UNC Football early opponent preview: Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets
Keeping It Heel takes a look at each of the North Carolina Tar Heels football opponents in reverse order. This week we take a look at Georgia Tech.
NC State | Western Carolina | Pittsburgh | Miami | Virginia Tech | Virginia
Last Season Georgia Tech came into Chapel Hill and got rocked in a 28-point loss to the Tar Heels.
The Yellow Jackets would go on to win the last four games of the season, finishing with a 9-4 record overall.
Meanwhile, despite the huge win, UNC would go on to lose three of their last four and miss the chance to win the Coastal Division for the second straight season.
Can the Tar Heels make this three wins in a row against Georgia Tech? Will the Jackets use the game as another springboard to a huge season? Only time will tell.
Head Coach: Paul Johnson. Career Record 177-87 (70-48 at Georgia Tech). This will be his tenth season at Georgia Tech which is his third head coaching stop.
Johnson has been successful wherever he has gone. In his 20 seasons as a head coach, he has two FCS Championships, five Southern Conference Championships, one ACC championship, and four ACC Coastal titles.
He also has won multiple coaching awards including NCAA coach of the year in 2004.
Best Former Player: WR Calvin Johnson. Six-time Pro Bowler and four-time All-Pro, Career 731 receptions for 11,619 yards and 83 touchdowns. Johnson just retired this year at 31 after nine seasons in the NFL, all with the Detroit Lions.
Johnson led the league in receiving twice and holds the record for most receiving yards in a single season with 1,964. Additionally, he holds another eight NFL records and nine Detroit Lions franchise records.
Second Best Former Player: LB Keith Brooking. Five-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro, has 1,435 career tackles, 22 sacks, 13 interceptions, and nine forced fumbles.
Brooking played in Super Bowl XXXIII as a rookie but saw his team lose to the Denver Broncos 34-19.
Last Season: Went 9-4 (4-4 in ACC play). Finished fifth in the Coastal Division. The Yellow Jackets season highlights include winning three in a row to start the season. They also won six of their last seven games.
Their season ended on the aforementioned four-game win streak that included a Tax Slayer Bowl win over Kentucky. The Jackets also showed poise going 3-1 in games decided by three points or less.
In between those two win streaks, the Jackets did have a little trouble losing three in a row before turning it around.
This Season: Georgia Tech’s schedule picks up a bit this year from last. The Yellow Jackets play nine teams who had winning records last season as well as nine teams making bowl games.
Georgia Tech also plays one of the tougher FCS opponents in Jacksonville St and opens and closes the season against SEC East opponents.
Additionally the Jackets, like many other Coastal teams, will be starting a new quarterback this season.
However, they do get a lot of their tougher Coastal Division games at home. Last season I picked a 7-5 record and a bowl game and got yelled at by the rambling wreck. This season I can’t help but lean the same way, though with another win against rival Georgia.
Best Current Player: RB Dedrick Mills. As a true freshman last season, Mills rushed the ball 152 times for 771 yards and 12 touchdowns. He also caught the ball twice for 13 yards and another score.
Mills did all this despite playing in only 10 of the teams 13 games last season due to suspensions. With the transfer of fellow freshman Marcus Marshall to James Madison, Mills will have the backfield to himself for a potential monster season.
Match-up: Saturday, September 30th in Atlanta
Prediction: The last time these two teams played Mills had a huge game. He finished with 132 yards and a touchdown. Of course, the game was over by the end of the third quarter as the Yellow Jackets only managed three points after the break.
With both teams having new quarterbacks, it could come down to defense and the run game to determine the winner.
Final score: UNC 35, Georgia Tech 34.
Georgia Tech usually plays UNC close. With the game in Atlanta, no reason to see that changing. In another back and forth up and down contest, it is the Tar Heels who get the late score on a field goal as time expires.