The 1994 Sun Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 29, 1994. The game pitted the unranked Texas Longhorns against the No. 19 North Carolina Tar Heels.^[2] The Tar Heels were led by eventual Texas head coach Mack Brown.

The game was a seesaw offensive battle. Texas, down 31–21 midway through the fourth quarter, mounted a comeback to gain a 35–31 victory, with Priest Holmes's leap into the endzone proving to be the winning points.^[3] Priest Holmes had 161 yards on 27 carries for four touchdowns to lead the Longhorns to victory and give him MVP honors.^[4] A record 50,612 attended this game, a high for both the bowl game and the stadium.^[5]

This was the first time since 1988 that the Sun Bowl was played under its original name after five years of title sponsorship from John Hancock Insurance.

First quarter

• North Carolina – Curtis Johnson 11-yd run (Tripp Pignetti kick); Drive: 10 plays, 78 yards, 11:06 remaining
• Texas – Priest Holmes 1-yd run (Phil Dawson kick); Drive: 9 plays, 72 yards, 4:37 remaining

Second quarter

• Texas – Norman Watkins 8-yd fumble return (Dawson kick), 14:49 remaining
• North Carolina – Pignetti 25-yd field goal; Drive: 12 plays, 72 yards, 9:57 remaining
• Texas – Holmes 1-yd run (Dawson kick); Drive: 9 plays, 64 yards, 6:05 remaining
• North Carolina – Marcus Wall 8-yd pass from Mike Thomas (Pignetti kick); Drive: 9 plays, 74 yards, :28 remaining

Fourth quarter

• North Carolina – Wall 82-yd punt return (Pignetti kick), 13:35 remaining
• North Carolina – Octavus Barnes 50-yd pass from Thomas (Pignetti kick); Drive: 5 plays, 79 yards, 9:13 remaining
• Texas – Holmes 9-yd run (Dawson kick); Drive: 8 plays, 68 yards, 6:35 remaining
• Texas – Holmes 5-yd run (Dawson kick); Drive: 10 plays, 68 yards, 1:17 remaining