The goal, after bowl losses the previous two seasons for Oregon's veterans, and a defeat in the 2022 regular-season finale under first-year head coach Dan Lanning, could be summed up in one word: Finish.

Finish for seniors like Alex Forsyth who had weathered multiple coaching changes amid careers played during a pandemic. Finish for a new coach who was embarking on what the Ducks hope will be a long, fruitful tenure. Finish for the memory of a teammate, Spencer Webb, lost in a tragic accident over the summer.

Over the course of the second half in Wednesday's Holiday Bowl, the Oregon football team only led for 19 seconds. But those were the last 19 seconds of the game, as the Ducks took the lead on a Chase Cota touchdown reception and an extra point by Camden Lewis that hit an upright and caromed in, giving the UO football program a 28-27 win over North Carolina at Petco Park.

"We talked about it going into the game, that we'd played 720 minutes of football this season, and we had to play 60 more," said Lanning, who led the Ducks to a 10-3 record in his first season as head coach, and their first bowl win since 2019. "And we played all 60 of it."

With quarterback Bo Nix still limited by the injury he suffered late in the regular season, the Ducks leaned early on the running of Bucky Irving. He accounted for 151 yards in the game with two touchdowns, both in the first half as the Ducks took a 14-7 lead. But after the Tar Heels tied it, 14-14, a fluky interception that deflected off one North Carolina defender's calf and another's foot before being picked off set up a go-ahead touchdown just before halftime.

It would be the middle of the fourth quarter before the Ducks would score again. Following a clutch defensive play by Casey Rogers that forced North Carolina to settle for a field goal, Troy Franklin got the Ducks within 24-21 with a touchdown with 6:58 remaining. After Oregon' s defense forced the Tar Heels to settle for another field goal, Nix went 5-of-6 passing for 56 yards on the game-winning touchdown drive.

The last completion was to Cota, on a play Nix suggested during a timeout. It was score-or-go-home for the Ducks, who were facing fourth-down-and-the-game. Cota came through, scoring the game-winning touchdown in the Holiday Bowl 28 years after his father, Chad, was the MVP of Oregon's historic Rose Bowl team in 1994.

"It was too perfect — too perfect of an ending," Cota said. "For it to be the last second, for us offensively to come through, I'll never forget it."

The first half could be generalized as a duel between Irving for the Ducks and North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye. Irving had 117 yards and both Oregon scores in the first half, while Maye had 188 yards of total offense and three touchdown passes in staking the Tar Heels to a 21-14 halftime lead.

The Ducks were playing without three defensive starters who had opted out of the bowl game to prepare for the NFL draft, plus a handful of other regulars who entered the transfer portal. The team's two leading tacklers Wednesday ended up being Keith Brown and Mase Funa, with seven each. Both of those Ducks started in place of a teammate who declared for the draft.

"Young guys knew they were going to play, so at practice they had to get good quality reps," said linebacker Jeffrey Bassa, who added six tackles in the game. "It really came down to, what are you going to do with your opportunity? Coach Lanning preached it all week — young guys, you better be ready to step up."

Prior to kickoff Wednesday, there was ample chatter about guys on both sides who wouldn't participate in the game — coaches who had left for other jobs, players seeking greener pastures elsewhere. Which team would prove it wanted a win Wednesday the most?

For Oregon, Irving set the early tone. He scored his first touchdown less than four minutes into the game. Then, early in the second quarter, he deftly capitalized on blocks from teammates Steven Jones, Cam McCormick, TJ Bass and Franklin to weave his way through the North Carolina defense all the way to a 66-yard score.
If anyone's motivation was going to be questioned Wednesday, it wouldn't be Irving.

"I had a bad taste in my mouth from the Oregon State loss," Irving said. "So I had a chip on my shoulder."

Though North Carolina answered Irving's second touchdown to tie it, Oregon seemed well on its way to continuing its dominance this season in the "middle 8" minutes of the game. Nix and the UO offense took over with 4:34 left in the first half and milked the next four minutes off the clock while driving down into the red area.

Then: disaster. A Nix pass thrown a little off the mark was deflected into the air off a UNC defender's calf, toward another Tar Heel who kept it alive off the toe of his cleat before hauling in the interception. The return went to midfield, and Maye followed on the next play with his third touchdown pass of the first half.

"I was ticked off," said Nix, who finished the game 23-of-30 passing for 205 yards and two scores. "I was mad I put my team in that position. It wasn't a great play on my part. … (But) it goes back to the 22 guys who are out there playing; if one of us falls down, they pick us up."

It took a while for the UO offense to pick itself back up and dust itself off. But the defense had their backs, holding the Tar Heels scoreless in the third quarter to maintain the 21-14 deficit entering the fourth.

Early in the fourth quarter came one of the biggest plays of the game, illuminated by the benefit of hindsight. North Carolina had third-and-goal from the 9-yard line, and Maye — who had burned the Ducks on the ground all night — tucked the ball and headed for the goal line. He was inside the 5-yard line when Rogers came flying into the play and dragged Maye down short of the end zone.

North Carolina opted for the safe decision and kicked a field goal. Had Maye converted that touchdown, Oregon's late rally wouldn't have been enough to close the gap.

"That quarterback is one of a kind — everything everyone was saying about him was proved right," Rogers said. "But something I live by is, effort is non-negotiable. There's no reason not to give 100 percent; that's how my parents raised me. And you know, luckily effort sometimes can save a game."

Down two scores with less than 10 minutes to play, Oregon was forced to utilize tempo and try to stretch the field offensively. The sense of urgency paid off quickly, with a touchdown pass by Nix to Franklin less than three minutes later. After another UNC field goal, the Ducks took over down 27-21 with 2:29 to play.

Two receptions by Noah Whittington got Oregon's engine revving. Then, tight end Terrance Ferguson hauled in a pass and bounced off several would-be tacklers to get across midfield. Two plays later, Nix tried to hit Franklin in the end zone, and UNC was flagged for pass interference.

A run by Nix, an incompletion and a short run by Whittington set up fourth down from the 6-yard line. The Ducks took timeout, and Nix suggested running a play that gave him multiple options, and that had proven successful in practices all year.

Was the coaching staff open to the idea?

"We're all in agreement," Lanning said, "you believe in your quarterback."

The belief paid off. Oregon finished off the drive with a touchdown, finished off the game by knocking down a Hail Mary attempt from midfield, and finished off
Lanning's first season as head coach with 10 wins and a bowl victory.

In a word, the Ducks finished.