December 18, 1998
LAS VEGAS - Carl Torbush made no apologies when North Carolina lost its first three games. He's sure not going to apologize now for the Tar Heels being in the Las Vegas Bowl.
"I have no embarrassment about being in a bowl game at 6-5," the North Carolina coach said. "I haven't seen such excitement about a bowl game and I believe that's from the anticipation of not knowing if you're going to be a bowl game."
A bowl game certainly didn't seem in North Carolina's future when the Tar Heels lost the first three games of a season they came into ranked No. 12 in the country.
It didn't figure to happen for San Diego State, either, which also started 0-3, only to win seven of its last eight to earn the right to play Dec. 19 against the Tar Heels.
"So we're not 10-1 or 11-0," San Diego State coach Ted Tollner said. "What you've got is two teams that fought back from adversity to be here."
In between posing for pictures with a pair of Las Vegas showgirls, Torbush and Tollner spent much of a press conference promoting the season's first major college bowl game defending their right to be there.
It might seem a letdown for a team that entertained thoughts of an alliance bowl as the season began, but for Torbush it is sweet vindication for players who refused to quit when things seemed at their worst.
North Carolina rebounded to win six of its last eight games, securing a possible bowl spot by beating North Carolina State in overtime in its final game.
"We had some injuries and some off-field problems," Torbush said. "We could have been 8-3 or 3-8. There were a lot of ups and downs through the season."
North Carolina got the bid mainly because it is a name school in a top conference that could add some credibility to a bowl in its seventh year.
It is the seventh straight year the Tar Heels have been to a bowl.
"The one place the team wanted to go and something we fantasized about was Las Vegas," Torbush said. "I've never been here before, and most of our players haven't been here. We think it will be a great experience."
Torbush, a former defensive coordinator named head coach last year, said he looks at the game as a reward for his team, which faced two must-win games in its final two games to get the winning season necessary to be considered eligible for a bowl game.
The Tar Heels did just that, beating Duke 28-6 to even their season record at 5-5 to set up the final regular season game against the Wolf-pack.
North Carolina blew a pair of 21-point leads in that game and fell behind by three in overtime before winning on Oscar Davenport's 14-yard touchdown pass to Na Brown.
San Diego State, meanwhile, also finished the season on a roll after struggling early.
"We would like to be 10-2," Tollner said. "The fact is we're 7-4 and happy to be here."
San Diego State won its spot in the bowl by virtue of its tie with Brigham Young for first in the Western Athletic Conference Pacific Division and its ability to draw fans from a Las Vegas tourism market only 300 miles away.
San Diego State athletic director Rick Bay said some 7,000 tickets have been sold by the school, and he expects 10,000 Aztecs fans for the game.
"It's been a long time since we played in a bowl game, so it's important for us to make a good showing (by bringing fans)," Bay said.
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