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Tar Heels face major test vs. Jackets
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Published: September 26, 2009
If North Carolina expects to contend for the ACC championship and a berth in a major bowl game, it first will have to overcome some daunting conditions today.
UNC will open ACC play against Georgia Tech in Atlanta at noon (WXLV Ch. 7; WTHZ 94.1), and the game, at venerable Bobby Dodd Stadium, will help determine the grit and resolve of Coach Butch Davis' third team.
UNC hasn't won at Georgia Tech since 1997 and now has a run of five straight losses there. UNC hasn't won an ACC season opener since 2000, a run of eight losses. UNC is 3-0 for the first time in 12 years and is ranked No. 22 by The Associated Press. Georgia Tech is 2-1 and 1-1 in the ACC.
"ACC play is always different than nonconference," quarterback T.J. Yates of UNC said. "It gets a little more intense, and it means more than other games."
The most important factor, though, could be Georgia Tech's temperament after last week's 33-17 loss at Miami. Coach Paul Johnson considered the game "embarrassing" for its ineptitude, and said that included his coaching and that of his staff.
Only four Tar Heels are from Georgia, including Yates, but for them, winning will be personally important.
"To beat my hometown team would be great for me," said Da'Norris Searcy, a safety from Decatur. "I know half of their roster. I grew up with them playing Little League."
Davis will make one request of his defense -- be patient. He wants the defense to play with discipline to keep Georgia Tech's triple option offense under control.
The objective will be to slow running back Jonathan Dwyer, last season's ACC player of the year, and force quarterback Josh Nesbitt to pass. Nesbitt is a whiz running the option but has completed 37.5 percent of his passes (15 of 40) this season. At one point in a win against Clemson, he was 1 for 11.
Defensive end Robert Quinn wouldn't say that shutting down Dwyer would guarantee a win, but he is confident that forcing Nesbitt to pass can work to the Tar Heels' advantage.
"They're a running team; they want to run the ball at you basically every down," Quinn said. "If we can put them into situations where they have to pass, I'm just guessing that's not their strong point. If we can shut the run game down early and force them to pass, I think it will be a lot easier for us."
Dwyer, a junior, injured a shoulder against Miami but is expected to play. He was limited to 7 yards on five carries last week and held to fewer than 100 yards for the third straight game, the longest such streak of his Tech career.
Dwyer is averaging 5.6 yards a carry, but if not for a 72-yard run in the opener, he would be averaging 3.5. Nesbitt is the leading rusher with 213 yards, and Anthony Allen, a transfer from Louisville, is second with 190 (13.6 ypc).
Georgia Tech's rushing game is among several concerns for Johnson. Tech's 228 total yards against Miami were the second-fewest in his two seasons at the school, and Miami's 454 yards were the second most.
"We are going to find out about our football team this week and what kind of fight we have in us," Johnson said.
"We are not as good running the option as we need to be. We are not as good at throwing the ball as we need to be. We need to be really good at something. On defense, we need to be really good at something as well."
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