by Lee Pace

At 1:45 p.m. Saturday all was flowing according to script for the Tar Heels against arch-nemesis Georgia Tech (winners of five straight over Carolina). The Heels enjoyed a 14-10 lead and seemed nicely buoyed by their success a week ago against Wake Forest. The Yellow Jackets appeared average after their stunning hammering at Duke the week before. The Tar Heel offense was almost perfectly balanced with the run and pass--83 yards on the ground, 91 in the air with a good mix of smash-mouth and misdirection. The Carolina defense had not yielded a big play, it had forced two punts, and the only TD it allowed was on a short field--29 yards after a turnover.

"We were playing pretty good," Tar Heel coach John Bunting said. "We were doing a lot of good things on defense and moving the ball on offense. We felt real good about our chances in the second half. We felt very confident about the way we were playing."

Then the bands returned to their seats in the stands, the last commercials were aired, beverages refilled and hot dogs ordered.

And the water torture began for the Tar Heels. Drip, drip, drip.

Tailback P.J. Daniels bursts between the tackles for six. For 10. For five. Quarterback Reggie Ball darts around the edge for 10. For four. For seven. Daniels again for 11. The first downs flow. The yards mount. The defense cannot get off the field. The offense sits in the sun and waits. And waits. And waits.

"We could not stop them," Bunting lamented after it was all over. "They ran 27 plays to our eight in the third quarter. They wore us out. They wore us out in the interior of our front seven and they wore us out on the perimeter. We didn't tackle the quarterback when he escaped and we didn't stop Daniels. He had a great day, he's a tough kid. I have a lot of respect for him."

As the second half evolved, it became clear the margin of error for the Tar Heels had become paper thin. They would have to score on every possession to stay in cadence.

The balance of power shifted early in fourth quarter for good. Carolina was trailing 20-17 but appeared en route to another go-ahead score. Tailback Jacque Lewis shot through a hole at the Tech 29 but the ball was stripped from behind, with Tech recovering at the 14. It took 10 plays and Tech rolled steadily downfield, finishing off the drive with a 26-yard pass on a reverse.

"Jacque's trying to get the extra yards, but they're going to try to punch it out from behind," Bunting said. "We've got to carry it high and tight."

"I feel horrible because I fumbled the ball," Lewis said. "I'm kind of putting the blame on myself for the reason that we lost."

That's too harsh, of course. But it does underline the extraordinary pressure on the offense when the defense is populated by true freshmen starting at both tackles and outside linebacker. That score put Tech ahead, 27-17. A two-score deficit was too much to overcome and the Yellow Jackets finished it off with a 73-yard punt return for the game's final score.

Tech 41, Carolina 24.

Adarius Bowman

"We've got to learn from these types of beatings we take from time to time," Bunting said. "We've got to get better. We've got to get stronger. We've got to become more physical. We've got to become more aggressive. We've got to make plays when we have the opportunity.

"Our defense was not able to hang in with their offensive line. We were not physically capable of beating them off. They were holding us and we could not get off, we could not break their holds and go make plays. We were not fitting gaps well. And they had a couple of big passes. We had the quarterback dead in our sights twice for losses, but we missed him. They would have been big plays for us. Instead, they were big plays for them."

Bunting was peppered with questions afterward from the media about the different personalities of the first and second halves.

What changed, Coach? How did Daniels go from 85 yards rushing in the first half to 240 for the game?

"We were not able to control the A, B and C gaps," Bunting said. "Sometimes we flowed too fast and they cut it back. Other times, we got cut off. Other times, we didn't step up to the plate. They were running a divide play over and over and over again. It was a play we worked on all week. It wasn't really rocket science."

How about Ball keeping for 53 yards on 12 carries?

"It's a big fear of mine--the quarterback getting out there on the edge," Bunting said. "We've had problems in the past with people out there on the perimeter. We're not quite fast enough to go out there and react to those plays. We tried to make some adjustments and then they start hammering us up inside."

So now the Tar Heels are down to one game, the opportunity to notch victory number 13 in a row over Duke. It will be the last game for players like Jeb Terry, Jupiter Wilson, Bobby Blizzard, Brandon Russell, Willie Parker, Dexter Reid, Michael Waddell and Dan Orner. After that it's back to the weight room for the returning players and to the road recruiting for the coaches.

Games like Saturday's only serve to give Bunting a sharper focus on his program's needs--more maturity, physical strength and athleticism, particularly on defense.

"This game Saturday is no different for me," Bunting said. "I am very strong willed and I have a very strong resolve about this team and this program. I will not change a lot of things that I do. I love the University of North Carolina, I love football and I love competing. I will demand mental toughness and discipline. I will continue to prepare this team hard and push this team in practice.

"We have 19 seniors on this team who'll play their final game against Duke, and we'll probably have a couple others who'll also play their last game. I'm going to do everything within my means to get this team ready for Saturday."

SQUIB-KICKS - Bunting's decision to punt the ball away from the Carolina 25 with 4:25 to play was questioned afterward by media and fans. The Heels trailed 34-24. "We thought maybe we could cause a fumble," Bunting said. "We'd been getting terrific coverage by our gunners down there. We made a play on a punt return against Wake Forest. The gunners had been doing a great job. And they were down there in position to make a play. They just didn't make it. They (Georgia Tech) almost dropped one punt. That was the idea ... maybe they'll make a mistake. But they didn't make many in the second half." Gunners Mike Mason and Wallace Wright were in perfect position had the ball been mishandled, but Smith slipped through them and had too much speed for the rest of the Tar Heel punt-cover team.