WATCH: Bo Nix finds Chase Cota for game-winning touchdown in Holiday Bowl, get crazy bounce on PAT
Bo Nix had his moment. It was fourth down and 2 at the North Carolina six-yard line with 24 seconds to play in the Holiday Bowl, and he needed to get the ball to the end zone if Oregon wanted a chance at victory.
That’s when he found Chase Cota, who managed to get the ball across the plane to tie things up 27-27. And when the PAT somehow went off the the left upright and still made its way across the crossbar, it capped a thrilling game-winning drive for Nix.
He led Oregon to the win — the first bowl victory of the Dan Lanning era.
The extra point was another nail-biter, though, as Camden Lewis’ kick hit the upright and — as he looked away in disappointment — it went through. That put the Ducks ahead and, ultimately, proved to be the difference.
North Carolina took a 21-14 lead into halftime and that score held until the fourth quarter when the Tar Heels made a field goal to make it a 24-14 game. After Oregon scored on a six-yard pass from Nix to Troy Franklin, North Carolina made another field goal to make it 27-21 with 2:29 to play. The rest, as they say, is history.
Nix’s night ended with an impressive stat line as he completed 23 of 30 passes for 205 yards and two touchdowns to lead Oregon to the come-from-behind win. Bucky Irving had a huge day on the ground, as well, rushing for 149 yards — including a 66-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
On the other side, Drake Maye had a nice day, as well. He threw for 206 yards and three touchdowns as he looked to build on an impressive freshman campaign for Mack Brown’s group. Kobe Paysour was the Tar Heels’ leading receiver with 98 yards and a touchdown.
That wasn’t the end of Nix’s college career, though. Earlier this month, he announced his plans to come back next year, and he’s already looking forward to next year.
“We’ve got a good offseason ahead of us,” Nix told FOX sideline reporter Jenny Taft after the game. “It’s important for us. I came back because I felt like there were some things in college that I wanted to do. I didn’t want to pass up on that opportunity. We’re going to have a good offseason, we’re going to prepare and it’s going to be fun.”