GAMEDAY College Football
Holiday Bowl: Oregon 28, North Carolina 27
(AP Photo/Denis Poroy)
By BERNIE WILSON
AP Sports Writer
SAN DIEGO - Bo Nix threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Chase Cota on fourth down with 19 seconds left and Camden Lewis' PAT bounced off the left upright and went through to give No. 15 Oregon a wild 28-27 victory against North Carolina in the Holiday Bowl at Petco Park.
Cota caught the ball at about the 1 and got it across the goal line as he was being tackled by Don Chapman. The play was upheld on review. Lewis then banked in the PAT.
North Carolina (9-5) got the ball to the Oregon 42 with one second left before Drake Maye's desperation heave into the end zone fell incomplete.
The Ducks finished 10-3 thanks to Nix, who came up big late in the fourth quarter after being held in check much of the second half. He threw a 6-yard TD pass to Troy Franklin with 6:58 to go to pull the Ducks to 24-21.
The Tar Heels took a 27-21 lead with 2:34 to go on Noah Burnette's 44-yard field goal, his second of the quarter.
Nix then moved the Ducks 79 yards in eight plays for the win, with the drive being aided by a pass interference call.
Nix was 23 of 30 for 205 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception.
Maye, the ACC Offensive Player of the Year, was 18 of 35 for 206 yards and three scores.
The Tar Heels took a 21-14 lead on Maye's 49-yard TD pass to Kobe Paysour just before halftime that was set up by an incredible interception by linebacker Power Echols. Echols' jaw-dropping interception and 40-yard return gave the Tar Heels the ball at the Oregon 49.
With the score tied at 14 and Oregon driving late in the second quarter, Nix threw behind Terrance Ferguson and the ball bounced off the right calf of linebacker Cedric Gray toward Echols, who tipped it up with his right foot before bending over and grabbing it and taking off to the Oregon 49.
Maye then hit Paysour at about the 28 and he outraced the defense into the end zone, where he bowed to the crowd after giving the Tar Heels a 21-14 lead 26 seconds before halftime.
Maye also threw touchdown passes of 6 yards to Andrew Greene Jr. and 14 yards to Bryson Nesbit.
Oregon's Bucky Irving had touchdown runs of 2 and 66 yards - the third-longest in Holiday Bowl history - in the first half.
THE TAKEAWAY
Oregon: The thrilling win was a nice finish for the Ducks, whose once-promising season fizzled out in November when they lost two of three after winning eight straight.
North Carolina: The Tar Heels ended with four straight losses, including a 29-point defeat against Clemson in the ACC title game.
December 29, 2022
| Scoring Summary | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Quarter | Oregon | UNC | |||
| Oregon | TD | 11:05 | Bucky Irving 2 yd run (Camden Lewis kick) | 7 | 0 |
| UNC | TD | 4:37 | Andre Greene Jr. 6 yd pass from Drake Maye (Noah Burnette kick) | 7 | 7 |
| Second Quarter | Oregon | UNC | |||
| Oregon | TD | 9:13 | Bucky Irving 66 yd run (Camden Lewis kick) | 14 | 7 |
| UNC | TD | 4:34 | Bryson Nesbit 14 yd pass from Drake Maye (Noah Burnette kick) | 14 | 14 |
| UNC | TD | 0:26 | Kobe Paysour 49 yd pass from Drake Maye (Noah Burnette kick) | 14 | 21 |
| Fourth Quarter | Oregon | UNC | |||
| UNC | FG | 9:13 | Noah Burnette 19 yd FG | 14 | 24 |
| Oregon | TD | 6:58 | Troy Franklin 6 yd pass from Bo Nix (Camden Lewis kick) | 21 | 24 |
| UNC | FG | 2:29 | Noah Burnette 44 yd FG | 21 | 27 |
| Oregon | TD | 0:19 | Chase Cota 6 yd pass from Bo Nix (Camden Lewis kick) | 28 | 27 |
| Team Stats | ||
|---|---|---|
| Oregon | North Carolina | |
| First downs | 22 | 21 |
| Rushing | 7 | 8 |
| Passing | 12 | 11 |
| Penalty | 3 | 2 |
| 3rd Down Efficiency | 6-12, 50% | 6-15, 40% |
| 4th down efficiency | 1-2, 50% | 3-3, 100% |
| Rushes-Yards | 32-209 | 34-129 |
| Passing Yards | 205 | 206 |
| Return Yards | 102 | 149 |
| Completions-Attempts-Int | 23-30-1 | 18-35-0 |
| Sacks-Yards Lost | 1--6 | 2--21 |
| Punts | 2 | 3 |
| Punts-Average | 43.5 | 44.7 |
| Fumbles Lost | 0-0 | 1-0 |
| Penalties - Yards | 5-39 | 5-55 |
| Time of Possession | 27:11 | 32:49 |
| Oregon Passing | |||||
| Player | Cmp | Att | Yds | TDs | Int |
| B. Nix | 23 | 30 | 205 | 2 | 1 |
| North Carolina Passing | |||||
| Player | Cmp | Att | Yds | TDs | Int |
| D. Maye | 18 | 35 | 206 | 3 | 0 |
| Oregon Rushing | ||||
| Player | Carries | Yds | Avg | TDs |
| B. Irving | 13 | 149 | 11.5 | 2 |
| N. Whittington | 11 | 27 | 2.5 | 0 |
| J. James | 3 | 27 | 9.0 | 0 |
| B. Nix | 5 | 6 | 1.2 | 0 |
| North Carolina Rushing | ||||
| Player | Carries | Yds | Avg | TDs |
| E. Green | 17 | 50 | 2.9 | 0 |
| D. Maye | 12 | 45 | 3.8 | 0 |
| O. Hampton | 2 | 17 | 8.5 | 0 |
| D. Jones | 2 | 9 | 4.5 | 0 |
| G. Pettaway | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 0 |
| J. Copenhaver | 0 | 4 | ∞ | 0 |
| Oregon Receiving | ||||
| Player | Rec | Yds | Avg | TDs |
| T. Ferguson | 5 | 84 | 16.8 | 0 |
| C. Cota | 3 | 42 | 14.0 | 1 |
| N. Whittington | 5 | 37 | 7.4 | 0 |
| T. Franklin | 5 | 24 | 4.8 | 1 |
| K. Hutson | 2 | 10 | 5.0 | 0 |
| P. Herbert | 1 | 7 | 7.0 | 0 |
| C. McCormick | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 0 |
| B. Irving | 1 | -1 | -1.0 | 0 |
| North Carolina Receiving | ||||
| Player | Rec | Yds | Avg | TDs |
| K. Paysour | 7 | 98 | 14.0 | 1 |
| B. Nesbit | 3 | 37 | 12.3 | 1 |
| A. Greene Jr. | 3 | 26 | 8.7 | 1 |
| J. Copenhaver | 3 | 24 | 8.0 | 0 |
| J. Jones | 1 | 11 | 11.0 | 0 |
| D. Jones | 1 | 10 | 10.0 | 0 |
| Oregon Interceptions | ||
| Player | Int | Yards |
| North Carolina Interceptions | ||
| Player | Int | Yards |
| P. Echols | 1 | 40 |
| Oregon Punting | |||
| Player | Punts | Yards | Avg |
| A. Barry | 2 | 87 | 43.5 |
| North Carolina Punting | |||
| Player | Punts | Yards | Avg |
| B. Kiernan | 3 | 134 | 44.7 |
| Oregon Punt Returns | |||
| Player | Ret | Yards | Average |
| K. Hutson | 1 | -4 | -4.0 |
| North Carolina Punt Returns | |||
| Player | Ret | Yards | Average |
| G. Pettaway | 1 | 3 | 3.0 |
| Oregon Kick Returns | |||
| Player | Ret | Yards | Average |
| B. Irving | 4 | 106 | 26.5 |
| North Carolina Kick Returns | |||
| Player | Ret | Yards | Average |
| G. Pettaway | 2 | 92 | 46.0 |
| D. Jones | 1 | 14 | 14.0 |
| Oregon Missed FG | |
| Player | Length |
| C. Lewis | 47 |
| North Carolina Missed FG | |
| Player | Length |
| N. Burnette | 34 |
