UNC football falls to Georgia Tech 41-34 after giving up late-game ...

UNC football (3-4, ACC0-3) fell, 41-34, to Georgia Tech (5-2, ACC 3-2) on Saturday in Kenan Stadium, marking North Carolina's fourth straight loss this season.

With Saturday's loss, the Tar Heels continued their losing streak against the Yellow Jackets. UNC has not beat GT since 2019. When the game was on the line, the defense could not make a final stop to send it into overtime, allowing a 68-yard rush for the game-winning touchdown.  Putting the UNC offense on his back, junior running back Omarion Hampton rushed for 137 of North Carolina's 201 total rushing yards, but it wasn't enough to push the Tar Heels over the edge. 

Following steady progress down the field in UNC's first drive of the game, on third and ten, graduate quarterback Jacolby Criswell was blitzed in the pocket and sacked. Criswell fumbled the ball, only to be recovered by Georgia Tech at the North Carolina 38-yard line. 

In the corresponding drive, the Yellow Jackets stormed toward the end zone — capped off by GT running back Chad Alexander's rushing touchdown with six minutes remaining in the first quarter. 

With three and a half minutes to go in the period, Criswell, while facing pressure, launched a pass — his career longest completion — to the middle of the field for graduate wide receiver J.J. Jones at the Georgia Tech 25-yard line. After a pass interference penalty and a rush from Hampton pushed the Tar Heels further into the red zone, UNC got on the board with a quarterback keep for a touchdown.

After tying 7-7 in the first quarter, the Tar Heels boasted their goal-line defense with pass-breakups in front of the end zone and tackles behind the line scrimmage, holding the Yellow Jackets to a field goal in the opening minutes of the second period. Georgia Tech took a 10-7 lead.

Immediately after the two minute warning, King found a gap in the line and took off for a 20-yard rush into the end zone, pushing GT ahead 17-7. 

The Tar Heels responded, with Hampton sprinting down the North Carolina sideline for a gain of 71 yards — the longest rush of his career — to the Georgia Tech four-yard line. On third and goal with four yards to go, Criswell connected with Jones in the back of the end zone with 34 seconds on the clock, decreasing the deficit to 17-14. 

However, the UNC defense stumbled on the next drive, allowing the Yellow Jackets to storm down the field in 31 seconds for a 29-yard field goal.