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UNC Football vs. Temple: Preview, prediction and info

By Zack Pearson

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - AUGUST 31: Sam Howell #7 of the North Carolina Tar Heels drops back to pass against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the Belk College Kickoff game at Bank of America Stadium on August 31, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA - AUGUST 31: Sam Howell #7 of the North Carolina Tar Heels drops back to pass against the South Carolina Gamecocks during the Belk College Kickoff game at Bank of America Stadium on August 31, 2019 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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The UNC Football program gets set to take on Temple in the Military Bowl on Friday afternoon as they look to end the season on a winning note

For the first time since 2016, the North Carolina Tar Heels will be bowling on the football field.

After going 2-0 in their final two games of the year, UNC reached 6-6 and became bowl eligible for the first time since that 2016 season. They will face Temple in the Military Bowl on Friday in Maryland as Mack Brown and his team hope to close out the year on a positive note.

It’s been a weird, yet positive season for the Tar Heels.

They started off 2-0 with wins over South Carolina and Miami and at the time a bowl was almost a lock. Then they suffered a three-game losing streak with losses to Wake Forest, App. State and Clemson. They had the Tigers on the ropes and it took a failed two-point conversion with under a minute left to lose by one.

After UNC rebounded with a win over Georgia Tech, they split their next two to get to 4-4. The Tar Heels then dropped two straight before beating Mercer and NC State to close out the year and become bowl eligible.

If anything, Brown and his staff showed that this program is starting to turn around and go into the right direction. With this season plus a Top 20 recruiting class, a bowl win would be the cherry on the top for the Tar Heels.

They enter this game led by true freshman star Sam Howell who was named the Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Year for his play in 2019. Howell set a new record for most passing yards and touchdowns in program history in a single season and set a new ACC record for most passing touchdowns by a true freshman.

Howell has been the charge for an offense that is full of playmakers. They have a solid run game led by Javonte Williams and Michael Carter, both backs who can take it to the house at any time in the game. Receivers Dyami Brown and Dazz Newsome are both are at 947 receiving yards and could go over 1,000 for the season in this game.

Temple doesn’t have a great defense and there should be some opportunities for the UNC receivers in this one. It could be a big game through the air for Howell and the offense.

On defense, the Tar Heels are led by Chazz Surratt a former quarterback who converted to linebacker this season. So what did he do? Well he went out and led the conference with 110 tackles. Surratt was a force next to fellow linebacker Jeremiah Gemmel and the two will highlight the front seven along with Jason Strowbridge.

The Tar Heels will look to slow down Anthony Russo and the Temple offense which has been prone to turning the football over. Russo has 11 interceptions on the year as the Owls are averaging over 27 points per game.

Key to the game for UNC

Execute. Don’t make things complicated in this one, go out there and execute the game plan and you should come out victorious. The Tar Heels appear to be the better team on paper and they need to go out and prove it on the field.

If UNC can play mistake free football and stop the Owls on defense, they will have a good chance to win this one. But we have seen at times that it could be a problem for this team and they tend to let up. Don’t make that mistake.

I’d like to see UNC get out to a lead early and just keep the foot on the gas enroute to a convincing win.

Player to Watch

Who else but Sam Howell? The quarterback was fantastic for the Tar Heels in his first year as the starter and now he has the chance to cap it off with a bowl win.

Howell has just 7 interceptions on the year and has done a good job of finding open receivers, especially on deep passes. With a vulnerable Temple secondary that gives up 212 yards through the air, Howell will have a chance for a big day in this one.

If he stays mistake free, I don’t see why the Tar Heels wouldn’t be able to put up a lot of points.

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What you need to know

WHAT? North Carolina Tar Heels (6-6) vs. Temple Owls (8-4)
WHEN? Friday, December 27th at Noon.
WHERE? Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland
TV? ESPN
RADIO? Tar Heels Sports Network
WEATHER? Cloudy with a high of 49 degrees.
ALL-TIME SERIES? First matchup between the two teams
PREDICTION? UNC 27, Temple 24

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