By R.L. Bynum
CHAPEL HILL — North Carolina gave fans hope, only to produce more heartbreak that didn’t stop when the game ended.
The Tar Heels’ free fall continued, thanks to Georgia Tech exploiting the their inability to consistently stop the run on a day when the offense looked sharp and special teams were impressive.
Running back Jamal Haynes delivered the final blow with a 75-yard touchdown run with 28 seconds left after Carolina had tied it, as Georgia Tech extended its win streak over the Heels to four with a 41–34 victory.
After the game, Carolina announced on Cancer Awareness Day that Tylee Craft, who had been battling cancer, had died. UNC coach Mack Brown said he learned of Craft’s death after the game but could tell by the long hug he had with Craft’s mom after the first quarter that something sad had happened.
“This young man fought so hard for his two and a half years, the doctors told us he outlived what he should’ve,” Brown said. “And he did it with the Spirit, he did it with a smile on his face, he didn’t miss a meeting, he didn’t miss practice, he coached these other young people. I mean, he’s just an incredible young person.”
UNC (3–4, 0–3 ACC) has lost four games in a row for the first time since losing the last four games of the 2022 season as the Heels gave up 505 total yards, 371 on the ground.
“What we all have to do is wake up and be happier and make sure that we reach out and help other people and that’s what cancer awareness games are about,” Brown said. “The guys actually called somebody – and said I’m dedicating my classwork, my practice, my game, even if I’m a scout teamer that doesn’t play – to you because I want you to know you matter.”
The Jackets (5–2, 3–2) dominated time of possession, and yet another good running quarterback had a huge day against UNC. Haynes King passed for 127 yards and ran for 170 yards and two touchdowns.
Quarterback Jacolby Criswell (17 of 31 for 209 yards and one touchdown with 73 rushing yards for two touchdowns), replaced by Connor Harrell on the final drive, played well, and running back Omarion Hampton (137 yards) ran for more than 100 yards for the fourth consecutive game. But, again, that wasn’t enough.
A strip-sack of Criswell gave Tech the ball at the UNC 28. The Jackets grabbed an early lead six plays later on running back Chad Alexander’s two-yard touchdown run for his first career score.
Off of play-action, Criswell connected on a career-high 53-yard pass play, finding J.J. Jones, who was wearing a No. 13 Tyle Craft jersey to honor him. Two plays later, Criswell’s first rushing touchdown of the season (second of his career), a one-yard keeper, tied it with 2:36 left in the first quarter.
Georgia Tech’s Rodney Shelley deflected Noah Burnette’s 42-yard field goal attempt as the second quarter started, forcing it to go wide left. After Stick Lane’s huge touchdown-saving tackle at the UNC 1, the Tar Heels forced the Jackets to settle for a 26-yard Aidan Birr field goal three plays later.
After a Jones face-mask penalty wiped out a 43-yard Hampton run, King’s 20-yard touchdown run capped an eight-play, 62 yard drive.
Hampton ripped off a career-long 71-yard run on the first play of the next drive (his previous high was 68 yards against Appalachian State last season). Criswell threw a four-yard touchdown pass to Jones with 34 seconds left.
A 37-yard Haynes run helped the Jackets drive for a 29-yard Birr field goal with three seconds left to give the Jackets a 20–14 halftime lead.
The game turned early in the third quarter when UNC couldn’t convert on a fourth-and-five at the Tech 32 and the Jackets drove 67 yards for a seven-yard King touchdown run. Carolina could only muster a 50-yard Burnette field goal on its next drive.
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Alijah Huzzie’s 69-yard punt return for a touchdown after UNC forced a three-and-out cut the deficit to 27–24 with 1:10 left in the third quarter and gave the Heels life. Huzzie had 58 punt return yards on the season before that return.
The Jackets responded with a 75-yard drive for a four-yard Jamal Haynes touchdown run, and UNC wide receiver Nate McCollum had the ball stripped from him for a fumble on the first play of the next drive.
