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Temple will face North Carolina in the Military Bowl

Temple returns to the bowl in Annapolis after playing Wake Forest in the 2016 game.

Temple defensive back Ayron Monroe takes down Memphis receiver Kedarian Jones (13) during the fourth quarter of an American Athletic Conference football game Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019, at Lincoln Financial Field. The Owls went on to win, 30-28. LOU RABITO / Staff
Temple defensive back Ayron Monroe takes down Memphis receiver Kedarian Jones (13) during the fourth quarter of an American Athletic Conference football game Saturday, Oct. 12, 2019, at Lincoln Financial Field. The Owls went on to win, 30-28. LOU RABITO / StaffRead moreLOU RABITO / Staff

As expected, Temple will face North Carolina in the Military Bowl on Friday, Dec. 27, at Navy Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis, Md. The noon game will be televised by ESPN.

Earlier Sunday, The Inquirer was told that the Owls would be the favorite to play in the game.

This is a game that matches teams from the American Athletic Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference.

Temple played in the 2016 Military Bowl, losing to Wake Forest, 34-26. The school’s proximity to the game is in favor of the Owls.

The attendance or the 2016 game was 26,656 in the 34,000-seat stadium.

Temple is 8-4 and has won three of its last four. This is the fifth straight year that the Owls will be in a bowl game and ninth overall.

North Carolina, guided by legendary coach Mack Brown, is 6-6 and has won two in a row.

“We are very excited to participate in the Military Bowl and we are looking forward to spending time in our nation’s capital to see all it has to offer,” Temple head coach Rod Carey said in a statement released by the school. “I’ve really enjoyed my first season here at Temple and only wish that I can spend more time with this outstanding senior class. We want to try and send them off on the right note by being the first group in Temple history to win two bowl games.”

Carey was referring to the 2017 Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl, when the Owls beat Florida International, 28-3.

North Carolina is led by quarterback Sam Howell, a 6-foot-2, 225-pound freshman who has completed 60.3 percent of his passes for 3,347 yards with 35 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He he threw for 401 yards and three touchdowns as the Tar Heels became bowl eligible with a 41-10 win over North Carolina State in their regular-season finale.

Tar Heels junior Michael Carter has rushed for 919 yards (5.8 average) and three touchdowns.

Temple’s calling card, especially lately, has been its defense. The Owls are led by redshirt junior Quincy Roche, the AAC defensive player of the year. Roche leads the conference with 18 tackles for losses and 13 sacks. In his last four games, Roche has 13 tackles for losses and 10 sacks.