Attendance: 50,612 Partly Cloudy (54 Degrees) North Carolina 7 10 0 14 31 Texas 7 14 0 14 35 First Quarter 11:06 UNC - Curtis Johnson 11-yd run (Tripp Pignetti kick); Drive: 10 plays, 78 yards 4:37 UT - Priest Holmes 1-yd run (Phil Dawson kick); Drive: 9 plays, 72 yards Second Quarter 14:49 UT - Norman Watkins 8-yd fumble return (Dawson kick) 9:57 UNC - Pignetti 25-yd field goal; Drive: 12 plays, 72 yards 6:05 UT - Holmes 1-yd run (Dawson kick); Drive: 9 plays, 64 yards 0:28 UNC - Marcus Wall 8-yd pass from Mike Thomas (Pignetti kick); Drive: 9 plays, 74 yards Fourth Quarter 13:35 UNC - Wall 82-yd punt return (Pignetti kick) 9:13 UNC - Octavus Barnes 50-yd pass from Thomas (Pignetti kick); Drive: 5 plays, 79 yards 6:35 UT - Holmes 9-yd run (Dawson kick); Drive: 8 plays, 68 yards 1:17 UT - Holmes 5-yd run (Dawson kick); Drive: 10 plays, 68 yards Team Statistics UNC UT First Downs 25 26 Att-Net Yards Rush 44-180 44-229 Pass Comp-Att-Int 23-40-1 15-32-1 Net Yards Passing 298 196 Total Plays-Yards 84-478 76-425 Fumbles-Lost 2-1 3-1 Punts-Avg 5-35.4 6-35.8 Penalties-Yards 6-58 7-55 Time of Possession 28:45 31:15   Individual Statistics Texas Rushing (Att./Yds/TD): Priest Holmes (27-161-4); James Brown (7-43-0); Rodrick Walker (9-19-0); Eric Jackson (1-6-0). Passing (Comp./Att./Int./Yds/TD): James Brown (15-31-1-196-0); Curtis Jackson (0-1-0-0-0). Receiving (No./Yds/Avg.): Pat Fitzgerald (6-60-0); Priest Holmes (2-44-0); Curtis Jackson (1-34-0); Lovell Pickney (3-29-0); Eric Jackson (1-12-0); Rodrick Walker (1-12-0); Juan Kemp (1-5-0). Punting (No./Yds/Avg.): Duane Vacek (6-215-35.8). North Carolina Rushing (Att./Yds/TD): Curtis Johnson (17-70-1); Leon Johnson (15-70-0); Marcus Wall (2-30-0); William Henderson (5-16-0); Mike Thomas (3-4-0); Malcolm Marshall (1-minus 1-0); Jason Stanicek (1-minus 9-0). Passing (Comp./Att./Int./Yds/TD): Mike Thomas (23-39-1-298-2); Jason Stanicek (0-1-0-0-0). Receiving (No./Yds/Avg.): Octavus Barnes (9-165-1); Marcus Wall (7-82-1); William Henderson (3-42-0); Leon Johnson (3-13-0); Curtis Johnson (1-minus 4-0). Punting (No./Yds/Avg.): Mike Thomas (5-177-35.4).

EL PASO, Texas -- Priest Holmes’ record-setting performance fueled a 35-21 victory against No. 19 North Carolina and eventual Texas head coach Mack Brown.

The unranked Longhorns found themselves in an early 7-0 hole after the Tar Heels drove 78 yards in 10 plays on the opening drive of the game.

Later in the first, after UNC’s Tripp Pignetti missed a 45-yard field goal, the Longhorns took over at their own 28 and began the march for their first score. James Brown completed three passes for 52 yards and Holmes gained 16 yards on three carries, including a one-yard touchdown plunge, to knot the game at 7-7.

The Texas defense put the next seven points on the board when Tony Brackens sacked UNC’s Mike Thomas, who coughed up the ball deep in Tar Heel territory. Norman Watkins snatched it up and ran eight yards for the score on the first play of the second quarter. Watkins actually fumbled the ball at the one and recovered his own miscue to give the Horns a 14-7 advantage.

Following a 25-yard Pignetti field goal that cut the lead to three, Holmes was at it again. The Longhorns drove 63 yards in eight plays and were facing a fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line. On the ninth play, Holmes burst through the line for the score to give Texas a 21-10 lead with 6:05 left in the half.

The Tar Heels answered with less than 30 seconds to play when Thomas capped a nine-play, 74-yard drive with an eight-yard touchdown to Marcus Wall and the score was 21-17 at the break.

After a scoreless third quarter, Wall regained the lead for Carolina when he returned a Duane Vacek punt 82 yards for the score at the 13:35 mark of the final quarter. Just four minutes later, Octavus Barnes hauled in a 50-yard touchdown reception to give the Heels a 31-21 lead with nine minutes to play.

On the ensuing possession, Brown marched Texas 68 yards in eight plays and cut the lead to 31-28 on a nine-yard score by Holmes.

The Texas defense took to the field and did its job by forcing the Heels to go three-and-out, and with 5:41 remaining the Horns had the ball at their own 32.

The final series was all Holmes as he caught an 11-yard pass and rushed six times for 32 yards, including a spectacular five-yard touchdown on which he took off at the four-yard-line and soared over the UNC defense for the winning touchdown.

Holmes, who finished with 161 yards rushing, tied Longhorns great Bobby Layne for most touchdowns in a bowl game (4).