Jackets muscle past Heels for win

In 2004 North Carolina blindsided a Tech team coming off a huge upset win on the road the week before. This past Saturday they threatened to do the same, throwing a mighty scare into the No. 17 ranked Jackets' plan before bowing out in the game's final minutes.

Although the Jackets never trailed in the game, the Tar Heels were moving into scoring territory when senior cornerback Dennis Davis intercepted a Matt Baker pass on the Tech two-yard line.

Defense and special teams again led Tech to victory. "We're all out there together and we don't want them to score," linebacker KaMichael Hall said after the game. "You do everything in your power to keep them from scoring. Like I said, we're all out there together and you rely on your teammates and you have confidence in them that they are going to do their job."

Tech did its job on both sides of the ball early. After the defense stopped the Tar Heels on the first drive, the Jackets scored off a six-yard Reggie Ball screen pass to P.J. Daniels in the first quarter.

"We hit some balls outside deep, we hit some balls inside over the middle, we hit some short passes, we hit backs out of the backfield. We did some things that we have not done in a while, and I give Reggie a great deal of credit for making those reads and getting the ball to the right guys," Head Coach Chan Gailey said.

Tech extended its lead to 14 in the second quarter when Ball hooked up with Damarius Bilbo for a 48-yard touchdown pass, one that saw Bilbo's helmet fly off and roll through the end zone.

With eight catches for 131 yards and a touchdown, Bilbo had a career game.

"It's a team effort. It's a building process," Bilbo said of his breakout performance. "I have to keep the defense off Calvin [Johnson.] I have to give him an outlet, give Reggie an outlet to open up our running game and soften up their defense."

Tech's defense opened the game by forcing the Tar Heels to punt on each of their first three possessions. But the game turned in North Carolina's favor on their fourth possession, as Baker connected with a variety of receivers before taking the ball himself on a 10-yard touchdown run, cutting the lead to 14-7.

After a three-and-out by Tech on the following possession, Baker was at it again, this time finding Derrele Mitchell for a mammoth 88-yard touchdown, one made possible in part by missed tackles by Hall and cornerback Dennis Davis.

Travis Bell kicked two field goals to close the third quarter with a score of 20-14, but neither offense was clicking going into the final frame.

When Carolina stalled at their own 21 early in the fourth quarter, the Jackets gained good field position and started their drive on their own 45-yard line.

Ball quickly capitalized on the short field. After a 28-yard connection with Johnson and then an 11-yard completion to Chris Woods, Ball rushed for a touchdown to give Tech a 27-14 lead.

The Tar Heels found life with just over five minutes left in the game, as Baker led his team 52 yards in just six plays. When he hooked up with Jarwarski Pollock on a 17-yard touchdown pass, North Carolina pulled within a touchdown with 4:16 on the clock.

The Jackets gained just two yards and went three-and-out on the following possession. The Tar Heels took over on their 41-yard line after the Ben Arndt punt.

After the Davis interception, the Jackets went to Daniels and gained nine yards on three rushes. For the fourth time in the game's final ten minutes, Arndt was forced to punt.

A solid punt put the Tar Heels on their own 19-yard line with 23 seconds remaining in the game.

On the first play of the drive, Gerris Wilkinson sacked Baker for a loss of 16 yards to move the Tar Heels back to the three-yard line.

"When it came down to the wire, just like Cox last week, we were able to force [Baker] to make some mistakes," Wilkinson said.

Baker's final mistake came on the next play when Dawan Landry effectively ended the game by pulling in his second interception in as many games.

Despite the never having a lead, the Tar Heels were never out of contention.

"As long as we [get the victory], I really can't complain. We would like to put them away and not have to come down to the wire like that. But as long as we make plays and get off the field when it counts, you can't complain too much," Wilkinson said.

Once again the Tech defense stepped up when the opposing team got into scoring position.

"Big plays are the key. If you can keep teams from making the big plays, then you have a chance to keep them from scoring. They have a hard time going the length of the field on our defense," Gailey said.

On offense the Jackets once again put up a balanced attack.

"With the athletes and the type of quarterback we have, we can go from the passing game to the running game, to the quarterback running the ball," Bilbo said.

P.J. Daniels again eclipsed 100 yards again as he was responsible for 113 of Tech's 151 rushing yards.

Ball completed 24 of 47 passes for 320 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

Bilbo caught eight passes for 131 yards and switched roles as he threw a 33-yard completion to Ball on a trick play in the third quarter. Johnson pulled in six passes for 114 yards.

For the second week in a row, the Jackets spread the passing game over many receivers.

"We have about six or seven receivers that can come in and play right now. That depth, in case somebody goes down, is going to help us out a lot down the road," Johnson said.

"We can substitute in and out during the game, and we can remain fresh the whole game. That's a big advantage for us, having a solid receiving corps this year."

The Jackets play a home game tomorrow at 6:45 p.m. against Big East foe Connecticut. The Huskies are 2-0.