University of North Carolina Athletics
UNC Meineke Car Care Bowl Notes
December 27, 2008 | Football
Dec. 27, 2008
• Saturday was a record-setting performance for Charlotte native Hakeem Nicks, who finished with eight catches for a career-best 217 yards and three touchdowns. In the process, Nicks became the sole owner of Carolina records for career receptions, career touchdown receptions, single-season touchdown receptions, bowl game receiving yards and bowl game receiving touchdowns - all in the first half. Nicks now holds 14 UNC receiving records.
• Hakeem Nicks' 217 yards receiving were the second most by a Tar Heel, and he became just the third player in school history to post a 200-yard receiving game. Nicks joined Randy Marriott (247 vs. Georgia Tech in 1987) and Octavus Barnes (211 vs. Ohio in 1995).
• With first-half TD catches of 73, 66 and 25 yards, Hakeem Nicks established Carolina single-season and career touchdown reception records. Nicks has 12 TD catches this season and 21 for his career to move past the 19 Octavus Barnes pulled down from 1994-97. Nicks entered the game tied with Marcus Wall (1994) with nine TD grabs in a season.
• The third touchdown catch of the first half by Hakeem Nicks was the 178th reception of his career to give Nicks the UNC career reception record. With the grab, he moved past Jarwarski Pollock, who caught 177 balls between 2001-05. Nicks holds UNC records for receptions (181), receiving yardage (2,840) and receiving touchdowns (21).
• With his 217 receiving yards and three receiving touchdowns, Hakeem Nicks broke a pair of UNC bowl game records. Octavus Barnes held the school record with 165 yards in the 1994 Sun Bowl against Texas. Ted Leverenz (vs. Texas Tech, 1972 Sun Bowl) and Barnes (vs. Virginia Tech, 1998 Gator Bowl) shared the previous UNC record with two TD catches in a bowl.
• Hakeem Nicks' 217 yards receiving was a career high, surpassing his 171 yards at Notre Dame in 2006. His three TD catches tied a career mark set earlier this year against Boston College. Nicks needed just two catches to record his school-record 10th career 100-yard game (fifth this season) and fifth career multi-touchdown game (third this season).
• Hakeem Nicks' 73-yard catch was the fifth play of 70-plus yards for his career and third this season.
• Wide receiver Cooter Arnold's 66-yard TD pass to Hakeem Nicks marked the first time a non-quarterback threw a TD pass for Carolina since fullback Bobby Rome hooked up with Brandon Tate for 50 yards at NC State in 2007.
• T.J. Yates was 15-for-25 for 211 yards and two touchdowns. He added his third career rushing touchdown in the third quarter to give Carolina a 30-24 lead.
• Deunta Williams led the Carolina defense with a safety, an interception and a fumble recovery. Williams' stop of Noel Devine in the end zone in the second quarter was the Tar Heels' second safety this season and first since the loss at Maryland. Williams, who had seven tackles, added his third interception of the season and sixth of his career late in the first half and recovered an Alric Arnett fumble late in the third quarter.
• Deunta Williams' interception was the 20th of the season for Carolina, which brought the Tar Heels within one of their school record of 21 set in 1972.
• Da'Norris Searcy, who started at nickel back, recorded his first career sack with a stop of Pat White for an 8-yard loss in the third quarter. He later added a second sack in the fourth quarter and finished with a career-high 10 tackles, including two for loss.
• Bruce Carter stopped Pat White on a key fourth down in the fourth quarter for his fourth sack of the season. Carter had two sacks on the day and finished with seven unassisted tackles.
• Quan Sturdivant recorded a team-high 11 tackles for his seventh double-digit tackle game this season.
• With its second straight bowl loss in Charlotte, Carolina dropped to 12-14 in 26 bowl appearances.
• The Tar Heels are 1-1 all-time against West Virginia. Both meetings were in bowl games with UNC winning the 1997 Gator Bowl.
