Tar Heels Football

Sept. 26, 2009 
By Turner Walston

ATLANTA—When it rains, it pours, and it did both on Saturday as the Tar Heels took one on the chin at Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets held the ball for more than 40 minutes Saturday - nearly all of three quarters. The Tar Heels were able to do little against an offense that utilizes misdirection and keeps the clock moving with the ball on the ground.

Opportunity knocked for Carolina, but no one seemed to answer. Carolina went three-and-out to open the game. Georgia Tech scored a touchdown on their opening drive, but after that, there was no scoring until a Scott Blair field goal late in the half. In the meantime, the Tar Heel offense had two three-and-outs, an overturned 53-yard completion, and a botched snap that short-circuited what looked like a promising drive. The turnover resulted in a missed Tech field goal attempt, and the door for a Tar Heel victory remained open.

Carolina’s best drive of the half was its last one, and that ended with a missed 32-yard field goal from Casey Barth. Tech took a 10-0 lead into halftime and would receive the ball to start the second.

Any hope of coming out with a bang in the second half was ended when Georgia Tech held the ball for the first 8:37 of the third quarter. Though that drive ended with a missed field goal, a statement was made, and it was the Jackets saying, “We’re going to hold the ball as long as we want to.”

The ability to control the clock and keep the Tar Heel offense sidelined prevented quarterback T.J. Yates from ever establishing a rhythm. A week after one of his best performances, Yates was 11-26 with 137 yards, a late touchdown and two interceptions.

“We wanted to take advantage of every possession we had, and we did not do that. We were a little careless with the ball. Stuff wasn’t working, and we kind of did the opposite of what we wanted to do.” A native of nearby Marietta, Yates was visibly upset with his performance. “Embarrassing,” he said. “That’s all it is, is embarrassing.”