PLAYERS TO WATCH
–RB Michael Carter had given North Carolina’s running game some life in recent outings (74 yards versus Miami 165 vs. Virginia Tech) but has been stymied his last two with just 24 yards in the loss to Syracuse and 42 last week at Virginia. He has rushed for 347 yards in five games after recovering from a wrist injury.
–WR Anthony Ratliff-Williams is another Tar Heel who needs to get his game back in gear. He had only 18 yards on three catches last week against Virginia. He is tied with Dazz Newsome for the team lead in receptions with 28 but leads in receiving yardage with 372. He had two kickoff returns for 35 yards against the Cavaliers.
–LB Cole Holcomb was the defensive leader at Virginia with 13 tackles, a season high for the senior and former walk-on. Holcomb has a team-high 59 tackles for the season with 5.5 for losses and figures to be a busy man against Georgia Tech’s option game.
–DE Malik Carney has played in only four games this season but is fifth on the team in tackles with 29 and leads in sacks with 5.5. Sacks don’t figure to be a critical number against Georgia Tech’s ground-oriented game, but Carney’s overall play on the perimeter and containing the Yellow Jackets’ outside runs could be the difference for the Tar Heels.
SERIES HISTORY: Georgia Tech leads the series with North Carolina 29-21-3. Tech won the last meeting 33-7 in 2017.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “There were some drives when were able to do what we wanted to do, but overall we weren’t able to run the ball effectively. For us to be successful, we have to be able to do that.” — Coach Larry Fedora, on North Carolina’s issues with consistency in the loss at Virginia.
