And because I am in no way willing to give Meineke free advertising this bowl will henceforth be called the Car Bowl on THF.
My initial response? It's a bowl game and if the Heels win it will be a good finish to a strong second season under Butch Davis. Yes, the fortnight of missed opportunity which cost UNC a shot at the ACC title still sucks but I am satisfied with the place the program is at looking forward.
As much as there were still hopes the Heels would get a shot at a higher tier bowl it obvious the folks who run these bowls would rather take local teams available or in the case of the Gator Bowl, a team in Clemson who is not that terribly far away and known to travel. UNC is also a plum pickup for the Car Bowl since it is in Charlotte and attendance should be good.
UNC's opponent will be West Virginia and mark the 3rd time this season UNC has played a Big East school having already dispatched Rutgers and UConn. It should be a good matchup. It is also important to remember that getting a bowl game means another extra month of practice other teams might not get. So winning the bowl game is nice but the key aspect is the ability to work with the underclassmen a little while longer looking towards next season.