The UNC football team’s quest to win 12 games in a season for the first time in school history will have to wait. The No. 10 Tar Heels traveled to Orlando for the Russell Athletic Bowl, where they were dealt a crushing blow on Tuesday night, falling 49-38 to the No. 17 Baylor Bears.

UNC finishes the 2015 season at 11-3 after one of the most successful campaigns the program has ever had. Although there was loads of excitement surrounding the idea of a 12-win year entering the game, the Tar Heels simply could not keep up with the pure speed possessed by Baylor.

Missing their top two quarterbacks, Baylor used a plethora of running backs and wide receivers—four in total—behind center to finish the year 10-3.

“I don’t know if people can give that staff enough credit for what they did,” UNC head coach Larry Fedora said about his opponents after the game. “There aren’t many teams in the country that end up playing their third and fourth quarterbacks and still win ten games

Baylor ran all over UNC throughout the game, to the tune of an all-time bowl record 645 yards. [Photo by Smith Cameron Photography]

Baylor ran all over UNC throughout the game, to the tune of an all-time bowl record 645 yards. [Photo by Smith Cameron Photography]

The result was an unstoppable offense that gashed Fedora’s team for an all-time college football postseason record 645 yards on the ground—including 299 by one man, Johnny Jefferson.

Baylor ran a total of 102 plays, 84 of which were rushes, operating at warp speed as it scored touchdowns on seven of its 11 drives in the game—completely draining the Tar Heel defense.

“They did a great job with their scheme,” Fedora said. “They ran just about every Wildcat scheme you can possibly run with multiple quarterbacks in the game—which kept [us] a little bit off balance.

“[We] still had the threat of throwing,” the coach continued. “[We] didn’t know that they weren’t going to throw. But they didn’t have to. [We] had too many missed tackles in the open field, and then guys not fitting the right gaps.”

In his final game as UNC’s starting quarterback, senior Marquise Williams threw for 243 yards and three touchdowns, while also rushing 17 times for 81 yards and a pair of scores.

Sophomore Elijah Hood also carried the ball 13 times for 118 yards for the Tar Heels, who scored the game’s first touchdown but fell behind 28-17 by halftime thanks to their complete inability to stop the run.

They scored a touchdown right after the break to pull within four, but Baylor responded with one of its own on the following drive.

Senior offensive guard Landon Turner waves goodbye as he exits the field for the last time as a Tar Heel. [Photo by Smith Cameron Photography]

Senior offensive guard Landon Turner waves goodbye as he exits the field for the last time as a Tar Heel. [Photo by Smith Cameron Photography]

Then with a chance to answer right back, UNC tailback TJ Logan fumbled as he was attempting to cross the goal line. Baylor recovered for a touchback, then scored on an 80-yard mad dash by Jefferson on the very next play.

“That was a 14-point swing,” Fedora said. “I mean, we’re going in the end zone, then two plays later they’re in their end zone. [If we] put seven on the board for us, take seven off it for them—then, you know, it’s a game.”

Although momentum was on Baylor’s side the rest of the way, the Tar Heels never quit fighting.

The team scored touchdowns on two of its final three possessions as it put the finishing touches on this fantastic campaign.

Despite losing the last two games of the season to a pair of teams picked by many as national championship contenders in the preseason, Fedora says there’s no reason he can’t get his team to that level in the near future.

“Our fans are starting to realize that the vision we’ve been selling for the last four years can really happen,” the coach said. “We can play with anybody in the country.

“Why not Carolina?” he added. “We can be in those conversations of a national championship. And we’ve always believed that since we got here, and we’re gonna continue to preach that.”

Up Next:

UNC will return a great deal of talent for 2016, and will feature the debut of Mitch Trubisky as the team’s full-time starting quarterback.

The Tar Heels will begin next season much like they did this year’s–with a season opening game against an SEC opponent. They will take on the Georgia Bulldogs in Atlanta on September 3rd, 2016 in the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Game.

Game Notes:

  • Junior wide receiver Mack Hollins, UNC’s top deep threat, was ejected from the game in the third quarter for targeting due to a helmet-to-helmet hit he gave to a Baylor defender while blocking.
  • UNC finishes the year having scored 570 points–the most in school history.
  • Marquise Williams ends his career having accounted for the third most touchdowns (99) in ACC history.
  • Johnny Jefferson’s 299 rushing yards were the most ever surrendered by a Tar Heel team to a single player, and Baylor’s 645 were the most ever recorded by a team in a bowl game.

 

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