5 things learned from Georgia Tech’s takedown of No. 17 North Carolina

Here are five more things we learned from Tech’s fourth victory over a ranked opponent under coach Brent Key:

1. Homefield matters again

Tech had been downright dismal in its recent performances at Bobby Dodd Stadium.

The Jackets had suffered through four straight losses at home against conference teams and were 5-12 in their last 17 ACC home games ahead of Saturday. But the 35,945 in attendance who were wearing white and gold stuck by their squad and were audibly behind it for nearly all 60 minutes.

Then many of them rushed the field to celebrate a victory.

“That was whole lotta love,” Tech defensive back K.J. Wallace said. “We work so hard and I know a lot of people like to talk and like to say whatever they may about our team week-in and week-out. I know one thing, the guys in this facility, we work as hard as possible every week and we deserve it. This win, it may not have been pretty, but we deserve it, we worked for it. It was love to see the fans’ reaction, it was love to see so many people supporting and being there tonight. The atmosphere was great.”

Tech is now averaging 33,850 fans per game after five home games which is trending toward giving the program its lowest mark since the 1986 team played in front of 32,200 per game. The Jackets have two home games remaining: Nov. 18 vs. Syracuse and Nov. 25 vs. No. 1 Georgia.

“Man, it was awesome. Bobby Dodd Stadium was rockin’ tonight. It was electric,” Key said. “I challenge more people the next time we play here to continue to come and continue to build on that and build on that. I know what this place is, I know what this stadium is, I know what this stadium is when it’s rocking like that. Whether it’s night, whether it’s 12 o’clock, whether it’s 2 o’clock, it doesn’t matter. We gotta have the same atmosphere and the same energy every time.

“Because if you don’t think this team feeds off of that? If you don’t think the coaches feed off of that? Everyone feeds off of that. That’s what homefield advantage is all about. And tonight we had somebody try to come in our home and take what’s ours. And we defended our home. We treated this as our home. This is our home. That’s the way they played here tonight at Bobby Dodd.”

2. Zombie Dontae Smith

Dontae Smith, a senior running back who has been around the program longer than almost any current player, had a night to remember Saturday.

Playing in front of former Tech coach Paul Johnson, who had recruited Smith to come play for the Jackets as a freshman in 2018, Smith ran for 178 on 22 carries – an average of 8.1 yards per carry. It was a surprising performance for the 5-foot-11, 198-pound back who only had 61 yards on 13 carries this season.

Key said the reason for Smith’s absence in the running game through the last five games (Smith had 12 carries for 50 yards in the first two contests of the year) would be kept in house, although he made it known Smith was under no disciplinary or injury restrictions. Key and Smith both said after the win they found each other amidst the see of fans who had rushed the field to share an embrace.

“I can’t tell you how proud I am of No. 4,” Key said.

Credit: Bob Andres

Credit: Bob Andres

3. Homecoming King

After two straight weeks of less-than-impressive showings, King may have had his best game in a Tech uniform yet.

King threw for 287 yards on 23 completions, connected on four touchdown passes and also ran for 90 yards. The Texan recovered from a third quarter interception that was the result of an ill-advised throw into triple coverage.

Always his harshest critic, King said he could have been better.

“I’d probably say B+,” King handed out his own grade. “I had seven incompletions. One pick. So, obviously I can get better. At the end of the day, yeah, you’re not gonna play a perfect game, but I feel like that’s what makes the great ones great. There’s always room for improvement.”

King is now 156-for-253 (61.7 percent) passing this season for 2,122 yards, 21 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

4. Defense to the … rescue?

Tech’s defense had another poor day at the office. But that unit will be remembered more for making a play when it had to in one of the more crucial moments of the battle.

Trying to hold a 46-42 lead, Tech’s defense was on the field and lined up to defend a third-and-17 from the UNC 40. North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye dropped back and found a wide-open Tez Walker streaking through the middle of the field from right to left.

Walker had caught the ball at the Tech 36, but it wasn’t long until Ahmari Harvey threw, “all 180 pounds into him,” to jar the ball loose. KJ Wallace fell on the fumble at the Tech 24 to secure the only Tar Heels’ turnover of the night.

“Just never quitting,” Wallace said about the Jackets hanging in until the end. “We always just take the mentality next play, next opportunity. It was just really playing for each other, just really trusting each other out there, understanding we really need something. We really wanna attain a goal and that’s winning. We were willing to do whatever it took.”

North Carolina never got the ball back, but before then it had racked up 577 yards of offense, averaged eight yards per play, went 5-for-5 in the red zone and tallied 25 first downs. At one point the Tar Heels were 9 of 12 on third down before failing on their final three attempts.

Tech’s defense has now allowed at least 500 yards of offense in back-to-back games and three times this season. Only once this season have the Jackets held an opponent to less than 400 yards of offense (291 vs. South Carolina State).

5. Health is crucial

It’s uncommon for a football team to be as close to full strength as the Jackets are relative to their peers, but Tech had nearly all its starters (and then some) available Saturday against North Carolina – especially on the offensive side.

The biggest impact of that was felt by Eric Singleton, a freshman wide receiver who missed the previous game against Boston College with sickness. Singleton caught eight balls for 117 yards, all in the first half, and had 28 yards after the catch.

“It’s everything I dreamed of. I worked hard for this,” Singleton said of his career-high night. “Today, last week I was out, this week I just had to let loose. Let out all the anger I had from last weekend this week.”

Tech also had wide receiver Chase Lane available for the second straight game after he had missed four games in a row. Lane played 13 offensive snaps against North Carolina.

Jordan Williams, although not fully 100 percent, said Key, played a season-high 81 plays. The veteran right tackle’s presence undoubtedly gave King some assurance in pass protection.

“You get to this point in the season, player availability is so key. You get to the second half of the season and you start getting into the meat of the schedule and one player here, one player there, it makes a difference,” Key said. “I thought Jordan Williams … man, he played a really good football game.”

Notes