and ended the game on a 19-0 run to beat UNC 33-24.

Georgia struck first with a Nick Chubb touchdown run in the first quarter after an impressive drive that was highlighted by a key third down conversion by Greyson Lambert. It didn’t take long for UNC to get on the board. They scored in the second quarter on a short run by quarterback Mitch Trubisky to tie the game.

After Georgia scored on a touchdown run in the second quarter, UNC got three points just before the half to cut the deficit to 14-10.

Then T.J. Logan happened.

Logan returned the second half kickoff 95 yards to put the Tar Heels ahead 17-14. The Bulldogs then missed a field goal on the ensuing drive and Logan struck again.

The senior scampered in on a run from 21 yards out to extend UNC’s lead. The drive featured a few nice plays from Trubisky, who showed off his arm.

It would be the last time UNC would lead in the game.

The Bulldogs, led by freshman sensation Jacob Eason, marched down the field and scored on a 17-yard pass to Isaiah McKenzie from Eason. The drive had two pass interference calls on freshman Patrice Rene, one on third down.

The game changed when UNC committed an ineligible man down field penalty on the ensuing drive. Then head coach Larry Fedora received a unsportsmanlike penalty after arguing the call, putting the Tar Heels deep in their own territory.

It got worse.

Trubisky scrambled in the end zone and threw a short pass to running back Elijah Hood, who was pushed out of bounds for the safety. The Bulldogs had the momentum and would take the lead on a 29-yard field goal.

The performance from Trubisky wasn’t what the Tar Heels had hoped, as he only finished with 156 yards passing and an average of just 3.6 per completion. Trubisky spoke about his performance following the game:

The icing on the cake came from Chubb who scored on a 55-yard touchdown run after the Heels had to punt. Chubb finished with 222 yards on 32 carries and 2 touchdowns. He ran all over UNC’s defense, showing that the Tar Heels hadn’t improved from the Russell Athletic Bowl game in which Baylor ran all over them.

It was only the first game of the season, but the feeling is that UNC blew a big opportunity to show the country what they can do.

If there’s any positive, it’s that UNC lost their opener in 2015 and rallied off 11-straight wins.

It’s going to take a big effort like that, plus a little more to reach their goal this season. The first step is beating Illinois next week.