UNC Football Preparing To Enter The House of Horrors
By Jordan Falls
The UNC Football program travels to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech this weekend, a place they have struggled for the last 25 years.
It just makes sense that coming off arguably the worst loss in program history, the UNC Football team has to follow it up by traveling to a place where they haven’t had a lot of success and on “Halloween Weekend.”
We’ve talked enough about the embarrassment of a performance as a 23.5-point favorite against Virginia at home… we won’t discuss it anymore. Now, as we’ve previously mentioned, the true test comes this weekend in Atlanta.
How will the Tar Heels bounce back?
Will they let the loss to Virginia beat them twice?
Well, not only do they have to worry about bouncing back, but they also have to worry about the venue they are playing in. As UNC Basketball legendary coach Roy Williams always said, “A building has never won me a game, and a building has never lost me a game.”
The UNC Football program would like to debate that. Going back 25 years to 1998, the Tar Heels are 2-10 in their last 12 matchups to Atlanta, Georgia (one of those losses coming in Mercedes-Benz Stadium) to face the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
One of those two wins was the largest comeback in school history when the Tar Heels trailed 21-0 with 1:40 remaining in the first half back in 2015. North Carolina rallied to beat the Yellow Jackets 38-31. Other than that, though, Atlanta and Bobby Dodd Stadium, has been a very tough place to play for the Tar Heels.
And without that 21-point comeback, they very well could be 1-11. It’s safe to say Bobby Dodd Stadium has been a house of horrors for the Tar Heels.
Not only has Bobby Dodd been a problem for the Tar Heels, but the Yellow Jackets themselves. The UNC Football program is 1-4 in the last five matchups against Georgia Tech, with their only win coming in 2019, a 38-22 victory in Atlanta. The Jackets have the Tar Heels’ number as of late. Including the 21-point upset at the end of the 2022 season that began the downward spiral for last year’s team. That needs to change Saturday night.
Brown even mentioned during his weekly press conference the struggles that North Carolina has had. He said, “This is a game people should project that we lose, given the history of struggles there.”
It’s the weekend before Halloween, too. If you believe in scary and freaky things happening on that weekend, don’t put it past the Tar Heels to be in a dog fight come Saturday under the lights against Georgia Tech. Road night games are scary. Coming off the worst loss in program history is scary. This game can either right the ship and get you back in line for a run at the ACC Title game, or it can begin that same downward spiral we all witnessed a year ago.
Let’s hope the 2023 version of UNC Football can enter the House of Horrors in Atlanta and come out on the other side with a victory. Kick-off is scheduled for 8:00 PM Saturday night in Atlanta and will be on the ACC Network.
Next. UNC Football: The Season Is Not Over, Still Much To Play For. dark
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