North Carolina selected for Military Bowl; Tar Heels will face Temple on Dec. 27

Chapel Hill, N.C. — The North Carolina football program has been selected to play in the Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman against Temple, the game’s selection committee announced Sunday.

This will be the 34th bowl game in Carolina football’s history and its first since 2016.

The Military Bowl is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 27 with kickoff scheduled for noon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md.

The game is scheduled to air on ESPN.

This will be Carolina football’s first trip to the Military Bowl and its first game against Temple.

Carolina finished the regular season 6-6 and 4-4 (T-3rd) in the ACC Coastal in head coach Mack Brown’s return to Chapel Hill.

The squad placed 11 student-athletes on All-ACC teams including first-team linebacker Chazz Surratt and the league’s Rookie and Offensive Rookie of the Year Sam Howell.

Under the guidance of offensive coordinator Phil Longo, the offense posted 469 yards per game, which ranked 14th nationally, while scoring 31.3 points per game.

The defense, under co-coordinators Jay Bateman and Tommy Thigpen, was one of the nation’s most improved this season. The unit improved by 56 spots (9.9 points) in scoring defense, 54 spots (66 yards) in total defense, and 53 spots (69 yards) in rushing defense.

Temple, representing the American Athletic Conference, currently stands at 8-4 and finished 5-3, which was good for third in the AAC East.

The Owls placed seven players on the All-AAC teams including defensive end Quincy Roche, who was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Coached by Rod Carey, Temple ranked third in the AAC in total defense, allowing 364.8 yards per game, while posting 3.25 sacks per game and 7.8 TFL. The Owls’ offense ranked eighth in the conference, tallying 402 yards per game.