For three years, football teams from the state of North Carolina have been trying to beat the Jackets. Today, that losing streak extended to four years in a thriller that kept Tech fans on the edge of their seats until the clock hit 0:00.
Midway through the fourth quarter, the Jackets were cruising to victory holding a ten point lead. A mixture of poor execution on both sides of the ball led to the game being tied with under a minute left. The Jackets know all too well that the game is not over until it is over – look at their comeback victory against Miami last season – but it started to look like this game would be decided in overtime.. Fortunately, redshirt junior running back Jamal Haynes changed the tone of the game.
The Jackets knew they would need to go carry-for-carry against the Tar Heels. Despite having the best run defense in the ACC, North Carolina junior running back Omarion Hampton, who accumulated 764 yards in the season so far, is a handful for any defense. Thankfully, the Jackets had a talented runner of their own in Haynes, who had an encore performance after racking up 128 yards on the ground against Duke.
Tech’s run game shredded the UNC defense, led by Tech’s former head coach Geoff Collins, for 371 yards. Haynes led the way for the Jackets with a dominant 170 yards. He delivered the finishing blow for Tech with a 68-yard run with less than 30 seconds left in the game. Sophomore running back Chad Alexander complemented Haynes well with 61 yards as well as running for the first points of the game to make the score 7-0. However, the most impressive rushing display might have been from redshirt junior quarterback Haynes King. King rushed for 107 yards, his most of the season, and capped off his day with two touchdowns on the ground.
Despite the strong run game, the Jackets struggled to move the ball through the air. King completed just 50% of his passes, by far his worst game of the season from a passing standpoint. King’s poor game could be attributed to an awkward hit that he took early in the first half. His injury kept him from playing in the last two drives of the game. Redshirt sophomore Zach Pyron entered the game for Tech, but offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner chose to keep the ball on the ground to run out the clock.
The Jackets defense failed to hold up well against the Tar Heels, giving up 417 yards. Despite the abundance of yards, Tech’s defense came up with two big takeaways. After being denied his first takeaway of the season last week due to a pass interference penalty, redshirt sophomore Syeed Gibbs registered a strip sack to set Tech up in excellent field position. The Jackets offense scored in the ensuing drive, exhibiting the complementary football that Key strives to play. The second takeaway was a fumble forced by senior linebacker Trenilyas Tatum. On top of the turnovers, Tech’s pass rush played a major factor registering three sacks, a season high, and tipping numerous passes.
Special teams were inconsistent in the game. Senior punter David Shanahan pinned UNC on their own four yard line for his first punt of the game. However, the punt team gave up a return for a touchdown in the third quarter. Redshirt sophomore Aidan Birr hit two out of his three field goals on the day, missing a 49 yard attempt.
With the win, Tech’s record moves to 5-2, just one win from clinching a second bowl game in two years. The game was sloppy, but hard-fought in a way that proves Tech football is capable of delivering down the stretch – especially on the money downs.