The season-long struggle continued on Saturday afternoon for the injury-ravaged UNC football team, which traveled to Atlanta and suffered a 33-7 loss at the hands of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.
With the Tar Heels top two receivers entering 2017—Austin Proehl and Thomas Jackson—each lost for the year due to injury, the young Tar Heels had big problems moving the ball against a Georgia Tech team motivated to end its three-game losing streak to UNC.
Freshman quarterback Chazz Surratt threw for just 141 yards, while the Tar Heel rushing attack managed just over 100 yards—but on 26 carries.
UNC’s only touchdown came late in the fourth quarter on an eight-yard run from Jordon Brown, but by then the Tar Heels already trailed by 27 points and were simply playing for a moral victory.
Missing so many key pieces, UNC looked nothing like the high-flying offenses head coach Larry Fedora has put together in the past.
Quarterback Chazz Surratt and the UNC offense struggled mightily in Saturday’s loss to Georgia Tech. (AP Photo/ John Bazemore)
“Where didn’t they bog down?” Fedora said. “I don’t know that we executed anywhere on offense. There wasn’t anything that went right offensively.”
On the other side, Georgia Tech’s triple option offense carved up the UNC defense for a whopping 403 rushing yards.
The Yellow Jackets (3-1, 2-0 ACC) had two players—quarterback TaQuon Marshall and tailback KirVonte Benson—rack up over 130 yards on the ground individually, as they completely controlled the game from start to finish.
Missed opportunities—such as a pair of missed field goals–hurt the Tar Heels in the first half while the game was still in striking distance.
Following an empty UNC drive to begin the second half, Georgia Tech responded with a 63-yard touchdown run by Benson—deflating the mood on the Tar Heel sidelines.
“You go in [down] 10-0 at halftime, after you’ve missed two field goals—it should be 10-6,” Fedora said. “You’ve got a chance. And you’re getting the ball. Then we get the ball in the second half and go three-and-out. It was pretty much done at that point.”
The Tar Heels are now 1-4 overall with an 0-3 start to ACC play, and it’s safe to say things aren’t looking too bright moving forward with injuries already costing a total of 13 players their seasons.
One of the most common clichés in all of football is that it’s all about the next man up, but with this team that really is the case.
If UNC wants to get something out of this season, it’ll have to embrace that mantra to the fullest. There is no other choice.
“We’re gonna put 11 guys out there,” Fedora said. “And those 11 guys are expected to do their jobs. They’re out there. They practice. And they’re expected to do their job. That’s all there is to it.
“We can’t worry about continuity because there is none,” the coach added. “We’ve got what we’ve got, and we’ve gotta make it happen.”
Up Next:
The Tar Heels return to Kenan Stadium next week to take on No. 22 Notre Dame (3-1).
Cover Photo via John Bazemore (Associated Press)
UNC needs to fire Lou Hernandez, the strength and conditioning coach.