Maye vs. Nix | Tenfold rise in pressure | 2022 Holiday Bowl
2 min read
The 2022 Holiday Bowl featured two of the nation's top quarterbacks in Drake Maye and Bo Nix. Maye's explosive first half set the stage, but Nix responded with an epic fourth quarter.
The 2022 Holiday Bowl featured two of the nation’s best quarterbacks in UNC’s Drake Maye and Oregon’s Bo Nix. In Maye versus Nix, the first half largely belonged to Maye, as he threw for three touchdowns. He also had two other potential touchdown passes dropped by receivers. Meanwhile, Nix -as he did in his first career collegiate performance versus Oregon– saved his best for the waning moments.
In what would become one of the 2024 NFL Draft’s best previews, DraftNasty goes inside the epic battle. Nix -despite a nagging foot injury over the second half of 2022- entered the contest playing his best football. In the Ducks final six games (4-2), he completed 72.5-percent of his passes with a 15-to-three (15:3) touchdown-to-interception ratio.
Meanwhile, Maye’s season largely went in the other direction. The 2022 ACC Offensive Player of the Year sparkled with 34 touchdown passes in the Tar Heels first ten games (9-1). However, in the three contests thereafter, Maye completed 59-percent of his passes. In addition, he threw just one touchdown and four interceptions during the three-game stretch.
Did Maye or Nix handle the pressure during the game’s critical moments? Which quarterback converted the key third downs? Were the defense’s respective disguise elements a factor in the game?
Most importantly, did the game become a tale of both quarterback’s seasons as a whole? The pressure was tenfold during the fourth quarter of this instant classic.
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