The Heels head to Atlanta

Bobby Dodd Stadium

Let me start off with apologizing for the little material this week but my heart played a bad trick on me and between the hours in the hospital and the ones spent in bed (where I still should be) I just could not do much. I will give you a very short take on the very, very important game between #22 North Carolina (3-0,0-0 in the ACC) and Georgia Tech (2-1, 1-1 in the ACC) being played in Bobby Dodd Stadium at noon today (television coverage: Raycom). For head coach Butch Davis and his team this might be the most important game that they will be playing since the coach arrived at Chapel Hill. Winning this game, going 4-0, getting a win against an ACC team, is going to be huge in making people realize that UNC can be a contender (and not a pretender) in the Road to Tampa Bay.

This game is going come down to one simple thing, something that I believe coach Davis has preached since he took over the program: run and stop the opponents from running. If North Carolina can do that this game should be pretty easy, but let’s face it, nothing is easy until the UNC offense gets moving, something that we can not say has happened every game this season. If T.J. Yates & Company can move early and score (ala ECU game) then the defense will be able to hold its own and shut down the Ga Tech option. That will also make the Yellow Jackets more exposed to throwing the ball, which is has not been their forte this season. However if the offense that showed up against UConn arrives in Atlanta, even with the best Marvin Austin, E.J. Wilson & Company this is going to be a tough game to win.

My two keys to this game are pretty simple. Go hard at Georgia Tech both on offense and defense from the start. Get them off the field on three and outs and have sustained drives. The option is fun and all of that, and can hurt an opponent (even if it didn’t UNC last year), but is not very useful if losing by several touchdowns. These two things need to work in order for my (mad?) plan to work. Somehow I believe it will because this whole team is on board with the program and all are on the same page. I think that Carolina will do a great job in keeping the Georgia Tech offense off the field by getting first downs and working the field. The home run ball is fun, it might stun the opponents, but only going down the field play by play, making the opposition work each down, will you wear them down.

In the end, I truly believe that North Carolina comes home 4-0 after this battle, which I believe is the strongest test yet for the Tar Heels. The final score is going to be 28 to 17, with Georgia Tech having to change offense as the option is not working, or can’t be used as much since they are down too much.

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