Pac-12 Bowl Record at 2-1 After Oregon’s Thrilling Win Over UNC
Oregon overcame a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit by scoring a touchdown with 19 seconds left, then converting an extra point that bounced off the upright, giving the Ducks a thrilling 28-27 victory over North Carolina in the Holiday Bowl in San Diego on Wednesday.
The result gives the Pac-12 a 2-1 record in bowl games so far with four more to play. (The bowl records by conference are available at the end of this story.)
Ducks quarterback Bo Nix was mediocre most of the game, but he came alive after North Carolina had taken a 24-14 lead with 9:14 left in the fourth quarter. That’s when Nix began to resemble the standout quarterback he was through the first nine games of the regular season, before his ankle injury.
He threw a 6-yard scoring pass to Troy Franklin, who made a remarkable catch to make it 24-21 with 6:58 to go. (The video below misidentifies the receiver; it was Franklin, No. 11)
After North Carolina (9-5) kicked a field goal to go ahead by six points with 2:29 to go, Nix led the Ducks (10-3) on 79-yard march. That drive ended when Nix, facing a fourth-and-2 from the Tar Heels’ 6-yard line, threw a pass while falling backward that was caught by Chase Coda at the 2-yard line before he barely got the ball over the goal-line with 19 seconds remaining.
That tied the game 27-27, and Oregon kicker Camden Lewis nearly missed the extra point. But the ball hit off the left upright and barely bounced through for the go-ahead point.
On the last play of the game, North Carolina passed up a chance to try a game-winning 57-yard field goal, instead trying a Hail Mary pass by Drake Maye that fell incomplete in the end zone.
Until Oregon’s late comeback, the play of the game had been a remarkable and weird North Carolina interception late in the second quarter that helped the Tar Heels take a 21-14 lead into halftime.
The score was tied 14-14 when Oregon faced a second-and-5 at the North Carolina 16-yard line with 35 seconds left in the half. Nix's pass was behind the intended receiver, kicked off the calf of one North Carolina defender, then was kicked slightly by the Tar Heels’ Power Echols, who caught the ball before the ball hit the ground and returned it 40 yards to the 49-yard line. Maye threw a touchdown pass on the next play to put the Tar Heels ahead by seven, and until the final few minutes that seemed like the play of the game.
Here are two views of the interception, with the second one in slow motion showing how improbable the pick was:
Nix finished 23-for-30 for 205 yards, two touchdowns and one interception, while Maye was 18-for-35 for 206 yards, three touchdowns (all in the first half) and no interceptions. Bucky Irving ran for 149 yards and two scores, including a TD run of 66 yards.
The Pac-12 has already surpassed what it has done the past two years in the postseason, going 0-5 in bowls last year and 0-2 the year before.
Here are the bowl records by conference so far this season (with the number of teams in bowl games in parentheses):
Pac-12: 2-1 (7)
ACC: 3-1 (9)
Big 12: 1-3 (8)
Big Ten: 1-0 (9)
Conference-USA: 3-3 (6)
Independents: 2-2 (5)
MAC: 3-2 (6)
Mountain West: 3-3 (7)
SEC: 1-3 (11)
Sun Belt: 3-4 (7)
.
Cover photo of Oregon's Chase Coda scoring the touchdown with 19 seconds left is by Kirby Lee, USA TODAY Sports
.
Follow Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53
Find Cal Sports Report on Facebook by going to https://www.facebook.com/si.calsportsreport
