By Paul Bartelt
IPA Sports Editor
San Diego, Ca. In the first ever meeting between the two Universities, the number 15 ranked Oregon Ducks (10-3) rallied past the 25th ranked North Carolina Tar Heels (9-5) by a score of 28-27 Wednesday evening in the 43rd Annual Holiday Bowl.
Before 36,242 at Petco Park, home of the MLB San Diego Padres, Ducks quarterback Bo Nix connected with wide receiver Chase Cota on a six yard touchdown pass with 19 seconds remaining in the game and Camden Lewis extra point kick ricocheted off the goal post, but went through, giving Oregon the come from behind victory.
North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye threw three touchdown passes in the first half, including a 49 yard scoring strike to wide receiver Kobe Paysour with nine seconds remaining in the second quarter. Neither team scored in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter Noah Burnett made a 19 yard field goal giving the Tar Heels a 24-14 advantage. On the Ducks next drive, North Carolina was flagged with a 15 yard defensive pass interference penalty and then Nix connected with wide receiver Troy Franklin on a six yard scoring strike with 6:28 remaining closing the gap to 24-21. On their next possession North Carolina converted on a fourth down and one, and later drove down to the Oregon 27 yard line. On fourth down Burnett made a 44 yard field goal giving the Tar Heels a 27-21 lead with 4:22 left in the game. Oregon, with three timeouts remaining, started at their own 21 yard line. Nix completed four straight passes, including a 28 yard strike to tight end Terrance Ferguson. After North Carolina defensive back DeAndre Boykins was flagged with a 15 yard pass interference penalty, Oregon had the ball on the North Carolina 14 yard line.
Three plays later Nix hit Cota with the game tying touchdown pass and Lewis extra point gave Oregon the Holiday Bowl title. Nix, who was injured this season, is one of the nations top quarterbacks and announced he will return for his final season at Oregon next year. He finished the season with 30 touchdown passes and 14 rushing scores. His 71 percent pass completion percentage ranks second in the country.
The Oregon offensive line led the nation in allowing only five quarterback sacks all season. Oregon running back Bucky Irving was named the games offensive MVP rushing for 149 yards and two touchdowns, including a 66 yard scoring run in the second quarter.
This was the Ducks third Holiday Bowl title (2000 and 2008) and 13th- 10 win season since 2000. Under first year Head Coach Dan Lanning, the Ducks finished 7-2 in the Pac 12 Conference. ” I am thrilled and excited for our team,” said Lanning. ” Real proud of our players to cap the season off.” The Athletic Coast Conference Tar Heels lost their final four games and Head Coach Mac Brown remains one victory shy of 100 wins in his college coaching career. North Carolina star wide receiver Josh Downs declared for the 2023 NFL draft opting out and did not play.
The first 10,000 fans in attendance received a free ticket to Sea World San Diego. This was the first Holiday Bowl game played since 2019 due to COVID. The game was broadcast live on FOX Television.