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Houston rushes for two TDs as UNC tops Georgia Tech

Nov 8, 2008 - 10:18 PM CHAPEL HILL, North Carolina (Ticker) -- North Carolina coach Butch Davis was nervous about facing Georgia Tech's triple option. But his players gave him little reason to worry.

Ryan Houston rushed for a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter as 19th-ranked North Carolina defeated No. 20 Georgia Tech, 28-7, on Saturday afternoon.

"Obviously, we were thrilled to win the game," Davis said. "This is the first time our football team has played an offense like Georgia Tech, and trust me before the game, you have no idea (what could happen). There is a lot of anxiety among the coaching staff."

It appeared Davis had his team well prepared for the triple option, which has drifted into obscurity in recent years. The Tar Heels kept their ACC foe off the scoreboard for the first 3 1/2 quarters.

"They run it very well, but if you play disciplined and read the keys like you're supposed to then you're going to tackle them," UNC defensive end E.J. Wilson said.

Houston had 74 rushing yards on 13 attempts and Shaun Draughn added 90 more on 18 carries for the Tar Heels (7-2, 3-2 ACC Coastal), who jumped past the Yellow Jackets in the crowded conference standings.

"I thought Shaun Draughn and Ryan Houston were equally effective and a big part of the game," Davis said. "(They were) able to run the football, move the chains, make some first downs, punish the defense a little bit and punch it in."

Houston helped UNC break open a close defensive struggle early in the final period. He scored on a 2-yard rush with 13:57 left and added a 3-yard TD run just over three minutes later to make it 21-0.

"It was fun and I like pushing ahead," Houston said. "We couldn't win 7-0. We just gotta keep pouring it on, so we poured it on and we won that game."

Both of Houston's scores were setup by turnovers. Roddy Jones fumbled a punt late in the third quarter, leading to Houston's first TD that extended the Tar Heels' advantage to 14-0.

On the Yellow Jackets' ensuing drive, freshman quarterback Jaybo Shaw fumbled on their 32-yard-line. UNC then gave Houston five straight carries capped by his seventh score of the season.

Jonathan Dwyer provided the only offensive excitement for Georgia Tech (7-3, 4-3), gaining 157 yards on 22 carries - including an 85-yard touchdown burst with six minutes to play.

"We hit the big play finally, you know we just couldn't seem to hit big plays," Yellow Jackets coach Paul Johnson said. "We had lots of chances in the second half. We had the ball on the perimeter a bunch of times. And they took advantage of some short fields."

Cameron Sexton passed for 127 yards and two scores for North Carolina, which was out-gained by a 424-314 margin.

Sexton opened the scoring with an 8-yard TD pass to Zack Pianalto early in the first quarter. He also found Hakeem Nicks on a 31-yard strike to seal the win with 4:11 remaining in the contest.

Nicks became the Tar Heels' all-time leader in receiving yards, hauling in three catches for 71 yards. He now has 2,471 yards on 163 receptions in his collegiate career.

"It was a great feeling and like I said before, there wasn't a better way than doing it in front of my home crowd," Nicks said. "I felt the love and support from my fans. I want to remain humble and hopefully keep doing what I do out there."

"I think I might be more excited than Hakeem is," Sexton said. "I think that's great. Of course, he was disappointed because he wants the ball, but he's never going to be one of those guys that complain or whine or anything."

Josh Nesbitt passed for 97 yards with an interception and rushed for 62 yards for Georgia Tech.