Stanford's defense bails out a sputtering offense in Sun Bowl win

Graham Watson

The only thing that stood between North Carolina and forcing overtime in the Hyundai Sun Bowl was Stanford defensive lineman Solomon Thomas.

Thomas, the heart and soul of a tired Cardinal defense, dominated the Tar Heels’ line of scrimmage and sacked quarterback Mitch Trubisky as he attempted to throw a two-point conversion in the final minute of the game.

The sack secured a 25-23 Cardinal win in the Sun Bowl and the third-straight bowl victory for the first time in program history.

Stanford took a 22-17 lead early in the fourth quarter after safety Dallas Lloyd intercepted Trubisky. It was one of Lloyd’s two interceptions on the day; he also had a fumble recovery. After the teams traded punts, North Carolina seemingly got a second wind and Trubisky led his team on a 10-play, 97-yard drive in 1:09 to get within two points. Trubisky made several key passes and rebounded from drops in the end zone.

With 25 seconds remaining, the Tar Heels were just a two-point conversion away from likely forcing overtime. But Trubisky never got the chance as Thomas busted threw the line and ended the game.

North Carolina finished the season a disappointing 8-5, which included losses in three of their last four games.

Stanford's defense helped Cardinal notch third-straight bowl win. (AP)
Stanford’s defense helped Cardinal notch third-straight bowl win. (AP)

While Stanford won the contest, they did sustain a major loss when quarterback Keller Chryst suffered a major knee injury in the first quarter and could not return. Ryan Burns came into the game as a backup, but struggled to get the offense moving — as he had when he was a starter earlier in the season — and finished 6 of 12 for 86 yards.

The Cardinal’s best offense came from running back Bryce Love, who was starting in place of Christian McCaffrey, who opted to skip the bowl game to focus on the NFL draft. Love gave a preview of the Cardinal’s 2017 running game with 119 rushing yards at a 5.7 yards per carry, and a 49-yard touchdown catch.

Stanford, which had ups and downs all season mostly do to inconsistencies on offense, rallied to win its final six games and finish with its sixth 10-win season in the past seven years.

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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter!