Without its star running back for the entire game and minus its starting quarterback for most of the game, No. 16 Stanford relied on its defense all the way to the end of the Sun Bowl.
The defense had a sack on a two-point conversion play with 25 seconds remaining, allowing Stanford to hold off North Carolina for a 25-23 victory on Friday at Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas.
"Two teams that play aggressively and play tough," Stanford coach David Shaw said.
Dallas Lloyd's 19-yard return of an interception in the first minute of the fourth quarter gave Stanford the lead in what became an eventful fourth quarter.
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North Carolina drove 97 yards with less than two minutes to play to move into position to tie. Quarterback Mitch Trubisky scrambled and threw a 2-yard scoring pass to receiver Bug Howard. But on the ensuing conversion play, he never had a chance to get a pass off.
North Carolina coach Larry Fedora said the Tar Heels called a play they had been working out for two years. Defensive end Solomon Thomas, who was name the game's Most Valuable Player, was the first Stanford player to reach Trubisky.
"We just didn't get it executed," Fedora said.
Conrad Ukropina kicked four field goals for Stanford (10-3), which reached its sixth 10-win season in a decade. He has a school-record 22 field goals for the season.
Shaw became the first Stanford coach to direct four bowl victories.
"The week has been phenomenal," Shaw said. "It has been just a great experience."
Stanford had a chance to put the game away, but a North Carolina goal-line stand left the Cardinal with a field goal at the 3:23 mark and a 25-17 advantage.
"I was proud of how the guys fought back and put ourselves in position, but we just didn't get it done," Fedora said.
Stanford played most of the game without starting quarterback Keller Chryst, who left late in the first quarter with a knee injury.
The Cardinal were already without standout running back Christian McCaffrey, who chose not to play so he could prepare for his early entry into the NFL Draft.
Stanford running back Bryce Love gained 115 yards on 22 carries.
Trubisky finished 23 of 39 for 280 yards.
North Carolina (8-5) led 17-16 late in the third quarter after running back Jordon Brown ran 5 yards for his first career touchdown. That capped a nine-play, 68-yard drive.
Ukropina connected from 44, 33, 43 and 27 yards. However, he had a second-quarter attempt from 36 yards bounce off the upright, negating points after Lloyd's first interception of Trubisky.
Stanford scored only three points after taking over in North Carolina territory after two first-half turnovers by Trubisky.
"I thought our defense did what we needed them to do," Fedora said.
Stanford pulled even with 6:11 to play in the first quarter when Love scored on a 49-yard pass from Chryst when there was a breakdown in coverage.
The Cardinal built a 16-7 lead with field goals.
Nick Weiler's 37-yard field goal midway through the third quarter cut North Carolina's deficit to 16-10.
North Carolina struck first on Trubisky's 19-yard touchdown pass to receiver Ryan Switzer, capping the team's first drive that covered 71 yards.
The Tar Heels gained only 55 yards for the rest of the first half and their first possession of the second half ended in Weiler's missed 51-yard field goal attempt.
NOTES: North Carolina senior WR Ryan Switzer became the school's career leader in receiving yards by going above 2,840. ... North Carolina was in the Sun Bowl for the first time since 1994 and now has a 2-3 record in the bowl. ... Stanford most recently played in the 2009 Sun Bowl and now is 3-1 in the event. ... Tar Heels coach Larry Fedora was a Baylor assistant coach for a 1992 Sun Bowl victory over Arizona. ... This was the third North Carolina-Stanford game, with the teams splitting a home-and-home series in 1997 and 1998. ... Announced attendance Friday was 42,166.
