Associated Press

CHAPEL HILL — Zach Gibson threw for 174 yards and Georgia Tech scored 21 unanswered points for a 21-17 road win against No. 13 North Carolina on Saturday.

Georgia Tech (5-6, 4-4 Atlantic Coast Conference) trailed 17-0 late in the first half, but started to methodically move the ball. All three of its scoring drives were for 68-plus yards and culminated with rushing touchdowns.

A 6-yard score on the ground by Hassan Hall with just over 11 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter proved to be the ticket for the Yellow Jackets. North Carolina (9-2, 6-1 ACC) was riding a six-game winning streak and clinched the ACC’s Coastal Division last week. The Tar Heels had a chance to regain the lead late in the fourth quarter, but Josh Downs dropped a 4th-and-11 pass from quarterback Drake Maye in the end zone. Maye failed to score a touchdown for the first time this season.

The Tar Heels looked flat on offense for much of the night. After running back Elijah Green’s 80-yard rushing score on their first play from scrimmage, they amassed only 285 yards the rest of the night and scored just 10 points on four red-zone visits.

POLL IMPLICATIONS

The Tar Heels are likely to see a considerable drop after falling to a Georgia Tech team that had lost three of its last four. The loss also effectively ends any outside shot the Tar Heels had at eyeing the College Football Playoffs.

UP NEXT

Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets head to rival Georgia, the top-ranked team in the nation, on Saturday.

UNC: The Tar Heels host rival North Carolina State on Friday.

NC State’s slide continues

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Jahwar Jordan scored two touchdowns, one a 98-yard kickoff return, James Turner kicked four field goals and Louisville beat North Carolina State 25-10.

Jordan, a sophomore finished with 105 yards in 16 carries His second touchdown, a 2-yard run, gave Louisville a 22-10 lead early in the fourth quarter.

Turner had field goals of 26, 22, 30 and 28 yards for the Cardinals (7-4, 4-3 ACC). The Wolfpack (7-4, 3-4) started the season with four straight wins and a national ranking. Now they  have lost two straight and three of their last five.

Davidson clinches playoff bid with victory

DAVIDSON (AP) — Coy Williams and Dylan Sparks each ran for 99 yards and Davidson beat Dayton 24-23 on Saturday to clinch the Pioneer League’s automatic bid into the FCS playoffs.

Tyreece White blocked Sam Webster’s 40-yard field goal attempt with 5:03 remaining to help seal it for the Wildcats.

Davidson (8-3, 6-2) and Dayton (8-3, 6-2) entered trailing St. Thomas (Minn.), which finished the league 8-0. It’s just the second season for the Tommies at the Division I level and they’re ineligible for the playoffs.

Williams had a 3-yard touchdown run in the first quarter and his 75-yard burst up the middle and into the end zone tied the game 17-17 with 7:19 remaining in the third quarter. Jayden Waddell’s 35-yard touchdown pass to Maxwell Weaver stretched the Wildcats’ lead to 24-17 about four minutes later.

Shane Hamm ran for a 17-yard touchdown to end a long scoring drive for Dayton that capped the scoring with 14:18 remaining, but Sam Webster missed the PAT.

Pitt holds off Duke

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Israel Abanikanda ran for 113 yards and a touchdown and Brandon Hill returned a Duke fumble 30 yards for a score as Pittsburgh edged the Blue Devils 28-26.

The Panthers (7-4, 4-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) beat the Blue Devils (7-4, 4-3) for the eighth time in nine meetings. Duke’s Riley Leonard threw for 293 yards and three touchdowns, including a 19-yard fourth-down strike to Jaylen Coleman with 47 seconds.

App. State downs Old Dominion

BOONE (AP) — Chase Brice threw for a pair of scores and Appalachian State scored the game’s first 27 points and beat Old Dominion 27-14.

Brice threw a 35-yard touchdown to Kaedin Robinson for a 10-0 lead at the end of the first quarter then threw a 75-yard touchdown to Christian Wells at the start of the second.

The Mountaineers (6-5, 3-4 Sun Belt) ended a two-game skid. The Monarchs (3-8, 2-5) have dropped five straight.

Houston routs East Carolina

GREENVILLE (AP) — Clayton Tune completed 32 of 44 passes for 435 yards and four touchdowns — two to Matthew Golden — and Houston scored the first 28 points as the Cougars beat East Carolina 42-3 on Saturday.

Nathaniel Dell caught nine passes for 176 yards and his 12-yard touchdown reception opened the scoring less than 5 minutes into the game. Tune hit Christian Trahan for a 9-yard TD in the second quarter and Brandon Campbell’s 5-yard touchdown run — which capped a nine-play, 92-yard drive — gave Houston (6-4, 4-2 American Athletic Conference) a 21-0 halftime lead.

Golden, who finished with eight receptions for 127 yards, caught two 26-yard touchdown throws from Tune in the third quarter. Later, a 14-play, 73-yard drive that took nearly 8 minutes off the clock culminated when Ta’Zhawn Henry scored on a 3-yard run that made it 42-3 with 6:11 to play.

Keaton Mitchell had 129 yards rushing on 14 carries for East Carolina (6-4, 3-3).

Western Carolina tops Chattanooga late

CULLOWHEE (AP) — TJ Jones scored on a 1-yard run in the final minute, lifting Western Carolina to a 32-29 victory over Chattanooga on Saturday.

Jones scored with 53 seconds remaining then the Catamounts stopped the Mocs on downs near midfield to preserve the win.

A 26-yard touchdown pass from Preston Hutchinson to Camden Overton gave Chattanooga a 29-24 lead with 6:13 left. The Catamounts (6-5, 4-4 Southern Conference) then drove 75 yards in 14 plays capped by Jones’s clinching touchdown.

Hutchinson was 29-of-48 passing for 323 yards with four touchdowns for the Mocs (7-4, 5-3). He was intercepted once.

Western Carolina’s Cole Gonzales completed 24 of 38 passes for 224 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.

Charlotte upends Louisiana Tech

CHARLOTTE (AP) — Calvin Camp rushed for 111 yards and three touchdowns on just 11 carries and Charlotte held off Louisiana Tech 26-21.

Camp’s 4-yard scoring run in the second quarter and two short field goals by Antonio Zita gave Charlotte a 13-7 lead at halftime.

Camp’s 25-yard touchdown run was the only score in the third quarter and pushed the 49ers’ lead to 19-7.

Marquis Crosby’s 6-yard touchdown run pulled Louisiana Tech (3-8, 2-5 Conference USA) within five points, but Camp answered with a 33-yard scoring run to give Charlotte a two-score lead. Crosby added an 11-yard touchdown run with 3:05 remaining, but the 49ers used seven plays to run out the clock.

Charlotte improved to 3-9 overall and 2-6 in conference play under first-year coach Biff Poggi.

Field goal as time expires saves NC Central

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Adrian Olivo’s 36-yard field goal as time expired lifted North Carolina Central to a 22-20 victory over Tennessee Tech in a non-league regular season finale on Saturday.

Tennessee Tech (4-7) took a 20-19 lead on Jeremiah Oatsvall’s 1-yard run with 2:43 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Golden Eagles’ two-point conversion try was no good.

North Carolina Central (9-2) started at its own 28-yard line on what would be the game’s final drive. The Eagles made four first downs — converting once on fourth down — and reached the Tennessee Tech 19-yard line. With time running out, Olivo made his third field goal of the game.

Latrell Collier had 130 yards rushing for North Carolina Central, the MEAC co-champion. Howard defeated Morgan State 35-6 on Saturday to tie the Eagles for the conference title, but North Carolina Central owns the tiebreaker.

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