By Doc Kennedy

Atlanta. Weekend before Halloween. Full moon. What could go wrong?

Playing at Georgia Tech has become UNC’s personal house of horrors in recent years, going 2–12 in Atlanta since 1997. Every Carolina fan saw the scary potential of this game coming like Michael Myers lurking around the corner, and the Tar Heels blew a double-digit, third-quarter lead for the second straight week and once more experienced a nightmare on North Avenue in a 46–42 loss.

It looked like UNC might play the role of the Exorcist early. Carolina punched in two touchdowns in the first quarter and looked impressive in building an early 14–0 lead. Then, in the second quarter, Jackets QB Haynes King looked like an All-American, going 16 of 20 for over 200 yards and three touchdowns as Tech climbed back into the game at 28–24. In the third quarter, UNC completely dominated but only added one score to head into the final period with a 35–24 lead. Carolina then completely imploded in the fourth quarter as the Jackets scored three touchdowns in a little over seven minutes and then ground out two first downs after UNC’s only turnover and an injury to Tez Walker to seal Tech’s third straight victory over a ranked Carolina team.

With that in mind, here is another disappointing version of the Good, Bad, and Ugly Report:

Good

Omarion Hampton

The ACC’s leading rusher ran 29 times for 153 yards and two TDs, and caught four passes for 41 yards, again just missing the 200-yard mark in total offense. A lack of touches for Hampton was certainly not the issue this week.

Drake Maye

Maye was an efficient 17 of 25 for 310 yards and two scores, and ran for 58 more yards and another touchdown. He missed some deep looks but had the team right in the game.

Bad

Kicking game

This was originally going into the ugly category as Noah Burnette missed his first field-goal attempt of the season and punter Tom Maginness had yet another punt blocked. But Maginness did redeem himself with his other two punts being downed inside the 20, including a 57-yarder. But UNC had to add another guy to the punt protection directly in front of Maginness to reduce the block chances.

Ugly

UNC’s defense

It’s hard to know where to begin to describe the night of the living dead on the defensive side of the ball. Carolina gave up 635 yards and 29 first downs. The Heels gave up nearly 250 yards of rushing in the 4th quarter alone, more than Tech had run for in five games this season. The Jackets went through the Tar Heels’ defense like a hot knife through warm butter in the final 15 minutes, as UNC surrendered plays of 29, 70, and 52 yards on GT’s three fourth-quarter touchdown drives. There was zero resistance from Carolina as the Jackets wrested the game away from the Heels. UNC had only two tackles for loss the entire game. 

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It’s hard to believe UNC scored 42 points, had nearly 600 yards of total offense, controlled the ball for 32 minutes, only had one turnover, and still lost, but here we are. This loss effectively ends UNC’s chances of a return to Charlotte for the ACC title game, and all that remains now is to see if this is the same spiral that faced the Heels at the end of last season. Virginia and Georgia Tech were supposed to the “easy” part of the ACC schedule (though any UNC fan knows with this program in general and those two opponents specifically, that nothing is ever easy) before what was expected to be a breather with Campbell before heading down a difficult stretch run with Duke, Clemson, and NC State.

Perhaps with a get-right game vs. the Camels, UNC gets back on track. Duke looked very average in a loss to Louisville, Clemson is struggling and N.C. Stateis offensively challenged despite a great defense. Ten wins are still on the table, which is rare air for this Carolina program. But the back-to-back face-plants against teams you were expected to beat seems to demonstrate again that the Heels are not ready for prime time. The pressure on the final three games has just been ramped up to boiling. 

Doc Kennedy is an alum and longtime UNC fan, and a former high school and college basketball coach who wrote this report for years on Tar Heel Blog.

Photo via @UNCFootball