The 1995 Carquest Bowl (December) was a

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

postseason bowl game between the Arkansas Razorbacks and the

North Carolina Tar Heels The North Carolina Tar Heels are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The name Tar Heel is a nickname used to refer to individuals from the state of North Carolina, the ''Tar Heel ...

Background

Arkansas finished first in the Western Division of the SEC, getting the chance to play Florida in the SEC Championship Game, though they would lose 34-3. This was their first bowl game since 1991. They had lost the last five bowl games they played in. The Tar Heels finished fifth in the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

, with wins over Duke and NC State making them bowl eligible. They were in a bowl for the fourth time in eight seasons under Brown. The two teams had met just one time before, in the

1981 Gator Bowl The 1981 Gator Bowl was an American college football bowl game played on December 28, 1981, at Gator Bowl Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. The game pitted the Arkansas Razorbacks and the North Carolina Tar Heels. The game was played under fogg ...

, which the Tar Heels won, 31-27.

Game summary

*Arkansas – Lucas 25 pass from Lunney (Latourette kick) *North Carolina – Ashford 18 pass from M. Thomas (Welch kick) *Arkansas – Latourette 26 FG *North Carolina – L. Johnson 28 run (Welch kick) *North Carolina – Stevens 87 pass from M. Thomas Anthony Lucas caught a 25 yard pass from Barry Lunney to give the Razorbacks an early lead, but Darrin Ashford’s 18-yard TD catch from quarterback Mike Thomas tied the game at 7–7. The second quarter passed with no points. Todd Latourette gave the Hogs a 10–7 lead on his field goal in the third period, but the Tar Heels took the lead for the second and final time on Thomas' pitch to Johnson for 28 yards to make it 14–10. Thomas threw another touchdown pass, this time to L.C. Stevens, to make it 20–10 as the Tar Heels held on from there to win. Johnson ran for 195 yards on 29 carries and was named MVP.

Aftermath

Arkansas reached just one more bowl game in the decade, while North Carolina reached three more. North Carolina returned to the bowl site (now called the Russell Athletic Bowl) in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, which they lost 49-38 to Baylor. Arkansas has never returned.

Statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:1995 Carquest Bowl (12)

Carquest Bowl The Cheez-It Bowl is an annual college football bowl game that is played in Orlando, Florida, at Camping World Stadium. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group which also organizes the Citrus Bowl and the Florida Clas ...

Pop-Tarts Bowl Arkansas Razorbacks football bowl games North Carolina Tar Heels football bowl games Sports competitions in Miami Gardens, Florida 1995 in sports in Florida December 1995 sports events in the United States