Jamal Haynes’ last second touchdown puts Tech at 5-2
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ARE YOU KIDDING ME, OF COURSE WE WON ON A GAPING RUN BY JAMAL HAYNES TO BEAT NORTH CAROLINA AGAIN!!
I came for catharsis, and holy freakin’ heel did I get more catharsis than I bargained for. Georgia Tech beat North Carolina 41-34, moving Tech to 5-2 (3-2 ACC) on the season and hands UNC their 4th straight loss in what for many fans was the Geoff Collins revenge game.
Tech ran for a season high 371 rushing yards, a similar story to last year’s game. Haynes King also had his season high with 107 rushing yards, and was going to be the team leader until Jamal Haynes hit his 68 yarder to finish with 170 on the day, his career high.
When it mattered most, Tech made critical stops in the red zone in the second half on separate drives that drained clock, but also stopped North Carolina from taking a late lead and potentially stealing the game after being down 10. Tech held UNC to 4-14 on third downs.
This was one of Tech’s worst games in terms of penalties, getting called seven times for 59 yards, resulting in a 6.81 penalty EPA difference with UNC according to gameonpaper.com. Overall, Tech finished with 7.12 total EPA to UNC’s 2.85. There was a 10.09 special teams EPA difference in UNC’s favor, matching the eye test that there were problems in that facet of Tech’s game, which Brent Key noted in the press conference. Tech outperformed UNC in offensive EPA by 20.35, a testament that Tech’s offense was indeed rolling this whole game.
The 5-2 start is Tech’s best since 2014 when they made the Orange Bowl. Tech moves to 34-22-3 in the all-time series. Tech has now won three games in a row in Chapel Hill.
1st Half
Tech started the game with good chunk plays by Avery Boyd and Jamal Haynes, but couldn’t capitalize in plus territory with two duck looking incompletions by Haynes King. North Carolina’s first possession resulted in the first strip sack of Georgia Tech’s season courtesy of Syeed Gibbs with JJ van den Berg recovering. Tech quickly scored from a two yard Chad Alexander TD rush, his first of the season.
A couple punts later and Jacolby Criswell hit JJ Jones for a 53 yard catch after a Tech defender slipped during the scramble drill on the play. A defensive pass interference on Gibbs put UNC in the red zone, and two plays later Criswell was able to walk into the endzone for one yard TD run to make it 7-7.
Tech went three and out again on their next drive early in the second quarter. UNC got a couple first downs but managed to force an incompletion on a 3rd & 9 barely in Tech territory. Their 42 yard field goal attempt was hooked left but also partially tipped by Rodney Shelley coming off the right end, giving Tech their third blocked field goal of the season.
From there was a very standard burn clock and run style of drive from Tech. Chad Alexander put the Jackets in field goal range with a 28 yard run. King was stopped at the 1 yard line, which set up the usual Pyron QB draw play. We ran the play but C*llins actually saw it coming (plus we had true freshman Luke Harpring in a key blocking spot), pushing Pyron back three yards. A false start on 3rd & goal pushed Tech back to the 9, and an incompletion forced a Birr field goal that he hit from 26 yards to make it 10-7 halfway through the quarter.
Omarion Hampton had his first breakout run during UNC’s next drive that put the Heels deep into Tech territory, but was pulled back by a face mask penalty. Youndjouen followed it up with a sack and a stop on third down.
Taking over at our 38 yard line, Jamal Haynes hit a five yard rush and a nine yard screen pass to get Tech into plus territory. Rutherford caught a rare ball over the middle (by this game’s standards) on 3rd & 5. A couple plays later, King hit his customary 20 yard touchdown run to put Tech up 17-7.
Hampton then hit another gaping run, this one counting for 71 yards to put North Carolina inside Tech’s 10, and completing the job with a Criswell to Jones four yard touchdown pass to make it 17-14 with 34 seconds left.
And, just like many of us knew was possible, Haynes & Haynes hit a combined three first down runs for a collective 63 yards all over Collins’ defense for a last second Aidan Birr field goal to make it 20-14, a critical one as UNC was to receive the ball first in the second half.
2nd Half
Tech prevented a double possession score on a 4th & 5 pass deflection by Warren Burrell on the far edge of field goal range at Tech’s 32 yard line.
The drive after was arguably Tech’s best all game, getting first down runs from Haynes, King, Alexander, and Singleton en route to an eight yard rushing touchdown by King to make it 27-14 halfway through the third quarter.
UNC made to the edge of field goal range again on their next drive, that time hitting a 51 yard field goal to make it 27-17. Tech went three and out on the next drive, but allowed the punt to be returned for a touchdown by Alijah Huzzie, completely flipping the script of the game for a 27-24 game near the end of the third quarter.
Momentum seemed badly in UNC’s favor after the first play of Tech’s next drive, a four yard loss by Haynes. King thankfully hit Malik Rutherford at the end of the third with an 18 yard pass to get out of potentially real trouble. Luke Harpring, in for the injured Rylan Goede for most of the game, then caught a pass down the left sideline on what looked to be a busted handoff by King where Jamal Hayens was on the wrong side of him, but turned into a first down catch to set up a Haynes four yard touchdown, making it 34-24.
Things got even better with Tah’j Butler stripping McCollum on UNC’s first play from scrimmage and Tech recovering. Zach Pyron came in at quarterback (and would stay the rest of the game) after King was hit hard on the final play of the last drive and had to come out. They tried a couple keeper runs with him but couldn’t get a first down, forcing a 49 yard field goal attempt that Birr missed wide left.
UNC’s next drive had a litany of defensive errors for Tech, including allowing a 4th & 6 scramble by Criswell to keep the drive alive setting up three straight first down plays for UNC. The Heels got down to the 1 yard line, but got stopped all the way to 4th & goal before Criswell barely got his QB keeper over the goal line, making it 34-31 with 3:27 left in the game.
Tech seemed to have a gift on their first play from a UNC defensive delay of game, setting up 1st & 5, but on 3rd & 1 Tech got called on a substitution infraction, pushing them back five yards. Pyron only gained four yards on the next play, and the Shanahan mishandled the 4th down snap, barely getting the ball out to down UNC at their 35 yard line, needing a touchdown to take the lead.
Criswell went crazy on the scramble drill, hitting three first downs that way, plus Tech got called for a late hit to give UNC 1st & goal at the 9 with a real shot to put the game away. Their first two plays were batted down by Youndjouen, and the 3rd & goal play was dropped in the endzone to John Copenhaver. The Heels settled for a field goal to make it 34-34 with 0:44 seconds left.
Tech needed just a field goal to win and had two timeouts to work with, starting at their 25 yard line on the final drive. Pyron hit Rutherford on the first play for seven yards but he couldn’t get out of bounds. Jamal Haynes on 2nd down found a hole on the left side of the line and gashed UNC’s Geoff Collins defense for a 68 yard touchdown, sealing the win for the Jackets 41-34.
Stats via UNC
Binion box via gameonpaper.com
More postgame coverage from us coming this week on Scions of the Southland.