Jackets clinch Coastal 7-0

The No. 18 Jackets earned a spot in Jacksonville to play for the ACC Championship and a spot in the Orange Bowl on Jan. 2 with a 7-0 victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels on their homecoming in Chapel Hill, N.C.

It was the first shutout recorded by the Jackets since Nov. 9, 2000 when they beat Virginia 35-0. While the Jackets win over the Tar Heels would not be described as impressive due to the fact that Tech came into the game as a 14-point favorite, the Jackets were able to walk around the locker room at the end of the day wearing gold 2006 ACC Coastal Division Champion t-shirts.

"[Today's win] means that we get to go to Jacksonville and win the ACC championship. That's all today's game means," said Head Coach Chan Gailey, "It's hard to shut out anybody. I don't care who it is."

On the first and only scoring drive of the game, Tashard Choice punched the ball into the endzone from three yards out to cap off a 20-play, 83-yard drive that lasted 10 minutes and 30 seconds.

In the first half, Choice carried the ball 18 times for 72 yards and added 14 more carries in the second half for 47 yards to give him a total of 119. Choice has rushed for 100 or more yards in five of the last six games.

"The offensive line and Mike Cox did a great job creating opportunities for me. It feels great when the coaches and 10 other players on the field can depend on you," said running back Tashard Choice .

While Choice had a big day carrying the football, quarterback Reggie Ball struggled, completing less than 50 percent of his passes for the second week in a row. For the day, Ball was 10-24 for 78 yards, his lowest yardage total since 2004 against Miami when he threw for 68 yards in a 27-3 defeat. He also had one interception which came on a ball tipped by wide receiver Greg Smith.

"We just had an off day and missed a couple of opportunities," Ball said. "On offense, you've got to have 11 guys playing well together. If one guy falls off, then everything looks bad."

Wide receiver Calvin Johnson also had a tough day, catching only three passes for 13 yards, including a pass he caught in the backfield, on his own 24 yard line, and fumbled early in the second quarter.

North Carolina had two red zone scoring chances, but were unable to score on either occasion as the Tech defense shutout the Tar Heels.

In the first half, Kenny Scott intercepted a pass by North Carolina quarterback Joe Dailey in the endzone and Jamal Lewis intercepted a Dailey pass at the goal line. Lewis' interception would be the last opportunity of the game for the Tar Heels as they did not advance past the Tech 42-yard line the rest of the game. The Jackets stout defense held the Tar Heels to just 55 yards rushing.

Tech punter Durant Brooks continues to impress as he leads the nation in net punting with 40.83 yards per punt and leads the ACC in punting average at 44.7 yards per punt.

Against the Tar Heels, he booted the ball seven times for an average of 46.6 yards. His longest punt of the day was for 60 yards. He also placed three balls inside the 20-yard line.

Tomorrow, the Jackets will play against the Duke Blue Devils who come into the game on an18-game losing streak that dates back to Sept. 17, 2005.

Duke's last win came in a 40-14 victory over the Virginia Military Institute.