The Oregon Ducks defeat North Carolina Tar Heels in a last minute touchdown to win the 2022 Holiday Bowl at Petco Park.
The San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl took place in its 43rd edition Wednesday night after a two-year absence due to COVID-related issues.
Last December, the Holiday Bowl was canceled five hours before kick-off due to COVID-19 protocols within the UCLA Bruins program leading up to their scheduled game vs North Carolina State.
This time around, there no issues and San Diego hosted an nail-biter where Oregon won by a single point, 28-27, over the North Carolina Tar Heels.
Oregon quarterback Bo Nix tossed a short touchdown pass of six yards to receiver Chase Cota with only 19 seconds to go in the ball game, wrapping up the one point victory.
Oregon head coach Dan Lanning told reporters after the game that he could not be prouder for his squad for fighting until the very end against a quality North Carolina team.
“I’m thrilled and excited for our team,” said Oregon coach Dan Lanning. “North Carolina is a great team. They fought, that was a game that came down to the very last second, as we know. We talked about it going into the game, that we played 720 minutes of football this season and we had to play 60 more. And we played all 60 of it. I couldn’t be more proud," he added.
On the other side of the field, North Carolina head coach Mack Brown said that he's incredibly proud of his team for showing resilience until the dying seconds of regulation versus an Oregon team that was viewed as favorites entering this bowl game.
“Very disappointed that we didn’t win,” Brown said after the game, “but got to make a play here or there, and they’re a great football team, and nobody gave us a chance in the game, and we had a chance with one second left. That’s all we could ask for in this situation. So proud of this team. … The saddest thing for me is that they played their hearts out, and they’re one point away from being out there on the field and having a great time and feeling great about themselves.”
