Georgia Tech vs North Carolina: Three Storylines to Watch in Saturday's Game

Will the Yellow Jackets go on the road and defeat the Tar Heels on Saturday?

Oct 28, 2023; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; North Carolina Tar Heels head coach Mack Brown talks to Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets quarterback Haynes King (10) after a game at Bobby Dodd Stadium at Hyundai Field. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

After their bye week, Georgia Tech was able to take care of business and defeat previously undefeated Duke. The Yellow Jackets were able to bounce back from their loss to Louisville, but bouncing back from losses has not been a problem for Brent Key. Georgia Tech is looking to build some consistency and string together consecutive wins and their next challenge is going to come on the road vs North Carolina. The Tar Heels are a team that seems to be trending in the wrong direction, as they have lost three consecutive games and in the loss to James Madison, they gave up 70 points.

So what are the big storylines heading into Saturday's game?

1. Geoff Collins faces his former team for the first time

This was a pretty obvious No. 1, but for good reason. Former Georgia Tech head coach Geoff Collins is the defensive coordinator for the Tar Heels and it has not gone swimmingly so far. As mentioned earlier, UNC gave up 70 points in a loss to James Madison and they are 15th in the ACC in scoring defense, giving up an average of 28.7 PPG this season.

Earlier in the offseason, Collins talked about being fired from Georgia Tech:

"That’s always a thing,” Collins said. “Because in my entire career, it has been consistent success, success, success, success. And then you go through that and you become very reflective, self-reflective. What a lot of people can do, is they can just point fingers and blame and just deflect everything instead of going inside and going through the process, what you could’ve done different, what you could’ve done better. Obviously, everybody knows the circumstances that happen. But that doesn’t matter. What could I have done better for the next time?

“Here’s the benefit, for me: I got to take the year to regroup, be very reflective, and then I get to come work for a Hall of Famer and watch how he does it on a daily basis and it has been wonderful for my career, wonderful for my soul and just getting to come out here every day and pour into these young men and a culture and a program that is set up for success,” Collins said.

Collins finished with a record of 10-28 as the head coach of the Yellow Jackets.

2. Can Georgia Tech continue their recent success against North Carolina?

This is a matchup that Georgia Tech has had a lot of success in as of late and the last three matchups have been the Yellow Jackets pulling an upset over a ranked North Carolina team. That is not going to be the case this year, but Georgia Tech has had a lot of success against North Carolina either way. Georgia Tech has not only won three in a row in the series but five of six overall. North Carolina has not defeated Georgia Tech in Chapel Hill since 2016. North Carolina seems to be trending in the wrong direction, but will they be up for a noon kick to try and defeat Georgia Tech?

3. Can Georgia Tech's run defense slow down Omarion Hampton?

It has been a night and day difference for Georgia Tech's run defense this season. Last year, they were one of the worst run defenses in the country, but the run defense has become a strength this year. The Yellow Jackets have the No. 1 run defense, giving up only an average of 87.5 yards per game, but they are going to be going against perhaps the ACC's best running back. Omarion Hampton is the leading rusher in the ACC and third leading rusher in the entire country with 764 yards and seven touchdowns and he is the main source of offense for the Tar Heels. This is going to be the biggest challenge for the Yellow Jackets' run defense yet.

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