| Year game played | 1994 |
|---|---|
| Game name | Sun Bowl |
| Subheader | 61st Sun Bowl |
| Football season | 1994 |
| Visitor name short | Texas |
| Visitor nickname | Longhorns |
| Visitor school | University of Texas |
| Home name short | North Carolina |
| Home nickname | Tar Heels |
| Home school | University of North Carolina |
| Visitor record | 7–4 |
| Visitor conference | SWC |
| Home record | 8–3 |
| Home conference | ACC |
| Visitor coach | John Mackovic |
| Home coach | Mack Brown |
| Home rank ap | 19 |
| Home rank coaches | 14 |
| Home rank bowlcoalition | 17 |
| Visitor 1q | 7 |
| Visitor 2q | 14 |
| Visitor 3q | 0 |
| Visitor 4q | 14 |
| Home 1q | 7 |
| Home 2q | 10 |
| Home 3q | 0 |
| Home 4q | 14 |
| Date game played | December 29 |
| Stadium | Sun Bowl |
| City | El Paso, Texas |
| Mvp | Priest Holmes (RB, Texas)[1] |
| Referee | Chuck McFerrin (Pac-10) |
| Attendance | 50,612 |
| Us network | CBS |
| Us announcers | Jim Nantz, Doug Flutie and Andrea Joyce |
| Different previous | 1993 |
The 1994 Sun Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 29, 1994. The game pitted the unranked Texas Longhorns against the No. 19 North Carolina Tar Heels. The Tar Heels were led by eventual Texas head coach Mack Brown.
The game was a seesaw offensive battle. Texas, down 31–21 midway through the fourth quarter, mounted a comeback to gain a 35–31 victory, with Priest Holmes's leap into the endzone proving to be the winning points.[2] Priest Holmes had 161 yards on 27 carries for four touchdowns to lead the Longhorns to victory and give him MVP honors.[3] A record 50,612 attended this game, a high for both the bowl game and the stadium.[4]
This was the first time since 1988 that the Sun Bowl was played under its original name after five years of title sponsorship from John Hancock Insurance.
Scoring summary
First quarter
- North Carolina – Curtis Johnson 11-yd run (Tripp Pignetti kick); Drive: 10 plays, 78 yards, 11:06 remaining
- Texas – Priest Holmes 1-yd run (Phil Dawson kick); Drive: 9 plays, 72 yards, 4:37 remaining
Second quarter
- Texas – Norman Watkins 8-yd fumble return (Dawson kick), 14:49 remaining
- North Carolina – Pignetti 25-yd field goal; Drive: 12 plays, 72 yards, 9:57 remaining
- Texas – Holmes 1-yd run (Dawson kick); Drive: 9 plays, 64 yards, 6:05 remaining
- North Carolina – Marcus Wall 8-yd pass from Mike Thomas (Pignetti kick); Drive: 9 plays, 74 yards, :28 remaining
Fourth quarter
- North Carolina – Wall 82-yd punt return (Pignetti kick), 13:35 remaining
- North Carolina – Octavus Barnes 50-yd pass from Thomas (Pignetti kick); Drive: 5 plays, 79 yards, 9:13 remaining
- Texas – Holmes 9-yd run (Dawson kick); Drive: 8 plays, 68 yards, 6:35 remaining
- Texas – Holmes 5-yd run (Dawson kick); Drive: 10 plays, 68 yards, 1:17 remaining
Statistics
| Statistics | Texas | North Carolina |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 26 | 25 |
| Rushing yards | 229 | 180 |
| Passing yards | 196 | 298 |
| Total offense | 425 | 478 |
| Return yards | 98 | 115 |
| Passing (C–A–I) | 15–32–1 | 23–40–1 |
| Fumbles–lost | 3–1 | 2–1 |
| Penalties–yards | 7–55 | 6–58 |
| Punts–average | 6–35.8 | 5–35.4 |
| Possession time | 31:15 | 28:45 |
References
- ^ "Priest Holmes – Legends of the Sun Bowl – Hyundai Sun Bowl – December 29, 2017 – El Paso, Texas". www.sunbowl.org
- ^ "'95 BOWL GAMES; Holmes Runs, Vaults and Somersaults to 4 Texas Scores". The New York Times. 31 December 1994.
- ^ "Longhorns hook 'em". The El Paso Times. December 31, 1994. Retrieved February 6, 2024. – via Newspapers.com
- ^ "NCAA Official Scoring Summary - 61st Annual Sun Bowl". sunbowl.org