Georgia Tech’s triple-option offense too much for Tar Heels to handle

ATLANTA — North Carolina knew entering Saturday’s game against Georgia Tech that it couldn’t completely stop the Yellow Jackets.

The home team had the nation’s No. 1 offense and was coming off a 768-yard performance against Kansas the previous week. So when the Tar Heels forced Georgia Tech to kick field goals in its first two possessions, they were just executing the game plan.

“I’ve said all week long, this is not about yards,” said UNC interim head coach Everett Withers, whose team gave up 496 yards of total offense. “This game is about making them kick three. We just didn’t make them kick three enough.”

Georgia Tech’s triple-option offense would prove too much for the Tar Heels for a third straight year as UNC fell 35-28 despite a strong fourth-quarter rally by the visitors.

UNC (3-1, 1-1 ACC) piggybacked off freshman Giovani Bernard for 52 yards in the game’s first drive, culminating in a touchdown just 3:34 into a match heavily favored to be a shootout. Bernard, who rushed for a career-high 155 yards, was the only UNC running back to get more than one touch.

“That’s what we pride ourselves on is a fast start,” Bernard said. “And we did a good job on the first drive and we came to a halt really.”

The 63-yard opening drive was the bulk of UNC’s total offense for the first half and it gained only 40 more yards by halftime. The Yellow Jackets, on the other hand, racked up 272 yards.

Quarterback Tevin Washington tossed for 139 yards and one touchdown in the first half, which UNC defensive end Quinton Coples said caught the defense off-guard.

But despite the 17-7 score at halftime, Withers was still upbeat about his team’s chances.

“I came in the locker room and said, ‘Guys, I love where we are right now. I think we got a chance to go out here and find out who we are,’” Withers said. “And we were able to get back in the game and give ourselves a chance to win.”

UNC found itself down 28-14 with less than two minutes left in the third quarter, but quarterback Bryn Renner led UNC downfield in 1:25 to get back within one score. UNC knotted the game at 28-all with a Bernard touchdown run with seven minutes left, but Ga. Tech responded quickly to regain the lead.

With 1:35 left in the game and needing to go 84 yards, Renner took two sacks on the drive while the team had no timeouts, and UNC eventually lost when an illegal shift with nine seconds left constituted a 10-second runoff penalty.

Ga. Tech won the time of possession battle by more than 12 minutes, which hurt UNC even worse because Zach Brown, the team’s leading tackler entering the game, did not play defense due to a team rules violation. Brown played solely on special teams Saturday.

“With that triple-option offense, we got to get off the field and the offense got to hold the ball enough for us to be able to stay off the field,” linebacker Kevin Reddick said. “No pointing fingers, but that’s it.

“We needed (Zach) but we can still do it without him. I think Travis (Hughes) did a great job fitting in for Zach, but we’re gonna still need Zach because it’s a long season.”

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