2022 Holiday Bowl Odds - North Carolina vs. Oregon Betting

Holiday Bowl Odds - North Carolina vs. Oregon

The Ducks won nine consecutive games following a season-opening blowout loss to the Georgia Bulldogs but lost two of their final three matchups to fall short of the Pac-12 Championship. It was a tough end, but a strong Year 1 of the Dan Lanning era as the Ducks qualified for their 36th bowl game in program history. Auburn Tigers transfer Bo Nix had a huge season leading an Oregon offense that ranks fifth in yards per play against FBS opponents. UNC enters this game after a brutal loss to Clemson in the ACC Championship. The 93-spot difference between North Carolina’s offensive and defensive rankings might be the widest of any team in the country. The Tar Heels are heading into their 37th bowl game with a 15-21 record in their previous appearances. Last year North Carolina lost 38-21 to South Carolina in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

2022 Holiday Bowl at a Glance

Date: Wednesday, December 28, 2022

Time (ET) / TV: 8:00 PM / ESPN

Venue: Petco Park, San Diego, California

Matchup: North Carlina Tar Heels vs. Oregon Ducks

College Football Betting Lines

North Carlina Tar Heels +13.5

Oregon Ducks -13.5

Total: 71.5

Holiday Bowl Preview

Last game, the North Carolina Tar Heels lost 39-10 against the Clemson Tigers as 7-point dogs. The game went under the total of 64. North Carolina has a record of 9-4 straight up, 6-7 against the spread, and 6-7 over/under the total. North Carolina ranks 15th for total offense, 9th for passing, 64th for rushing, and 23rd for scoring.

Defensively they rank 114th overall, 121st against the pass, 83rd against the rush, and 1054th for points allowed. Also, North Carolina ranks 66th for fewest turnovers lost and 93rd for takeaways.

Last game, the Oregon Ducks lost 38-34 against the Oregon State Beavers as 1-point road dogs. The game went over the total of 56.5. Oregon has a record of 9-3 straight up, 8-4 against the spread, and 7-5 over/under the total. Oregon ranks 4th for total offense, 15th for passing, 14th for rushing and 9th for scoring. Defensively they rank 75th overall, 106th against the pass, 31st against the rush, and 77th for points allowed. Also, Oregon ranks 10th for fewest turnovers lost and 8th for takeaways.

Holiday Bowl Prediction

Oregon’s price is too high in this situation, considering their poor finish to the season.

Holiday Bowl Format

The Holiday Bowl began in 1978, and the matchup currently features schools from the Pac-12 and Big 10, who took over the bowl tie-in from the Big 12. Petco Park, home of the San Diego Padres, will only be the temporary host of this game in 2022. The game will move to the new Aztec Stadium next year. The payout is $6.5 million in the Holiday Bowl.

Holiday Bowl Past Results

The Pac-12 has lost seven of its nine appearances in this bowl game. Utah got off to a great start in the 2018 installment, but Northwestern erased a 20-3 halftime deficit with a 28-point third quarter to win 31-20 as the 'over' connected. Iowa kept up the Pac-12's recent woes when they hammered USC by a 49-24 score as short 'dogs.

The COVID-19 global pandemic wiped out the 2020 installment of this game. The game was expected to return on Dec. 28, 2021, with UCLA of the Pac-12 facing NC State of the ACC. However, mere hours before the Holiday Bowl was to kick off at Petco Park, the Bruins pulled out of the game due to reported COVID issues within its program.

BYU dominated the WAC at the time of the Holiday Bowl’s inception, and the Cougars appeared in the first seven games. Their bowl-record fourth win in 1984 capped a perfect season, and the Cougs were named National Champions after knocking off Michigan. The WAC’s agreement called for the league champion to play in the bowl, and BYU came back to defeat a mediocre Wolverine team. BYU was the only undefeated team in college football that season and the last non-Power Five team to win the National Championship.

Thanks to BYU, the Holiday Bowl got a reputation for miraculous finishes. BYU erased a 20-point deficit to SMU in the last two minutes of the 1980 game, getting a game-tying touchdown pass from Jim McMahon on the final play. The extra point gave BYU a 46-45 win.

In 1983 quarterback Steve Young accomplished a rare feat in the game of football. He caught the game-winning touchdown pass in the final seconds to give BYU a win over Missouri.

He also threw a scoring pass and ran for a touchdown. Six different BYU quarterbacks have earned game MVP honors. Along with McMahon and Young, Marc Wilson, Robbie Bosco, Ty Detmer, and John Walsh took home the hardware.

Most All-Time Wins

Along with the most victories of any school in the Holiday Bowl, BYU easily has the most appearances. The Cougars appeared in 11 of the game’s first 16 contests and haven’t been back since losing to Ohio State in 1993. The Buckeyes are the only team the Cougars faced twice, and BYU dropped both.

While the Pac-12 is considered the best conference in the western part of the country, the success hasn’t translated to the Holiday Bowl. Since the then Pac-10 aligned with the game in 1998, conference teams have gone just 7-15, haven’t won back-to-back games, and have dropped seven of the last eight matchups.

2022-23 College Football Bowl Games

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