UNC football looking to avenge last year's 23-point loss against Georgia Tech on Saturday

23 points.

That's the margin by which the UNC football team lost to Georgia Tech last year. 

The resounding 45-22 defeat was one that proved to define the 2021 season for the Tar Heels. Head coach Mack Brown remembers it as the moment the team gave up. 

Looking back on it now, that score makes him want to throw up, Brown said in his press conference on Monday. Offensive coordinator Phil Longo remembers it as one of the two worst games he’s experienced in his time on the job. 

But this week, the Tar Heels are hungry for redemption. 

Unlike last year, the Tar Heels come into this Saturday's game as the newly-minted ACC Coastal champions, holding a 9-1 record and sitting at No. 13 in the AP poll. The Yellow Jackets, on the other hand, sport both a losing record of 4-6 under new interim head coach Brent Key and a third-string quarterback. 

Despite this, North Carolina isn’t letting its guard down. 

“One of the toughest things in our lives is complacency when we’ve accomplished something that people didn't think we could,” Brown said. “This is a great moment to see how we’ve matured as a program.”

This maturity will need to be on full display in order for the Tar Heels to secure their tenth win and continue building momentum as they heading into the postseason. 

Completion on fourth downs is critical

Offensively, UNC has been exceptional and is currently ranked fourth in the nation in yards per game. Despite this consistent success, North Carolina's coaches honed in on the completion of critical plays on fourth downs as a key to the team's performance on Saturday. 

With a quarterback as trustworthy as redshirt first-year Drake Maye, Brown said he is “going to go for fourth and three” when given a chance. 

The key to converting these fourth down opportunities? Good decision making, something Longo praises Maye for. 

“I always talk about being a good, consistent decision maker, and that's what he's done,” Longo said. “When you do that it puts you on a better stage to show what you can do athletically.”

Maye needs to keep things simple

“I’ve been around a lot of great college quarterbacks — Drake Maye is special,” assistant head coach for the defense Gene Chizik said. “He’s got things that you can't teach.”

With Heisman buzz getting increasingly louder for Maye, each play becomes more and more important for the redshirt first-year. In order for Maye’s Heisman hopes to stay alive — something he's alluded to in his postgame interview following UNC's 36-34 win over Wake Forest — the Tar Heels have to keep winning.

Maye's teammates are well aware of this fact and the role they have to play in assisting their quarterback. On Monday, Longo highlighted the importance of ball protection against the Yellow Jackets. He labeled them a “huge pressure team” and made it clear that UNC would not be underestimating their opponent's defensive abilities. 

“It's going to be about Drake IDing protection and being able to get rid of the ball,” he said. 

UNC's defensive must prepare to face the unknown

North Carolina's offense alone won't be able to carry the team to victory against Georgia Tech. The Tar Heel defensive line must also work to counter an unknown threat in the Yellow Jacket offense. 

Georgia Tech has been plagued with injuries, losing both its starting and second-string quarterbacks over the past month. It is still unclear who will step up and fill the crucial role this weekend, but it will present a novel threat for the UNC defense to deal with. 

Despite this element of surprise, Chizik is delivering the same message to his defensive line that he always does: bend, don't break and never panic. 

“It’s business as usual,” Chizik said. “It’s never really about them anyway — it’s really about us.”

This weekend, the Tar Heels will be keeping those 23 points in the back of their minds. 

Even though the circumstances going into this game are completely different than they were last year, the stakes are just as high. The outcome will determine the team's fate just the same, which is something Brown reminded the Tar Heels of after their win against Wake Forest.

“There's a lot of teams that have won nine games in North Carolina history — you can be one of those,” he said. “Or you can be one of those that accomplishes things that haven't been accomplished very often around here.” 

@PeaceGwen

@dthsports | sports@dailytarheel.com

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