Everything finally came together for the Tar Heels in 1992. They finished 8–3 in the regular season and second in the Atlantic Coast Conference, and with a victory over Mississippi State in the Peach Bowl, they finished the season at 9–3. The Peach Bowl was the program's first bowl appearance since 1986, first bowl win since 1982, and first appearance in a final Top 25 poll since 1982. The 1992 season was the start of UNC's most successful period since the Charlie Justice era in the late 1940s. Brown coached the Tar Heels to five consecutive bowl games, including UNC's only two New Year's Day bowl games in more than half a century (or three, if one counts the 1992–93 Peach Bowl, which was played the day after New Year's to avoid a conflict with the Sugar Bowl). The Tar Heels were ranked in the AP Top 25 every week from October 1992 through the start of the 1995 season. They finished in the final rankings in four out of five years, including two straight appearances in the top 10. Carolina won 10 regular-season games in 1993, only the second time the Tar Heels accomplished the feat, with the only losses coming to No. 1 Florida State, No. 21 Virginia in the regular season and No. 18 Alabama in the Gator Bowl.