Tar Heels To Face South Carolina in Mayo Bowl Matchup
CHAPEL HILL – The North Carolina Tar Heels football team has been selected to play in the 2021 Duke’s Mayo Bowl against South Carolina. The Tar Heels will appear in a bowl game for the third year in a row and the 36th time in program history.
The Duke’s Mayo Bowl will air on ESPN on Thursday, Dec. 30 with an 11:30 a.m. kickoff at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, N.C. This will be Carolina football’s fifth trip to the Queen City for a bowl game.
Tickets for the general public, if available, will go on sale this Thursday, December 9th.
“We’re thrilled that the great people with the Duke’s Mayo Bowl have invited us to participate in their game,” said Carolina head coach Mack Brown. “It’s one of the best bowl games in the country in one of the nation’s finest cities. It’s perfect for a large portion of our roster because their family and friends will easily be able to attend, and it’s another chance for our young men to play in front of our wonderful fans. In addition, the Duke’s Mayo Bowl is renowned for the experiences it provides to its participants. It should be a fun week of events culminating in a fun match-up with South Carolina. We can’t wait to get back to work next week and look forward to having a great time in Charlotte.”
Carolina finished the regular season with a 6-6 overall record and a 3-5 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference’s Coastal Division. The Tar Heels prolific offense ranked third in the league with 36.4 points and 479.9 yards per game
Junior quarterback Sam Howell has set nearly every major UNC passing record in just three seasons. He has accounted for 34 touchdowns and 334.3 total yards per game in 2021. Howell has tossed 23 touchdowns and 2,851 yards through the air and rushed for 825 yards and 11 scores.
Sophomore wide receiver Josh Downs was named first-team All-ACC after setting Carolina records for receptions (98) and receiving yards (1,273), while graduate transfer running back Ty Chandler earned a spot on the all-league second team by rushing for 1,063 yards and scoring 14 total touchdowns in his first season in Chapel Hill.
The defense is led by graduate student Tomon Fox, a sixth-year lineman that notched a team-high 7.5 sacks to gain All-ACC third-team honors. Sophomore defensive lineman Myles Murphy was a second-team selection after posting four sacks and 7.5 tackles for loss. Senior linebacker Jeremiah Gemmel and junior defensive back Cam’Ron Kelly joined Fox on the third team. Gemmel is second at UNC with 73 tackles, while Kelly is tied for the ACC lead with four interceptions.
South Carolina, representing the Southeastern Conference, put together a 6-6 record this season (3-5 in the SEC) under first-year head coach Shane Beamer. The Gamecocks averaged 21.3 points per game, 13th in the SEC, while their defense was sixth in the conference surrendering 357.5 yards per game.
The border rivals have faced off 58 previous times on the football field going back to 1908 with the Tar Heels enjoying a 35-19-4 edge in the series. The most recent meeting was the 2019 season opener in Charlotte that went in favor of UNC, 24-20. Howell orchestrated two fourth-quarter touchdown drives of 98 and 95 yards to earn the win in his collegiate debut and the return to the sidelines of head coach Mack Brown.
Carolina owns a 15-20 record in postseason bowl appearances. In four previous bowl games in Charlotte, UNC lost to Boston College, 37-24, in 2004, lost to West Virginia, 31-30, in 2008, lost to Pittsburgh, 19-17, in 2009 and defeated Cincinnati, 39-17, in 2013.