NCAAF Game Recap - North Carolina at Temple
Fri Dec 27, 2019 12:00 PM EST

Okla
28
LSU
63
F
Clem
29
OSU
23
F
Fla
36
UVA
28
F
Utah
10
Tex
38
F
Mem
39
PSU
53
F
ND
33
IASt
9
F
USC
24
Iowa
49
F
Navy
20
K St
17
F
AF
31
WaSt
21
F
OkSt
21
TxAM
24
F
BYU
34
Hawaii
38
F
LT
14
MiaFL
0
F
Pitt
34
E Mi
30
F
UNC
55
Temp
13
F
MSU
27
Wake
21
F
W Ky
23
WestMI
20
F
Cal
35
Ill
20
F
MissSt
28
Lou
38
F
VaTec
30
KY
37
F
FlaSt
14
AzSt
20
F
GASt
17
Wyo
38
F

Dec 27, 2019, 12:00 PM EST

Final

1

2

3

4

T

North Carolina (7-6)

7

13

21

14

55

Temple (8-5)

0

6

7

0

13

North Carolina breezes past Temple 55-13 in Military Bowl
Fri Dec 27, 2019 4:58 PM

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) Having guided North Carolina to a winning season and a lopsided bowl victory in his first year back at the school, Mack Brown has raised expectations - for himself and the fans - moving forward.

The veteran coach wouldn't have it any other way.

Freshman Sam Howell threw for 294 yards and three touchdowns in addition to catching a TD pass, and the Tar Heels blew out Temple 55-13 in the Military Bowl on Friday to cap a satisfying return season for their 68-year-old coach.

Howell completed 25 of 34 passes and ran for 53 yards on three carries to help the Tar Heels (7-6) secure their first bowl victory since 2013. North Carolina was 4-6 before winning its last two regular-season games to qualify for a bowl bid.

North Carolina went 3-9 in 2017 and 2-9 last year before hiring Brown, who coached the Tar Heels from 1988-97 prior to heading to Texas for a 16-year stay. Coming off a five-year absence from coaching, Brown - with help from Howell - quickly turned the program around.

"The last three weeks we've been a really good football team," Brown said. "It's fun. Now these guys coming back have something to build on. Seven (wins) is not enough anymore. You want to go to a bowl every year and get a streak of wins."

Temple (8-5) has played in a bowl game in each of the past five years - and lost four of them. This was the Owls' first trip under coach Rod Carey, who came to Temple after a run of six-plus seasons at Northern Illinois in which he was 0-6 in the postseason.

"It's hard to swallow because I don't know if there is that big a gap between these two teams, but there was today,"' Carey said.

It might take a while before the Owls view this season as a success.

"'The further away we get from this moment, we will feel a lot better about it,"' Carey said.

For Brown, there was no better feeling than frolicking with the players in the jubilant locker room at Navy-Marine Corp Memorial Stadium.

"To be where we are now compared to where we were a year ago when I walked into that meeting and looked into those faces that were sad and disappointed because they just lost their coach and had a tough year," Brown said, "that dressing room was a lot of fun downstairs."

The Tar Heels' rise this season can be attributed to Brown and no small measure to Howell, a high school star in North Carolina who initially committed to Florida State.

Closing out a sensational debut season at the college level, Howell threw a pair of touchdown passes before halftime to stake the Tar Heels to a 20-6 lead. UNC pulled away early in the third quarter by scoring two touchdowns in a 12-second span, the last on a 20-yard interception return by Storm Duck.

Howell completed the third-quarter blitz by catching a 2-yard TD pass from wide receiver Rontavius Groves at the end of a razzle-dazzle reverse to make it 41-6.

Howell threw 38 touchdown passes this season, most by a true freshman in FBS history. His 3,641 yards passing are an Atlantic Coast Conference record for a freshman who has not redshirted.

North Carolina missed a 50-yard field goal on its first possession, then covered 63 yards on two plays for a 7-0 lead. Howell ran for 24 yards before connecting with Dyami Brown in the left corner for a 39-yard score.

It was 10-0 before the Owls used a 60-yard pass from Anthony Russo to Jadan Blue to set up a short touchdown run. The conversion was blocked.

The Tar Heels then moved 75 yards on eight plays, going up 17-6 when Dazz Newsome got behind safety Amir Tyler on a 16-yard touchdown catch. Officials initially ruled Newsome made the catch out of bounds, but a replay determined he had his right foot in the end zone while gaining possession of the ball.

Newsome made an even better catch early in the fourth quarter, snaring the ball in the left back corner of the end zone behind two defenders and getting one foot in before tumbling backward at the end of a 29-yard score.

