UNC Football Loses Late Lead in Holiday Bowl Defeat

An Oregon touchdown with 19 seconds remaining broke the hearts of the Tar Heels Wednesday night in San Diego, as Carolina couldn’t answer in the dying moments of the 2022 Holiday Bowl, a 28-27 loss.

For UNC, it’s the third straight bowl loss and fourth straight loss this season, as the team will end 9-5 after starting the year 9-1. As with two of those previous three consecutive losses, this one was decided in the final moments.

Carolina held a 24-14 lead with less than 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. Redshirt freshman quarterback Drake Maye tossed three touchdowns in the first half to give UNC a 21-14 lead at halftime, and a Noah Burnette field goal in the fourth quarter after a scoreless third gave Carolina a critical two-score advantage.

But the Ducks offense, which hadn’t scored in five consecutive drives against the UNC defense, came to life late. Oregon needed just 2:06 to score a touchdown after the Burnette field goal, trimming the deficit to 24-21. The Tar Heels drove near the Ducks’ red zone on their next possession and managed to kill more than four minutes of clock, but were only able to muster another field goal to end the drive. The six-point lead wouldn’t last long.

Quarterback Bo Nix and the Ducks put together another rapid touchdown drive on their next possession, scoring on 4th and 2 from the UNC 6-yard line to tie the game at 27 apiece. The Oregon extra point then bounced off an upright before fluttering through the goalposts to give the Ducks the lead.

Carolina, with no timeouts remaining, was only able to drive to the Oregon 41 and toss up a Hail Mary as time expired, which fell harmlessly to the patchy Petco Park grass. After his blistering first half, Maye finished just 18-35 for 206 yards and three scores. His three passing touchdowns did tie him with Sam Howell for the most such scores in a single season in school history (38).

The three UNC touchdowns all went to receivers who are likely to be major contributors in 2023: Kobe Paysour, who appears primed to replace Josh Downs in the slot; tight end Bryson Nesbit; and freshman Andre Greene, Jr. Greene, a heralded recruit from Virginia, hauled in his first collegiate catch and touchdown on Wednesday night. He finished with three catches for 26 yards and a touchdown. Antoine Green, who would have started in his final collegiate game, was a late scratch with a lower-body injury.

The Holiday Bowl was also Carolina’s first game without offensive coordinator Phil Longo or offensive line coach Jack Bicknell, each of whom departed from the program earlier this month. Chip Lindsey and Randy Clements will fill those respective roles, and both were with the team in San Diego. The majority of their duties has already begun, as Carolina will now immediately shift into its spring season. Several key contributors will be back in 2023: Paysour, Nesbit, Greene, linebacker Cedric Gray (eight tackles and a pass break-up against the Ducks) and, of course, Maye.

Still, it’s hard to shake the bitterness not just of Wednesday’s loss, but of the once-promising 2022 season that came crashing down faster than air temperatures around the state of North Carolina. It’s something likely to hang over the program’s head until eight months from now, when UNC kicks off another campaign in Kenan Stadium.

The clock is ticking.

Featured image via Associated Press/Denis Poroy

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UNC Football Loses Late Lead in Holiday Bowl Defeat

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