University of North Carolina Athletics
Football Wins Bowl Game
June 21, 1999 | Football
December 21, 1998
Las Vegas, Nev. - Freshman quarterback Ronald Curry rushed for a season-high 93 yards and a touchdown, punter Brian Schmitz was outstanding despite blustery conditions and the Tar Heel defense did not allow a touchdown in the last 59 minutes as North Carolina defeated San Diego State, 20-13, in the Las Vegas Bowl.
The victory was Carolina's fourth postseason win in as many years and ninth in the school's last 13 bowl appearances. Carl Torbush won his second bowl game as UNC's head coach and fifth as defensive coordinator. The Tar Heels are the only college football team to win bowl games in the last four seasons (Nebraska could equal that accomplishment with a win over Arizona in the Holiday Bowl).
Carolina's defense has allowed just 39 total points in the last four bowl games. The win gave the Tar Heels their eighth straight season with seven or more wins and assured Carolina its ninth consecutive winning season. This is the first time in school history Carolina has won seven or more games in eight straight years and it is the first time since 1905 the Tar Heels have posted nine consecutive winning records.
Curry, the game's Most Valuable Offensive Player, gave Carolina the lead for good with an electrifying 48-yard touchdown run on the final play of the opening quarter. He rushed for 93 yards on 10 carries and accounted for 96 of Carolina's 196 total offense yards, despite playing just four series. It was the third consecutive year a Tar Heel quarterback earned MVP honors in a bowl victory. Oscar Davenport was the MVP in the 1997 Gator Bowl and Chris Keldorf grabbed MVP honors in the 1998 Gator Bowl.
The game was played in brutal weather with winds gusting to 47 miles per hour. The wind blew the desert sand directly down the length of the field. It gusted toward the San Diego State offense in the first and third quarters and the Tar Heel attack in the second and fourth quarters. Passing was almost impossible. In fact, Carolina won the game despite completing just four passes for 33 yards.
Schmitz had his finest game as a Tar Heel. He averaged 44.0 yards on five punts and pinned the Aztecs inside their own 11-yard line four times. Late in the second quarter, with the Aztecs looking for good field position after stopping Carolina at its own 21-yard line, Schmitz unloaded a 66-yard punt into the wind. The ball came to rest at the Aztecs' 5-yard line. Instead of challenging for a score to cut into Carolina's 20-10 lead, the Aztecs were forced to simply run out the clock and head to the dressing room. Schmitz did not allow Damon Gourdine to return a single punt. Gourdine came into the game as the No. 2 punt returner in the NCAA.
Schmitz also kicked off six times, four with the wind at his back and twice into the wind. As expected, he blasted the ball out of the end zone all four times with the wind. He kicked off twice into the wind in the second quarter after UNC touchdowns. After Curry's touchdown run, he drove the kickoff to the San Diego State 15 and the ball was returned only four yards. After another UNC touchdown, Schmitz booted the kickoff to the 11 and it was returned only 19 yards to the Aztec 30-yard line. Field position was critical because of the elements.
In the first half, when Carolina scored all 20 of its points and raced to a 20-7 lead in the game's first 17 and a half minutes, the Tar Heels' averaged starting field position was their own 45-yard line. San Diego State's average starting field position in the first half was its own 21-yard line.
The game began, however, with a San Diego State touchdown after just 27 seconds. On the second play from scrimmage, Lonnie Mitchell picked up an Aztec fumble and ran 60 yards for a touchdown. Carolina's first offensive series stalled after one first down, but Schmitz dropped a 56-yard out of bounds at the Aztec 6-yard line. A pair of short runs that were stopped by defensive tackle Russell Davis forced a punt, which traveled just 15 yards to the 20. A 32-yard field goal by Josh McGee made it 7-3.
The Aztecs lost 15 yards on the next possession and again punted from their own 5-yard line. Na Brown returned another short kick to the Aztec 24-yard line. Another McGee field goal, this one from 23 yards, narrowed the Aztec lead to 7-6.
Carolina did not allow San Diego State to gain a first down on the next series and used a timeout to get the ball back with time left in the first quarter to take advantage of the wind. On third-and-seven on the final play of the quarter, Curry scrambled down the left sideline for a 48-yard score. It was the longest touchdown run by a Tar Heel in the postseason since Torin Dorn had a 58-yard score against Arizona in the 1986 Aloha Bowl. Curry was not touched, mainly due to key blocks on the play by wide receiver Chuckie Parquet and fullback Deon Dyer. Dyer knocked down two Aztec defenders with a single block.
Defensive tackle Marcus Dow sacked SDSU quarterback Brian Russell for a 10-yard loss to start the Aztec's next offensive series. The Aztecs had to punt from their 11-yard line and the kick was blocked by UNC safety Quinton Savage. David Bomar fell on the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. It was the second time this season the Tar Heels blocked a punt for a touchdown. Last year, in the Gator Bowl, Savage blocked a punt in the first quarter and Dre' Bly recovered it for a touchdown.
Following Bomar's recovery, Oscar Davenport completed a pass to Kory Bailey in the corner of the end zone for a two-point conversion and a 20-7 Carolina lead. Bailey's catch was one of the most spectacular plays of the season as he leaped over the defender to catch the pass. Carolina did not score again, but the defense made sure the lead held up.
The Aztecs managed a field goal in the second quarter and another with 3:51 to play in the game, but could not get the ball in the end zone. San Diego State opened the second half with a 12-play, 74-yard drive into the wind that took 7:27 off the clock. The drive was aided by three UNC penalties, the last of which gave the Aztecs first-and-goal at the 6-yard line. Bly made a key stop on second down and on third-and-goal from the 3-yard line, linebacker Sedrick Hodge stopped Jonas Lewis for a three-yard loss. The Aztecs missed the field goal attempt and the lead stayed at 20-10.
In the fourth quarter, Nate Tandberg's 38-yard field goal with 3:51 to play made it 20-13. Facing third-and-one on the following series, Curry bulled his way for a yard and a key first down. Three plays later, however, the Tar Heels fumbled. The ball was recovered by linebacker Joseph Tuipala at the UNC 37 and he returned the fumble 15 yards, but was tackled in a game-saving play by Curry.
San Diego State took over at the Tar Heel 22-yard line trailing by a touchdown with 1:24 to play. Russell hit Gourdine for 11 yards and a first down at the 11, then Bly broke up a pass in the end zone with 32 seconds to play. On the following play, linebacker Brandon Spoon tipped Rusell's pass in the air and the ball was intercepted at the goal line by linebacker Keith Newman with 25 seconds remaining.
Statistically, San Diego State had 20 first downs to eight for the Tar Heels and outgained UNC, 295 to 196. Schmitz averaged 20 yards more per punt than his counterpart, and Carolina had four sacks for 27 yards. Curry led the Tar Heels with 93 rushing yards. Anthony Saunders started at tailback in place of an injured Rufus Brown and gained 39 yards and 17 carries. Na Brown had three receptions for 18 yards. Defensive end Mike Pringley had four tackles for losses, including two quarterback sacks. Hodge also had four tackles for losses for 20 yards.
