Oct. 18, 2014
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) – T.J. Logan scored on a 2-yard run with 11 seconds left to help North Carolina rally past Georgia Tech 48-43 on Saturday night.
Logan’s late score capped a 75-yard scoring drive in the final 3 minutes of a wild game, which saw the Tar Heels (3-4, 1-2 Atlantic Coast Conference) blow an 11-point fourth-quarter lead only to come up with one more scoring drive.
Marquise Williams came up with several key throws during that late drive to cap a brilliant individual performance. The junior threw for 390 yards and four touchdowns to go with a school-record 38 completions, and also ran for 73 yards and a score.
Logan finished with a season-high 75 yards rushing for the Tar Heels, who snapped a five-game losing streak in the series and beat Georgia Tech (5-2, 2-2) for the first time since 2008.
On a night when both offenses moved the ball at will, the Yellow Jackets appeared to have snatched this one away from the Tar Heels in stunning fashion.
Trailing 42-31, Georgia Tech made it a one-possession game on Zach Laskey’s 14-yard scoring run at the 8-minute mark. Then, after the Yellow Jackets got a rare defensive stop, DeAndre Smelter took a reverse around the left side and raced 75 yards to the end zone for a 43-42 lead with 3:07 left.
Ultimately, that proved to be too much time for Williams, Logan and an offense that rolled to 579 total yards.
Williams completed six passes on the go-ahead drive, including a 15-yarder to Romar Morris while drawing a roughing-the-passer penalty that put the ball at the Georgia Tech 4 with 20 seconds left. Then, after a pass interference call brought the ball closer to the goal line, Logan ran through the left side for the winning score.
Georgia Tech had one final possession deep in its own end, but Justin Thomas’ desperation deep heave fell incomplete and receiver Michael Summers dropped Thomas’ short pass to kill the final seconds.
UNC receiver Ryan Switzer had nine catches for a career-high 136 yards and two touchdowns, including a 68-yarder midway through the second quarter.
This might have been a season-saving win for the Tar Heels, who started the year in the Top 25 with hopes of winning the ACC’s Coastal Division. They hadn’t won since holding off San Diego State here on Sept. 6, giving up 70 points in an ugly loss at East Carolina, and 50 points in losses at Clemson and Notre Dame.
But they cut down on the penalties and sustained enough offensive drives to help out their own struggling defense Saturday, which surrendered 611 total yards that included the run-heavy Yellow Jackets moving the ball through the air, too.
Thomas threw for 235 yards and three touchdowns for Georgia Tech, which was coming off its first loss against Duke last week. Smelter had a 46-yard scoring catch, and Laskey ran for two scores while playing through a shoulder injury.
[View the story “Georgia Tech at North Carolina, October 18, 2014” on Storify]
