Tech stumped by Tar Heels in 48-20 road loss
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (AP) — Now that Elijah Hood is feeling his best, it was only a matter of time before he played like it.
Hood ran for 168 yards and three touchdowns to help No. 18 North Carolina beat Georgia Tech 48-20 on Saturday.
The Tar Heels (7-2, 5-1 Atlantic Coast Conference, No. 21 CFP) piled up 636 total yards. They had a season-high 283 on the ground and scored the game's final 21 points.
Hood got some rest and recovery during North Carolina's open date,
shaking off the effects of some nagging injuries that hampered his effectiveness the first half of the season.
"I'm just happy to be back and be able to move the way that I like to and not be worried about it," he said. "I'm having a lot more fun with it."
Hood had plenty of room to run against the Yellow Jackets (5-4, 2-4), breaking into the secondary untouched on several carries between the tackles.
He ran for 45 yards on his first carry of the game and put the Tar Heels ahead 17-7 with a 36-yard touchdown sprint on fourth-and-1.
"He ran wild," North Carolina quarterback Mitch Trubisky said. "That's kind of what we expect out of him."
Trubisky passed for 329 yards and a touchdown as the Tar Heels beat Georgia Tech for the third consecutive year — the first time that's happened since 1992-94.
Justin Thomas passed for 184 yards and a touchdown for the Yellow Jackets. He also rushed for 82 yards before suffering an upper-body injury near the end of a 21-yard run late in the third quarter.
Thomas received medical attention on the bench before heading to the locker room area prior to the start of the fourth quarter. He did not return to the game.