 Despite the loss of most of the team's defensive stars of the last three years, the Tar Heels were expected to pick up right where they left off in 1998.However, they never really recovered from an unexpected loss to Miami (Ohio) to open the 1998 season, during which Carolina went 6-5 and barely managed to qualify for a bowl appearance.Torbush led the Tar Heels to the Las Vegas Bowl, where they defeated San Diego State by a score of 20–13.