Orlando Sentinel

IN BRIEF Tar Heels rout Temple, get 1st bowl win since ’13

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Freshman Sam Howell threw for 294 yards and three touchdowns in addition to catching a TD pass, and North Carolina blew out Temple 55-13 in the Military Bowl on Friday in Annapolis, Md., to cap a satisfying return season for Hall of Fame coach Mack Brown.

Howell completed 25 of 34 passes and ran for 53 yards on three carries to help the Tar Heels (7-6) secure their first bowl victory since 2013. North Carolina was 4-6 before winning its last two regular-season games to qualify for a bowl bid.

Temple (8-5) has gone to a bowl game five years in a row — and lost four of them. This was the Owls’ first trip under coach Rod Carey, who came to Temple after a run of six-plus seasons at Northern Illinois in which he was 0-6 in the postseason.

North Carolina went 3-9 in 2017 and 2-9 last year before hiring Brown, who coached the Tar Heels from 1988-97 prior to heading to Texas for a 16-year stay. Coming off a five-year absence from coaching, the 68-year-old Brown can attribute a portion of his success to securing Howell, a high school star in North Carolina who initially committed to Florida State.

Howell threw 38 TD passes this season, most by a true freshman in FBS history. His 3,641 yards passing are an ACC record for a freshman who hasn’t redshirted.

■ Brian Lewerke threw for 320 yards and a TD and ran for a score to lead Michigan State to a 27-21 victory over Wake Forest in the Pinstripe Bowl at Yankee Stadium in New York. Lewerke threw a 10-yard pass to WR Cody White in the third quarter to put the Spartans (7-6) ahead 27-21 and they survived down the stretch to give embattled coach Mark Dantonio his sixth bowl victory. Wake Forest (8-5) missed a chance to win nine games for just the third time in program history . ... Miami fired offensive coordinato­r and QBs coach Dan Enos, one day after the Hurricanes were shut out by Louisiana Tech in the Independen­ce Bowl and finished with a 6-7 record. Enos was with Miami for only one season. The Hurricanes finished the year on a three-game losing streak . ... Kenny Pickett threw a 25-yard TD pass to Taysir Mack with 47 seconds left and Pittsburgh held on to beat Eastern Michigan 34-30 in the Quick Lane Bowl on Thursday night in Detroit. After taking its first lead of the game, Pittsburgh (8-5) then forced Eastern Michigan (6-7) to turn it over on downs from its 40. That sealed Pitt’s first bowl victory in five appearance­s under coach Pat Narduzzi. Eastern Michigan QB Mike Glass was ejected with 10 seconds left after throwing punches at two players. Eagles CB Kevin McGill was ejected earlier for unsportsma­nlike conduct.

Soccer: Matt Doherty scored in the 90th minute to complete host Wolverhamp­ton’s comeback from two goals down to beat 10-man Manchester City 3-2, dealing a further blow to the champions’ faint hopes of a third consecutiv­e Premier League title. City stands third in the standings halfway through the season, 14 points behind leader Liverpool.

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