UNC Football Preview: Georgia Tech’s Triple Option Always a Test

For the first time during Head Coach Larry Fedora’s four-year tenure, the UNC Football team is 3-1 after its first four games. This week the Tar Heels take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in Atlanta—a place they have not won since 1997.

To come away with the victory, UNC will have to show improvement in its run defense—which ranks 113^th in the nation–against Tech’s triple option offensive system.

Last season’s ACC Coastal Division Champions, the Yellow Jackets sit at 2-2 (0-1 in ACC play) so far in 2015—coming off back-to-back losses at the hands of Notre Dame and Duke. This is nothing new for Tech Head Coach Paul Johnson and his team, though, as they took a similar pathway to the conference title game a year ago, losing to Duke and UNC in consecutive weeks before rattling off a five-game win streak to close out the year.

Fedora knows Johnson will use that to motivate his squad going into this game.

“I don’t think Paul is gonna panic by any means,” Fedora said. “He is not that kind of guy. He knows they’re gonna keep doing what they do. He’s gonna get things going in the right direction. I don’t think he’s in any panic mode at all.”

Georgia Tech is known for their unique, old-school triple option offense, which pounds the ball in the running game using clever deception to throw off the defense—with the three options being a run up the middle, a quarterback keeper, or a pitch to the outside.

Currently giving up 228 yards per game on the ground, UNC senior linebacker Jeff Schoettmer says he and his group will have to do better–both mentally and physically– to hold the Yellow Jacket running game in check.

“Their offense is unlike any other that we’ve faced so far, or will face [this season]” Schoettmer said. “The triple option’s all about eye discipline and doing your job.

“On any given play you can have a dive player, a quarterback player, and a pitch player. Guys can’t be greedy with their eyes. They gotta keep their eyes in the right place, and really take care of their job, and trust that the other guy is gonna take care of their job.”

One of the other keys for Georgia Tech is that its offense keeps the clock running, shortening the overall length of the game. The Yellow Jackets are highly allergic to passing the ball, as evidenced by the fact that quarterback Justin Thomas has thrown just 58 passes this year—completing just 24 of them for 415 yards.

Tar Heel offensive guard Landon Turner sees that as their biggest weakness.

“With those kinds of teams, when they want to control the clock, they’re not really built to come from behind,” Turner said. “When we get the ball we need to make sure we’re taking advantage of our opportunities and start to get up and put pressure on their offense and not the other way around—with them putting pressure on the clock for us.”

For UNC to jump out to the early lead Turner talked about, they’ll need a clean game from senior quarterback Marquise Williams. Williams, who gets another shot to maintain his hold on the starting job, realizes that with the way Georgia Tech plays—milking the clock down–he may not see the ball as much as he would in other games.

“It’s more important to take care of the football and seizing every possession we get,” Williams said about the offensive strategy. “I think last year [against Georgia Tech] we got maybe 10 or 11 possessions and we seized every possession we got. So we have to take care of the football, move the chains, and try to help our defense not stay on the field that long.”

One thing is for sure heading into this Saturday. Williams and the Tar Heels are fired up to be done with their non-conference schedule. Now it’s on to the big boys, as the cupcakes have all been eaten. With that said, Williams can be forgiven for sleepwalking a bit against Delaware, but Tar Heel fans can rest easy knowing he has a much different attitude about Georgia Tech.

“That’s a great football team,” the senior quarterback said about his opponent. “Two losses, that doesn’t mean nothing. They still got a chance to win the ACC Championship just like we do, in the Coastal.

“Those guys’ll come back. They’re back at home now, in front of their fans, and we’re coming up there. It just seems like every ACC school that plays us comes out bangin’ and ready to go. And we’re excited for another opportunity.”

Broadcast Information:

The game is set to kickoff at 3:30 p.m. and will be broadcast live on WCHL’s airwaves. TV coverage will be shown on ESPNU.

Game Notes:

• The Tar Heels have yet to win an ACC opener under Fedora, going 0-3 so far during his tenure.
• UNC won a 48-43 shootout against the Yellow Jackets at Kenan Stadium in 2014. Marquise Williams led the way with 390 yards passing, 73 yards rushing, and 5 total touchdowns.
• Despite the team’s woes defending the run, they rank third in the nation in passing yards allowed, and are 16th in total scoring defense. They have yet to allow more than 17 points in a game in 2015.
• It was announced on Thursday that junior linebacker Joe Jackson has suffered a career-ending neck injury, and will no longer be with the team.