Stanford vs. UNC: Score and Reaction for 2016 Sun Bowl

The Stanford Cardinal denied a late two-point conversion attempt to preserve a 25-23 victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels in the Sun Bowl on Friday in El Paso, Texas.

In what may be his final college game, Mitch Trubisky likely made a big impression on NFL scouts. The North Carolina quarterback finished 23-of-39 for 280 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

With 1:30 left on the clock, Trubisky engineered a 10-play, 97-yard scoring drive that put the Tar Heels in a position to tie the game. The Cardinal brought the house on North Carolina's two-point attempt, and Trubisky didn't stand a chance. CBS Sports shared a replay of the sack:

CBS Sports' Dane Brugler praised Solomon Thomas, who wreaked havoc on Trubisky all game and 

It was a fitting end to the game since the Stanford defense was the biggest reason the Cardinal pulled out the win.

With Christian McCaffrey sitting out the Sun Bowl, the offense gained just 287 total yards, well below its season average (374.1 yards per game).

McCaffrey's replacement, Bryce Love, had a nice game, rushing for 115 yards on 22 carries and catching one pass for 49 yards and a touchdown. 

Stanford's passing game was almost nonexistent, though. Keller Chryst and Ryan Burns combined to go 9-of-17 for 154 yards—a large chunk of which came on Love's 49-yard reception.

The absence of McCaffrey left a big enough hole in the Stanford offense. Compounding matters, the Cardinal lost Chryst to a knee injury in the middle of Friday's game.

The Prospector, UTEP's student newspaper, shared a photo of the junior quarterback on crutches on the sideline:

Yahoo Sports' Dr. Saturday was one of many juxtaposing Chryst's injury with McCaffrey's decision to sit out:

Stanford's offense sputtered without Chryst, but that didn't stop the Cardinal from taking a 13-7 lead at halftime.

The Tar Heels couldn't have asked for a better start after they scored on their first possession of the game. Capping off a 10-play, 71-yard drive, Trubisky threw a dart to Ryan Switzer in the end zone. CBS Sports shared a replay of the pass:

Trubisky is rapidly rising up NFL draft boards, and Pro Football Focus' Steve Palazzolo likes what he has seen from the junior quarterback:

Rather than sparking an offensive outburst in the first half, though, the Tar Heels' scoring drive resulted in their only points through the first two quarters.

Love tied the game with his touchdown reception at the 6:11 mark of the first quarter, and Conrad Ukropina connected on two field goals to put Stanford up six points.

The Cardinal capitalized on good fortune to set up Ukropina's second field goal. On his own 18-yard line, Trubisky ran into the umpire and fumbled the ball, and Stanford recovered. 

Pac-12 Network provided a replay of the turnover:

After Nick Weiler's 51-yard field-goal attempt sailed wide left to begin the second half, Ukropina put three more points on the board with 10:18 left in the third quarter.

The North Carolina defense did well to limit Stanford to only a field goal. The Cardinal had a 1st-and-goal at the 7-yard line. A false start penalty backed them up five yards, and the Tar Heels pressured Burns into committing intentional grounding at the 26-yard line.

Weiler made it a one-score game, 16-10, with a 37-yard field goal, and Jordan Brown found the end zone from five yards out to put North Carolina ahead 17-16 with 2:09 remaining in the third quarter.

InsideCarolina noted how Stanford's offensive issues played a big role in the Cardinal surrendering the lead:

With the offense flailing, the Cardinal defense stepped up in the fourth quarter. Safety Dallas Lloyd intercepted a pass by Trubisky and returned it 19 yards for a touchdown. Stanford's two-point conversion attempt failed, but the team remained up 22-17 with 14:13 left to play.

Stanford Football shared a replay of the pick-six:

Uproxx's Matt Hinton tweeted how Trubisky was turnover-prone Friday after mostly avoiding costly mistakes during the regular season:

North Carolina looked poised to add a field goal on its next drive, but Bobby Okereke sacked Trubisky for a loss of 13 yards on third down, which took the Tar Heels out of field-goal range. At the other end of the field, Ukropina tacked on three points to put the Cardinal up 25-17 with 3:32 remaining in the game.

Trubisky did as much as he could to force overtime in the game's final seconds, but Stanford's front seven sealed the win.

Coming off his team's close Sun Bowl loss, Trubisky may decide to return to North Carolina for his final season. Assuming he goes to the NFL, though, he'll leave a large void in the Tar Heels offense.

Junior running back Elijah Hood will at least be back for 2017, which would help soften the blow of Trubisky's departure. Hood ran for 858 yards and averaged 5.9 yards a carry in 11 games. Should head coach Larry Fedora put a bigger emphasis on the running game, Hood should be in for a big senior season.

No player has been more important for Stanford the last two years than McCaffrey, and after Thomas' performance Friday, he could follow McCaffrey out the door. Replacing those two players won't be easy for the Cardinal.

Stanford will hope Chryst's knee injury isn't too serious, because he and Love will be the cornerstones of the offense in 2017. 

The Cardinal haven't won fewer than eight games under David Shaw, but next year may be his toughest since arriving in 2011.

Postgame Reaction

Fox Sports' Bruce Feldman reported Chryst may have suffered a torn ACL, which is the worst-case scenario for Stanford. He'll at least have plenty of time to recover before the start of next year.

"It's a testament to the character of our team," Thomas said of the victory, per Stanford's official athletics website. "Our team played its hearts out. I wanted to do it for my brothers."

After the game, Fedora discussed North Carolina's play call on the two-point conversion attempt.

"It's a play we've worked on for about two years, and it's got four options to it," he said, per Inside Carolina's Evan Chronis. "We just didn't get it protected well enough to be able to execute it."

Fedora also praised Thomas, per Andrew Carter of the News & Observer. "If you go back and look it seemed like every time there was a play, No. 90 was making it. And I'm not sure we blocked him—I'm not sure that we ever blocked him. He seemed like he made just about every play there was, whether it was downfield or in the backfield.