Criswell scrambled for nine yards to convert a fourth-and-six on a 13-play, 68-yard drive he ended by pushing it into the end zone on a fourth-and-goal at the 1 with 3:27 left.
After UNC’s defense — with the help of a pair of Jackets penalties — forced a three-and-out, UNC drove 56 yards for a 26-yard game-tying field goal with 44 seconds left.
Haynes long run sealed Tech’s win, though.NOTES — Carolina gets its first open date next weekend before playing out of state the following two Saturdays: at Virginia on Oct. 26 and at Florida State on Nov. 2. … The team wore No. 13 Tylee Craft T-shirts during the Bell Tower Walk before the game. … UNC recognized Craft’s family on the field after the first quarter. …Running back Darwin Barlow was in uniform for the first time since the opener against Minnesota. … Missing the game were left guard Aidan Banfield (upper body), right guard Jonathan Adorno (upper body), wide receiver Christian Hamilton (lower body) and long snapper Spencer Triplett (upper body). … Georgia Tech has won six of the last seven meetings and leads the series 34–22–3.
Georgia Tech 41, UNC 34
| Team | ACC | All |
|---|---|---|
| No. 4 Miami | 3–0 | 5–0 |
| No. 25 Pittsburgh | 2–0 | 5–0 |
| Duke | 1–0 | 4–0 |
| No. 24 SMU | 2–1 | 4–1 |
| Wake Forest | 2–1 | 4–1 |
| Clemson | 2–1 | 3–2 |
| Virginia Tech | 1–1 | 4–1 |
| Florida State | 1–1 | 3–2 |
| N.C. State | 1–1 | 3–2 |
| Virginia | 1–2 | 3–2 |
| California | 1–1 | 2–3 |
| Louisville | 1–2 | 2–3 |
| Stanford | 1–3 | 2–3 |
| North Carolina | 0–1 | 2–2 |
| Georgia Tech | 0–1 | 1–3 |
| Syracuse | 0–2 | 2–2 |
| Boston College | 0–2 | 2–3 |
Friday’s result
No. 25 Pittsburgh 35, Virginia Tech 33
Saturday’s results
No. 3 Notre Dame 37, North Carolina 26
Wake Forest 57, Stanford 3
No. 24 SMU 25, Boston College 16
Syracuse 42, UConn 41, OT
Florida State 38, Virginia 7
N.C. State 31, Louisville 28
UNLV 39, California 31
No. 4 Miami 41, Clemson 13
Friday’s game
Florida State at Louisville, 7 p.m., ESPN
Saturday’s games
North Carolina at No. 25 Pittsburgh, noon, ESPN or ESPN2
Wake Forest at N.C. State, noon, The CW
Virginia Tech at California, 3:30, ESPN or ACCN
Duke at Georgia Tech, 3:30, ESPN2 or ACCN
Stanford at No. 3 Notre Dame, 3:30, NBC/Peacock
Syracuse at Virginia, 7:30, ACCN
| Month/ date | Score/ time | Opponent (current ranking) | Record/TV |
|---|---|---|---|
| August | |||
| 29 | W, 15–10 | vs.TCU in Dublin | 1–0 |
| September | |||
| 12 | W, 35–3 | vs. ETSU | 2–0 |
| 19 | L, 28–20 | at Clemson | 2–1, 0–1 ACC |
| October | |||
| 3 | L, 37–26 | vs. No. 3 Notre Dame | 2–2 |
| 10 | Noon | at No. 25 Pittsburgh | ESPN or ESPN2 |
| 17 | TBA | at Duke | TBA |
| 24 | TBA | vs. Syracuse | TBA |
| 31 | TBA | vs. No. 4 Miami | TBA |
| November | |||
| 7 | Noon | at UConn | CBSSN |
| 14 | TBA | vs. Louisville | TBA |
| 21 | TBA | at Virginia | TBA |
| 28 | TBA | vs. N.C. State | TBA |
| December | |||
| 5 | noon, ABC | ACC championship game in Charlotte | ESPN |
Photo via @UNCFootball
