1972 Sun Bowl

A 29-14 loss to #5 Ohio State proved to be the Tar Heels' only loss of the season, as they went undefeated in conference play to win the Atlantic Coast Conference title for the second straight year. As for the Red Raiders, they had finished tied for second in the Southwest Conference, with a 24-14 loss to Arkansas on Thansgiving especially damaging, as Tech had been ranked #20 before the loss.

Game summary

Ellis Alexander gave the Tar Heels a 3-0 lead on his 32 yard field goal in the first quarter. A Dick Oliver 22 yard touchdown run made it 9-0 (with a missed extra point) in the 2nd. The Red Raiders scored a passing touchdown by Pat Barnes in the 2nd quarter to make it 9-7 at halftime. However, a touchdown they didn't make turned out to be important. On a North Carolina punt in the 2nd quarter, the kick was blocked and Red Raider Donald Rives returned it for an apparent touchdown, but it was called back due to a unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on a Tech coach being on the field during play. They took the lead on two touchdown runs by George Smith to make it 21-9. North Carolina responded with two touchdowns of their own. The first came on a Ted Leverenz touchdown catch from Nick Vidnovic touchdown pass from 62 yards out. The second came in the 4th quarter on a Billy Hite touchdown run, with the successful conversion making it 24-21. Tech responded Smith's third touchdown of the game to make it 28-24 with 7:41 left. Vidnovic and Leverenz responded once again with a touchdown throw that gave them the lead with a minute to go. When the Red Raiders got the ball back, Barnes was sacked in the endzone, making the score 32-28 as the Tar Heels ran out the rest of the clock to clinch the victory. Despite his team losing, George Smith was named MVP on 172 yards on 14 carries. ^[1]^[2]

Scoring Summary

North Carolina - Alexander 32 FG
North Carolina - Oliver 22 run (kick failed)
Texas Tech - Tillman 15 pass from Barnes (Grimes kick)
Texas Tech - Smith 65 run (Grimes kick)
Texas Tech - Smith 46 run (Grimes kick)
North Carolina - Leverenz 62 pass from Vidnovic (Alexander kick)
North Carolina - Hite 3 run (Leverenz pass from Vidnovic)
Texas Tech - Smith 5 run (Grimes kick)
North Carolina - Leverenz 12 pass from Vidnovic (kick failed)
North Carolina - Safety (Barnes tackled in end zone)

Aftermath

The Tar Heels returned to the Sun Bowl two years later. The Red Raiders returned in 1993.

Statistics

Statistics	North Carolina	Texas Tech
First Downs	24	13
Rushing Yards	238	293
Passing Yards	215	94
Interceptions Thrown	1	1
Total Offense	453	387
Return Yardage	18	105
Punts-Average	9-38.8	6-25.8
Fumbles-Lost	3-0	3-2
Penalties-Yards	7-55	4-39

References

↑ "History: Bowl Recaps". 2015 North Carolina Tar Heels Media Guide (PDF). North Carolina: University of North Carolina Department of Athletics. 2015. p. 129. Retrieved December 27, 2015.
↑ http://www.sunbowl.org/the_sun_bowl_game/recap/39

Sun Bowl

History & conference tie-ins	History Jones Stadium Kidd Field Sun Bowl Broadcasters Pac-12 Conference Atlantic Coast Conference

Games	1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1977 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Notes	There was a Sun Bowl in January and December in 1958 and 1977. There was no Sun Bowl in 1976.

North Carolina Tar Heels bowl games

Texas Tech Red Raiders bowl games

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