No matter how the North Carolina Tar Heels perform during any given football season, Georgia Tech always has their number.

Last season was no exception. After a 6-0 start, which vaulted UNC to 10th in the polls, North Carolina lost to the Yellow Jackets a week after falling to Virginia. The Tar Heels had all the chances last year, taking an 11-point lead into the fourth quarter, but ended up losing 46-42.

If you guessed it already, UNC plays Georgia Tech again this season: Saturday, Oct. 12 in Kenan Stadium. North Carolina will have plenty of new starters in this game – within the 2024 season as a whole – while the Yellow Jackets return several starters led by former Texas A&M quarterback Haynes King.

One of many new faces amongst the Tar Heels will be defensive coordinator Geoff Collins, who actually coached at Georgia Tech from the 2019-2022 seasons. The Yellow Jackets went 10-29 overall under Collins, leading to his dismissal early in 2022.

As you can imagine, facing Collins has a couple Georgia Tech players fired up, including starting running back Jamal Haynes, who rushed for over 1,000 yards in 2023.

I believe Haynes’ sincerity in his statement, but I think this game has more meaning. The Yellow Jackets underwent their worst stretch of the 21st century under Collins – if I’m a player, I’m eager to prove to Collins how much better my program is since his departure.

UNC, on the other hand, will search for its first win against Georgia Tech since before COVID.

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Story originally appeared on Tarheels Wire