An 'embarrassing' loss for Heels

ATLANTA -- North Carolina quarterback T.J. Yates sat on a weight bench outside the Tar Heels' locker room Saturday afternoon, fidgeting with his cap and trying to ignore the demons that had to be screaming in his head.

From the North Carolina perspective, there was nothing good layered into its 24-7 loss to Georgia Tech unless you want to count the effectiveness of a couple of gunners in punt coverage. It was the most positive thing coach Butch Davis could think of.

It was that bad.

"It's embarrassing. That's all it is, it's embarrassing," Yates said, speaking personally and collectively.

In one gray, soggy afternoon, the sparkle of a 3-0 start disappeared. There were no answers but plenty of questions.

The Tar Heels made the trip to Atlanta with a careful checklist of objectives. Score early to give the defense a cushion. Extend offensive possessions. Play the proper defensive assignments. Tackle well. Win the turnover battle.

They could have saved on the packing list by leaving their Sharpies at home. The Tar Heels didn't do anything they set out to accomplish.

It doesn't mean they were a ratings fraud at No. 22. Well, maybe it does. The next month will tell more about the Tar Heels than Saturday did.

After allowing Georgia Tech to drive 88 yards for a touchdown on its first possession, plowing through what had been the nation's seventh-ranked rushing defense, North Carolina was unable to respond offensively.

The Tar Heels mastered the art of the three-and-out. The game was more than 20 minutes old before they earned a first down. They gained 8 yards in the first quarter.

It didn't get much better.

The stat sheet said North Carolina had 18 carries for 17 yards. It didn't seem like that much.

Yates, who's known more for his touch than his rocket arm, had a miserable afternoon.

He threw behind receivers on his first two passes, badly overthrew Jheranie Boyd in the end zone near the end of the first half and looked like someone throwing darts for the first time.

"Everything seemed a little off," Yates said.

It was.

If a single play summarized North Carolina's afternoon it came midway through the second quarter when Yates was barking out a play call to tailback Ryan Houston when the ball went whizzing past.

Cue the Three Stooges sound effects.

Center Cam Holland, operating on silent signals, apparently got the wrong one and snapped the ball while Yates was looking away.

The Yellow Jackets recovered 20 yards downfield, setting up a field goal, which was something of an accomplishment in itself. The two teams combined to make 1 of 4 field-goal attempts.

The loss left the Tar Heels with a 2-7 ACC road record under Davis and put them 0-1 in league play this season.

The good news is that Virginia is headed to Chapel Hill next Saturday. With Florida State and a visit to Virginia Tech looming on the other side of the Cavaliers, there's serious work to be done by the Tar Heels.

Davis said North Carolina needs to address everything it's doing and everyone who's doing it.

Better starts are imperative.

Going 1-for-10 on third-down conversions is, to use Davis' word, disastrous.

Asked what changed between the Tar Heels' win over East Carolina and Saturday at Grant Field, Yates didn't have an answer.

"I wish I knew," he said.

Moments later, Yates took his hat and his disappointment outside. He walked into a pouring rain.