Georgia Tech: 42
North Carolina: 28

One week after dropping their second game of the season to the N.C. State Wolfpack in Raleigh, Georgia Tech would travel back to Tobacco road to face the North Carolina Tar Heels in Chapel Hill. Carolina had barely beaten Marshall by a score of 20-15 the previous week to improve to 3-1 on the season. The Tar Heels only loss had come at the hands of the Florida State Seminoles in a 63-14 romping in Tallahassee.

Carolina jumped out to a quick lead, moving 82 yards in seven plays to jump ahead 7-0 just three minutes into the game. Ronald Curry hit Sam Aiken for a seven yard touchdown pass for the score.

The remainder of the first quarter saw two punts by each team and a missed 46 yard field goal by the Jackets with 1:27 to play in the period.

But Tech caught a break at the start of the second quarter to end a promising Tar Heel drive when Curry’s pass was intercepted by Greg Gathers at the Tech goal line and returned out to the 25 yard line. Godsey came on to lead his offense 75 yards in nine plays to tie the game at 7 apiece. Campbell added the score on a 16 yard strike from Godsey with 9:07 to play in the half.

Carolina answered quickly though, marching 86 yards in 6 plays to retake the lead at 14-7. The drive was capped off by a spectacular 59 yard touchdown pass from Curry to Alge Crumpler with six minutes to play in the second quarter.

Tech threw another blow on its next possession when Joe Burns scored from one yard out to cap off a 13 play, 81 yard drive that left the Tar Heels with little time to respond before intermission. The teams would head to the locker rooms tied at fourteen with two quarter left to play.

Georgia Tech took a commanding lead in the third quarter with the help of its special teams. After receiving a Tech punt at her own 33, Carolina was unable to manifest a drive, losing 6 yards in 3 plays. On the attempted punt, Kerry Watkins sped around the left end and tackled Blake Ferguson for a 15 yard loss before he could get off the kick. The Jackets would take over at the UNC 12 yard line.

After gaining just one yard on two plays, Godsey connected with Joe Burns for an 11 yard touchdown pass to take a 21-14 lead with 9:48 to go in the period. Carolina would gain just 9 yards in 3 plays on the following drive before Chris Young blocked Ferguson’s punt at the Tar Hell 9 and Tony Hollings recovered the ball in the end zone for a 28-14 lead.

The Tar Heels regained possession midway through the quarter and embarked on a drive to get with a score at 28-21. After a slow start, Curry hit Kory Bailey on a 78 yard touchdown pass with three minutes remaining in the quarter.

Tech made an almost drastic mistake on its next drive when Godsey had a pass intercepted at the Yellow Jacket 24. But the Ramblin’ Wreck defense stepped up just three plays later when Chris Young intercepted Curry’s pass from the Tech 12 yard line to regain possession.

Godsey threw another interception at the start of the fourth quarter that sparked an 8 play, 69 yard touchdown drive by the Tar Heels to tie the game at 28. Carolina’s touchdown came on a 46 yard quarter back draw by Curry with 9:21 to play in the game.

But Godsey and the Tech offense answered their opponent with a 12 play, 68 yard drive to regain the lead at 35-28 with 4:02 to play. Joe Burns was responsible for the touchdown, scoring from one yard out for his second trip to the end zone on the day.

After Carolina lost two yards on three plays, the Tech offense started again from its own 38 after the Tar Heel punt. In two plays, the Jackets advanced to their own 47 before Burns exploded for 51 yards to the UNC two yard line. Burns gained the final two on the next play for his third touchdown and the game’s final score to increase the Yellow Jacket lead to 41-28.

Carolina would turn the ball over on downs on its next drive and Tech would run out the remaining 20 seconds to seal the victory.

The loss to the Yellow Jackets would begin a string of four straight losses for the Tar Heels, who would eventually collect themselves to win their final three games to finish at 6-5 overall.

Statistics:

First Downs:
GT – 18
UNC – 21

Rushing Yards:
GT – 134
UNC – 89

Passing (Comp-Att-Yds):
GT – 21-30-238
UNC – 17-31-388

Fumbles (Total-Lost):
GT – 2-0
UNC – 3-0

Interceptions thrown:
GT – 2
UNC – 2

Penalties (Total-Yards):
GT – 8-66
UNC – 6-58

References:
Game Summary: http://www.ramblinwreck.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/093000aaa.html