The 2022 Holiday Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 28, 2022, at Petco Park in San Diego, California. The 43rd annual Holiday Bowl, the game featured the Oregon Ducks from the Pac-12 Conference and the North Carolina Tar Heels from the Atlantic Coast Conference. The game began at 5:06 p.m. PST and was aired on Fox. It was one of the 2022âÂÂ23 bowl games concluding the 2022 FBS football season. Sponsored by San Diego County Credit Union, the game was officially known as the San Diego County Credit Union Holiday Bowl.
This was the first Holiday Bowl staged since the 2019 edition, as the 2020 and 2021 editions were canceled due to impact from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Based on conference tie-ins, the game featured teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Pac-12 Conference. This was the first meeting between the two teams. This was Oregon's fourth appearance in the Holiday Bowl, where they have gone 2-1 in previous appearances in 2000 (won against Texas Longhorns, also coached by Mack Brown, 35âÂÂ30), 2005 (lost against Oklahoma Sooners 14âÂÂ17), and 2008 (won against Oklahoma State Cowboys 42âÂÂ31). This was North Carolina's first appearance in the Holiday Bowl.
The Ducks entered the game ranked 15th in the AP Poll (15th in the CFP Poll), with a 9âÂÂ3 record (7âÂÂ2 in conference). The Ducks finished in third place in the Pac-12. Oregon was 3âÂÂ3 against ranked teams.
The Tar Heels entered the game with a 9âÂÂ4 record (6âÂÂ2 in conference). The Tar Heels finished in first place in the ACC's Coastal Division, but lost in the 2022 ACC Championship Game to the Clemson Tigers, 39âÂÂ10. North Carolina was 0âÂÂ1 against ranked teams.