This is Tech’s second straight win this season and fourth straight against UNC (3-4, 0-3 ACC).
Haynes gained 170 yards on 19 carries. Quarterback Haynes King, who left the game with an injury in the fourth quarter, threw for 127 yards and rushed for 107.
Tech next plays No. 11 Notre Dame at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday at 3:30 p.m.
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After allowing 10 straight points at the end of the third quarter Saturday, Tech scored on a 10-play drive to start the fourth quarter, scoring on Haynes’ 5-yard touchdown run with 11:18 left. The score was 34-24. .
Tech then had a successful fumble recovery by Ahhmari Harvey with 11:08 left. But Aidan Bill missed a 49-yard field goal a few minutes later, giving the Tar Heels hope.
North Carolina covered 68 yards in 13 plays and QB JaColby Criswell scored on a 1-yard sneak with 3:27 left to make the score 34-31.
With backup quarterback Zach Pyron in the game, the Jackets missed a timeout and punted the ball to UNC. Eight plays later, Noah Barnett made a 26-yard field goal with 44 seconds left to tie the score.
That was all until Haynes saved the day.
On Saturday, Tech’s defense made its first notable play. Defensive back Saeed Gibbs came off the left side on a third-down blitz, hitting Criswell and spilling the ball. At the North Carolina 38, defensive tackle Jordan van den Bergh fell on the ball.
Five plays later, running back Chad Alexander, who had been awarded a scholarship earlier in the week, scored on a 2-yard run past left guard to make it 7-0 nine minutes into the first quarter.
Three minutes later, the Tar Heels tied it on Criswell’s 1-yard option keeper near the left side. The score followed a 53-yard completion and a defensive pass interference early in the drive.
Early in the second quarter, with a 7-7 game, Barnett missed a 42-yard field goal, but the kick was partially blocked by Tech defensive back Rodney Shelley, Tech’s second score of the game. was recorded. The 13-play, 66-yard drive lasted 6 1/2 minutes and was capped off by Barr’s 26-yard field goal.
Tech extended its lead just before the half when King ran a 20-yard QB draw into the middle of the UNC defense. But on the next play from scrimmage, Omarion Hampton broke up a 71-yard run to the Tech 4, and two plays later Criswell completed a 4-yard touchdown pass to JJ Jones for the score with 34 seconds left. The score was 17-14. first half.
That proved to be enough time for Tech to gain 63 yards on three runs to the UNC 12, where Barr made a 29-yard field goal to put the Jackets ahead 20-14 at the break. did.
Tech rushed for 214 yards in the first 30 minutes, averaging 7.7 yards per carry. The offense also held the ball nearly seven minutes longer than the Tar Heels.
The Jackets got a fourth-down stop at their own 32 early in the third quarter. Tech’s offense turned around, covering 67 yards in eight plays and taking a 27-14 lead on King’s 8-yard touchdown run near right end with 6:46 left in the period.
Barnett made a 50-yard field goal with 2:47 left in the third to bring UNC within 27-17. The Tar Heels’ defense then forced a three-and-out, and the ensuing punt was returned 69 yards the other way by Aliyah Hagee for a touchdown, making the score 27-24.
That’s what the scoreboard would have read as both teams geared up for the final 15 minutes.
