The 1982 Sun Bowl was a

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

postseason bowl game that featured the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels (also Carolina Tar Heels) are the college sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to ...

and the

Texas Longhorns The Texas Longhorns are the athletic teams representing the University of Texas at Austin. The teams are sometimes referred to as the Horns and take their name from Longhorn cattle that were an important part of the development of Texas, and ...

Background

The Tar Heels had finished tied for 3rd in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, the ACC's eighteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athlet ...

. This was North Carolina's third Sun Bowl in 10 years, and first since 1974, in their fourth straight season going to a bowl. The Longhorns had finished 2nd in the

Southwest Conference The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference also included schools from Oklaho ...

after a loss to #4 SMU, though Texas qualified for a bowl for their 6th straight season. This was the Longhorns' third Sun Bowl in four years, and first since 1979. The two teams had faced off in a bowl just two years earlier. Snow flurries and a wind chill reading around 12 degrees were prevalent during the game.

Game summary

Ronnie Mullins recovered a blocked punt in the endzone to give the Longhorns a 7–0 first quarter lead. The Tar Heels responded with a Rob Rogers field goal from 53 yards out in the 2nd quarter.

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's 24 yard field goal made it 10–3 at halftime. Texas had a chance in the 3rd quarter to increase the lead, even having the ball at the Tar Heel 1, but they were stopped short and turned the ball over on downs, as the third quarter went scoreless. With 14:51 remaining in the game, Rogers made a field goal from 47 yards out to make it 10–6. Brooks Barwick added field goals from 23 and 42 yards, the latter making it 12–10 Tar Heels with 4:56 left.

Ethan Horton Ethan Shane Horton (born December 19, 1962) is an American former professional football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL). He played one season as a running back for the Kansas City Chiefs (1985), and seven seaso ...

ran for a 3 yard score that made it 19–10 with 2:17 remaining. On the ensuing Longhorn drive, a fumble in the endzone led to a

Mike Wilcher Michael D. Wilcher (born March 20, 1960) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the North Carolina Tar Heels. He played in the NFL from 1983 ...

recovery for a touchdown that made the score 26–10 with 1:35 to go. The rest of the time went scoreless as North Carolina beat Texas in a bowl once again, while also being the first ACC team to win 4 straight bowl games. Texas had just 48 total yards in the second half. Ethan Horton rushed for 119 yards on 27 carries.

Scoring summary

*Texas – Mullins recovers blocked punt in end zone (Allegre kick) *North Carolina – Rogers 53 FG *Texas – Allegre 24 FG *North Carolina – Rogers 47 FG *North Carolina – Barwick 24 FG *North Carolina – Barwick 42 FG *North Carolina – Horton 3 run (Barwick kick) *North Carolina – Wilcher recovers fumble in end zone (Barwick kick)

Aftermath

The Tar Heels returned to the Sun Bowl in the same year the Longhorns did in

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

resulting in a 35–31 Texas victory.

Statistics

References

Sun Bowl The Sun Bowl is a college football bowl game that has been played since 1935 in the southwestern United States at El Paso, Texas. Along with the Sugar Bowl and Orange Bowl, it is the second-oldest bowl game in the country, behind the Rose Bowl. ...

Sun Bowl North Carolina Tar Heels football bowl games Texas Longhorns football bowl games 1982 in sports in Texas December 1982 sports events in the United States {{Collegefootball-bowl-stub