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Georgia Tech and Carolina have a turbulent history.

The 4-2 Ramblin’ Wreck, who rolls into town Saturday afternoon at Kenan Stadium, is one of five current ACC members with a winning record against the Tar Heels. The other three of the Big Four don’t, and it’s not even close.

UNC dominated the team now known as the Yellow Jackets, all the way back to the days of leather helmets, going 9-3-2 from 1915 until the ACC was formed in 1953. After the Jackets joined the conference in 1980 , the Tar Heels went 13 -4-1 before Georgia Tech rebounded to win 19 of the next 23 games in the series.

Included was 1990 when Carolina led 13-10 late in the game before the Jackets kicked a field goal to leave town tied and went on to win one of the two national championships awarded at the time.

And Mack Brown often reminds us, “They tied us, we didn’t tie them” in his first winning season at UNC with a 6-4-1 record and having to turn down a bowl bid when then-Chancellor Paul Hardin said that it conflicted with final exams.

Fast forward to Brown 2.0 and Tech is still destroying us in one form or another. They’ve beaten Carolina three times in a row, each time turning a potentially great season into something less.

Following Brown’s first encore meeting in 2019, a rare victory in Atlanta was one of six wins that qualified UNC for its first bowl bid in three years. When COVID forced the ACC to shuffle games in 2020, Tech did not visit Kenan as originally planned.

The following year, Carolina returned to Atlanta and played the Mercedes Benz Dome. Carolina was 2-1 and heavily favored against 1-2 Tech before backup quarterback Jeff Sims came off the bench and delivered a 45-15 blowout over the bottom three. quarters.

With Drake Maye replacing Sam Howell under center in 2022, the Heels were 9-1 before Georgia Tech blew up a Tar Heels season that ended at 9-5 with a loss to Oregon in the Holiday Bowl. Carolina could have easily escaped the heat when the confident Josh Downs dropped Maye’s touchdown pass in the front right corner of the end zone and the Jackets buzzed home with a 21-17 upset that could have instead sparked that elusive 10-win season are.

Last year, Tech won a 46-42 shootout at Grant Field, with Maye completing 17 of 25 for 310 yards and two touchdowns. But he was matched by unknown Tech QB Haynes King, who threw for four touchdowns as the Jackets roared back to win with a 22-point fourth quarter.

With the Tar Heels on a downward spiral, Georgia Tech is a 10-point favorite behind King, who has emerged as a star: sixth in a close ACC total offensive race with 281 yards per game and 12 touchdowns. The Jackets have a top-12 running back and a top-six receiver. In contrast, Carolina has the 15th best defense in the ACC.

Featured image via Associated Press/Chris Seward

Art Chansky is an experienced journalist who has written ten books, including bestsellers ‘Game Changers’, ‘Blue Bloods’ and ‘The Dean’s List’. He contributed to the WCHL for decades, after making his first appearance as a student in 1971 “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his opinion column “Art’s Angle” airs weekly on Chapelboro.

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