UNC, freshman Sam Howell too much for Georgia Tech

There wasn’t much Georgia Tech could do to stop North Carolina’s prized freshman quarterback on Saturday. But there were positives in the latest loss for the Yellow Jackets.

Sam Howell threw for a personal-best 376 yards and four touchdowns to help North Carolina snap a three-game losing streak with a 38-22 win over Georgia Tech at Bobby Dodd Stadium. Howell completed 33 of 51 passes with one interception to account for much of the team’s 587 total yards.

The Tar Heels (3-3, 2-1 ACC) showed no letdown after last week’s near-miss loss against No. 1-ranked Clemson. Running back Javonte Williams added 144 yards on 20 carries with one touchdown. Dazz Newsome caught eight passes for 81 yards.

Georgia Tech (1-4, 0-2) was led by redshirt freshman quarterback James Graham. He completed 11 of 24 passes for 171 yards, with two interceptions and two touchdowns. Graham rushed 13 times for 48 yards. Jordan Mason carried eight times for 62 yards and one touchdown.

Graham, who got his first career start and played nearly the entire game behind center. Graham flashed his offensive skills sporadically throughout the game, but never better than in the second half when he engineered three scoring drives.

“We had 220 yards of offense, 22 points in the second half,” Tech coach Geoff Collins said. “Starting to find a little bit of rhythm and we had some explosive plays and the guys kept battling.”

The 22 points was the second-most scored by the offense, which entered the game ranked 130th in the nation in scoring average and 127th in total offense.

The four-star product from Fitzgerald got his most significant snaps of the season. Graham completed 11 of 24 passes for 171 yards and two touchdowns. He was sacked twice and threw two interceptions. Graham also ran 13 times for 39 yards.

“There’s still a lot that he’s going to clean up,” Collins said. “This is his first game getting significant time. You could just see him grow and develop, even throughout the game. He’s got a live arm.”

Graham threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Malachi Carter and a 32-yard touchdown to Ahmarean Brown. He also tossed a two-point conversion pass to Tyler Davis. Jordan Mason scored Georgia Tech’s other touchdown on a 2-yard run.

Carter, a sophomore from Mountain View High School, slid into the slot as the team’s primary receiver with the season-ending surgery to Jalen Camp. He wound up with three catches for 45 yards and one touchdown.

And while those first two scores produced in the second half cut North Carolina’s lead to nine points, the Georgia Tech defense could never slow down Howell. After the Yellow Jackets trimmed the lead to 22-15, Howell directed another drive to re-establish a two-touchdown advantage.

“He’s got so much composure,” North Carolina coach Mack Brown said. “Three guys, at least, dropped balls early in the game that would have led to touchdowns and we end up with three points instead of 14. He didn’t get a lot of help from his receivers, but they got better as the game went on.”

The Tar Heels (3-3, 2-1 ACC) showed no letdown after last week’s near-miss loss against No. 1-ranked Clemson. Running back Javonte Williams added 144 yards on 20 carries with one touchdown. Dazz Newsome caught eight passes for 81 yards.