"I have some really good players around me,"' Howell said. "How about those receivers?"

THE TAKEAWAY

North Carolina: The Tar Heels could not have asked for a better way to build enthusiasm for the 2020 season. Things appear to be looking up for UNC, especially because Brown recently welcomed a solid recruiting class.

Temple: The Owls have only been to nine bowl games in school history, so this five-year streak is not being taken for granted. There will come a time, however, when just getting to a bowl game won't be good enough.

GETTING 1,000

Blue had eight catches for 92 yards to become the first player in Temple history to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark in a single season. Blue got the record on the 60-yarder that set up Temple's first score. After making only three catches as a redshirt freshman last year, Blue finished with 95 receptions for 1,067 yards and four TDs in 2019.

UP NEXT

North Carolina: Brown said all the team's juniors intend to return next season. UNC opens the 2020 season at Central Florida.

Temple: The Owls lose 16 seniors, only one of whom started on offense. Temple plays at Miami for the 2020 opener.

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More AP college football: https://apnews.com/APTop25CollegeFootballPoll and https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

Passing

UNC Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
S. Howell 34 25 73.5 3 294 39 0 128.8
R. Groves 1 1 100.0 1 2 2 0 118.8
Temp Att Cmp % TD-Pa Yds-Pa LgPa Int Rat
A. Russo 20 12 60.0 0 128 60 1 57.9
T. Centeio 12 6 50.0 1 66 45 1 59.7

Rushing

UNC Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
J. Williams 14 85 6.1 24 0
M. Carter 18 84 4.7 22 0
Temp Att Yds-Ru Avg LgRu TDRu
R. Davis 15 36 2.4 14 1
T. Ruley 3 13 4.3 6 0

Receiving

UNC Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
D. Brown 5 87 17.4 39 1
B. Corrales 4 82 20.5 39 0
Temp Rec Yds-Rc Avg LgRc TD-Rc
J. Blue 8 92 11.5 60 0
R. Davis 2 44 22.0 45 1

Fumbles

UNC F FL
D. Newsome 1 1

Returning

UNC KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
M. Carter 2 19.0 0 21 0 0 0
D. Newsome 0 0 0 1 16.0 0 16
Temp KR Avg KRTD LgKR PR Avg TD LgPR
J. Blue 4 23.0 0 31 0 0 0

Punting

Temp Punt Yds Avg LgPu
A. Barry 3 103 34.3 39

Takeaways

UNC Int Yds InTD
S. Duck 1 20 1
T. Fox 1 0 0
Temp Int Yds InTD
B. Walls 0 0 0

Team Stats Comparison

UNC Temp
Points For 55 13
Total Yards 534 272
Rushing Yards 238 78
Passing Yards 296 194
Passing Completions / Attempts 26/35 18/32
Turnovers 1 2
Interceptions Thrown 0 2
Fumbles - Lost 1/1 0/0
First Downs 33 16
Penalties - Yards 6/63 8/65
Time Of Possession 30:30 30:30
Third Down Conversions/Attempts 11/14 6/16
Fourth Down Conversions/Attempts 1/1 2/3
Punts - Average Yards 0/0 3/34

Scoring Summary

1st Quarter UNC Temp
UNC 08:36 TD Dyami Brown 39 yd pass from Sam Howell (Noah Ruggles kick) 7 0
2nd Quarter UNC Temp
UNC 04:43 FG Noah Ruggles 26 yd FG 10 0
Temp 07:01 TD Re'Mahn Davis 4 yd run (blocked XP) 10 6
UNC 10:46 TD Dazz Newsome 16 yd pass from Sam Howell (Noah Ruggles kick) 17 6
UNC 15:00 FG Noah Ruggles 36 yd FG 20 6
3rd Quarter UNC Temp
UNC 03:36 TD Antonio Williams 1 yd run (Noah Ruggles kick) 27 6
UNC 03:48 TD Storm Duck 20 yd interception return (Noah Ruggles kick) 34 6
UNC 08:06 TD Sam Howell 2 yd pass from Rontavius Groves (Noah Ruggles kick) 41 6
Temp 11:39 TD Re'Mahn Davis 45 yd pass from Todd Centeio (Jacob LaFree kick) 41 13
4th Quarter UNC Temp
UNC 01:09 TD Dazz Newsome 29 yd pass from Sam Howell (Noah Ruggles kick) 48 13
UNC 12:49 TD Antonio Williams 2 yd run (Jonathan Kim kick) 55 13

Game Information

Stadium: Jack Stephens Field at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, Maryland
Attendance: 24,242
Game Time:
Weather: