UNC Tar Heels Football Team Blasts Temple in the Military Bowl
by Derrick Isaiah Clyburn
North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell looks to pass against Temple during the first half of the Military Bowl NCAA college football game, Friday, Dec. 27, 2019, in Annapolis, Md. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
The Tar Heels football team played in the Military Bowl against Temple on Friday afternoon and got their first bowl win since 2013. The Tar Heels dominated on both sides of the field for the entire game. North Carolina’s offense had over 500 total yards and 6 touchdown drives. While UNC’s defense held Temple’s offense to less than 300 yards, just two touchdowns in the game, and forced two interceptions.
North Carolina set the school record for the most points scored in a bowl game with 55 and the biggest margin of victory for the Heels in a bowl game. They sent the seniors out with a win that will set the tone for next season.
UNC Game Stats
UNC Total Offense- 534 yards
Rushing 238 Passing 296
UNC Passing: Sam Howell 25-34-294yds 3TD’s
UNC Rushing: Javonte Williams 14-85yds, Michael Carter 18-84yds, Sam Howell 3-53yds, Antonio Williams 5-16 yds 2TD’s
UNC Receiving: Dyami Brown 5-87yds 1TD, Beau Corrales 4-82yds, Dazz Newsome 8-71yds 2TD’s
Temple Total Offense- 272 yards
Temple Passing: Anthony Russo 12-20-128yds 1 INT
Temple Rushing: Re’mahn Davis 15-36yds
Temple Receiving: Jadan Bleu 8-92yds, Re’mahn Davis 2-44yds 1TD
UNC Bright Spots
Sam Howell threw for 294 yards and three touchdowns on 25 of 34 attempts.
Javonte Williams rushed 14 times for 85 yards.
Michael Carter rushed 14 times for 84 yards.
Dyami Brown had 5 catches for 87 yards and 1 TD.
Dazz Newsome had 8 catches for 71 yards and 2 TDs.
Needs Work
The UNC secondary still needs to do a better job of playing the ball in the air and being in better position to get pass deflections.
Final Observations
The Tar Heels football team finishes the 2019 season with a 7-6 record and their first bowl win since 2013. Coming into this season, you did not know what to expect from this team with a new coaching staff coming in and a young team that did not have much experience with success on the college level.
However, UNC definitely exceeded expectations and as the season comes to the end Tar Heels fans should be satisfied with the results. The Tar Heels played hard every game and had a chance to win every game this season, which is all you can ask for as a fan. Coach Mack Brown came back to North Carolina with the intention of getting the Tar Heels football team back to winning games and becoming a competitive relevant football team again.
Coach Brown has done an excellent job with this team in his first season back and the future of this team looks very promising going forward.
Carolina played a COMPLETE GAME yesterday, and I believe that positive momentum will carry into next season as well. Really hoping Chazz Surratt stays for another season, so that we won’t be thin at the linebacker position.