Nov. 5, 2016
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) – Elijah Hood ran for 168 yards and three touchdowns to help No. 18 North Carolina beat Georgia Tech 48-20 on Saturday.
The Tar Heels (7-2, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference, No. 21 CFP) piled up 636 total yards. They had a season-high 283 on the ground and scored the game’s final 21 points.
Hood had plenty of room to run, breaking into the secondary untouched on several carries between the tackles.
”He ran wild,” North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky said. ”That’s kind of what we expect out of him.”
Trubisky passed for 329 yards and a touchdown as North Carolina beat Georgia Tech for the third consecutive year – the first time that’s happened since 1992-94.
Justin Thomas passed for 184 yards and a touchdown for the Yellow Jackets (5-4, 2-4). He also rushed for 82 yards before suffering an upper-body injury near the end of a 21-yard run late in the third quarter.
Thomas received medical attention on the bench before heading to the locker room area prior to the start of the fourth quarter. He did not return to the game.
Dedrick Mills rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown for Georgia Tech.
THE TAKEAWAY
Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets fell behind 10-0 in the first seven minutes and couldn’t get enough defensive stops to make up the deficit. Georgia Tech still needs to win one of its final three games to become bowl eligible for the 19th time in the last 20 seasons. ”We played about as poorly as you can on defense and not much better on offense or special teams,” Georgia Tech coach Paul Johnson said. ”A deadly combination.”
North Carolina: The Tar Heels had an extra week to prepare for Georgia Tech’s option offense and needed every bit of it. They recovered two fumbles in the second half and kept alive their hopes of repeating as Coastal Division champions despite being gashed for 518 total yards and 7.6 yards per play.
UP NEXT
Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets head to No. 23 Virginia Tech to play the third game of a four-game stretch against Coastal Division competition.
North Carolina: The Tar Heels don’t have to leave the state of North Carolina for the rest of the regular season, but they face a short week of preparation before they play at rival Duke on Thursday night.
Team Notes
- Georgia Tech fell to 5-4 overall and 2-4 in ACC play.
- Georgia Tech has dropped three-straight games to North Carolina (7-2, 5-1 ACC) for the first time since 1992-94.
- Georgia Tech suffered its seventh-straight defeat in true road games.
- For the second-straight game, Georgia Tech and its opponent both amassed more than 500 yards of total offense (518 for Georgia Tech, 636 for North Carolina this week; 605 for Georgia Tech, 559 for Duke last Saturday).
- North Carolina’s 636 yards of total offense, 283 rushing yards and 353 passing yards were all season highs against Georgia Tech’s defense (prev.: 559 total offense, 254 rushing and 305 passing, all vs. Duke last Saturday).
- Georgia Tech, which came into the game ranked 40th nationally in red-zone offense (24 scores in 29 red-zone trips — 88.0 percent), scored only 13 points (two field goals, one touchdown) in six red-zone trips.
- When North Carolina blocked a 32-yard field-goal attempt in the second quarter, it marked the first time since Oct. 17, 2015 vs. Pittsburgh that Georgia Tech had a field goal blocked.
Individual Notes
- Freshman B-back Dedrick Mills recorded the first 100-yard rushing game of his career with 132 yards on 19 carries.
- Mills’ 132 rushing yards were the most by a Georgia Tech running back this season (prev.: 99 by Mills vs. Miami on Oct. 1) and the most by a Georgia Tech RB since Marcus Marshall ran for 159 yards vs. Pittsburgh on Oct. 17, 2015.
- Clinton Lynch’s 83-yard touchdown reception from Justin Thomas in the first quarter was Georgia Tech’s longest play from scrimmage since a 95-yard touchdown run by Orwin Smith vs. Kansas on Sept. 17, 2011.
- Lynch’s 83-yard touchdown reception was the sixth-longest pass play in Georgia Tech history and the longest by a Yellow Jacket since Embry Peeples’ 87-yard catch from Joshua Nesbitt at Vanderbilt on Oct. 31, 2009.
Georgia Tech Head Coach Paul Johnson Postgame Press Conference
Photo Gallery
Georgia Tech at North Carolina Highlights (Georgia Tech IMG Sports Network)
Georgia Tech at North Carolina Highlights (ACC Digital Network)
