Charlotte bowl selects UNC

For the second straight year, North Carolina qualified for a bowl game.

And for the second straight year, they won’t have far to travel to get there.

The Tar Heels accepted an invitation to play in the 2009 Meineke Car Care Bowl on Dec. 26 in Charlotte.

UNC will face Pittsburgh from the Big East in the postseason contest.

The 4:30 p.m. game will be played in Bank of America Stadium, home of the NFL’s Carolina Panthers, and it will be televised nationally on ESPN.

Tickets can be requested for $40 on tarheelblue.com.

“Our program is excited for the opportunity to play in back-to-back bowl games and make a return trip to Charlotte,” UNC head coach Butch Davis said in a statement.

This will be North Carolina’s 27th bowl game and the third time in Charlotte.

In last year’s Meineke Car Care Bowl, West Virginia used a fourth-quarter comeback to defeat the Tar Heels, 31-30. Wide receiver Hakeem Nicks, now of the NFL’s New York Giants, scored three times for UNC.

This year’s team finished the regular season 8-4. The Tar Heels beat five bowl teams — Connecticut, East Carolina, Virginia Tech, Miami and Boston College.

Pittsburgh finished its regular season 9-3 and ranked 17th in the Associated Press poll. The Panthers’ 5-2 record in the Big East was good for a second-place tie in the conference standings.

Freshman running back Dion Lewis ranks third in the nation in rushing.

To counter, North Carolina has the ACC’s best defensive unit, and it ranks sixth in the country in yards per game.

Four defensive players were named to this year’s All-ACC first team.

North Carolina’s ninth-ranked run defense will have to validate that ranking by trying to contain Lewis.

“The Tar Heels have proven to be a very tough and determined team this season, and we feel that the matchup of North Carolina against Pittsburgh will be a very exciting and competitive game,” said Will Webb, the Meineke Car Care Bowl’s executive director, in a statement.

The Meineke Car Care Bowl has averaged more than 62,000 fans during its first seven years, and it has sold out three times.



Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.