Texas A&M Wins Orange Bowl Over North Carolina 41-27: Reaction, Analysis, 5 Thoughts

Texas A&M wins the Capital One Orange Bowl over North Carolina 41-27. Five thoughts and analysis of the game, and what it all means.

Texas A&M wins the Capital One Orange Bowl over North Carolina 41-27. Five thoughts and analysis of the game, and what it all means.


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Texas A&M wins the Capital One Orange Bowl

Final Score: Texas A&M 41, North Carolina 27
CFN Prediction: Texas A&M 34, North Carolina 20
Line: Texas A&M -10, o/u: 65.5

5. It’ll go down in history as a misleading Orange Bowl – and ACC bowl season

It was a much, much closer game than the 41-27 final score, but stats are stats.

Including the College Football Playoff games, the Orange Bowl continues to be a bit of a dog – at least in the final score.

This game makes it ten of the last 13 decided by double-digits, and going way back, it’s been 18 of the last 25.

It’ll also go down as a misleading bowl season for the ACC.

 

Yeah, it was 0-6 – you are what your record is – but two of the losses came in the College Football Playoff, Wake Forest was an underdog to Wisconsin, NC State was a slight dog to Kentucky, Miami was an underdog to Oklahoma State – and lost QB D’Eriq King to a knee injury just as the team got rolling – and there was this loss.

North Carolina played a whole lot better than 41-27.

The ACC was the dog in five of the six games, but after a wildly fun year getting two teams into the playoff, it was a rough finish.

NEXT: North Carolina gave it a phenomenal run

Texas A&M vs North Carolina: Capital One Orange Prediction, Game Preview

Texas A&M vs North Carolina: Capital One Orange Bowl prediction and game preview.

Texas A&M vs North Carolina: Capital One Orange Bowl prediction and game preview.


Texas A&M vs North Carolina: Capital One Orange Bowl Broadcast

Date: Saturday, January 2
Game Time: 8:00 pm ET
Venue: Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, FL
Network: ESPN

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All of the CFN Fearless Predictions

Texas A&M (8-1) vs North Carolina (8-3) Game Preview

For latest lines and to bet on the NFL, go to BetMGM 


Three Reasons Why You Should Watch The Capital One Orange Bowl

If you like your bowl games with massive contrasts in styles, this is about as big as it gets. North Carolina does a good job of controlling the clock, but it likes to hit the home run, relies on the big plays to overcome too many sleepy lulls during games – at least a few key ones this year – and it’s going to keep on coming with a quick pace that can strike quickly.

However, the offense is missing star RB Javonte Williams and top WR Dyami Brown – they’re both out getting ready for the NFL – and it’s going to need to get used to the tempo slowing down to an almost dead stop.

Texas A&M doesn’t do anything all that fast, but it’s going to come into this was a major attitude after being passed over by the College Football Playoff committee for the fourth spot in the mini-tournament. It plays a deliberate style that dominates the clock, grinds out drives, and makes opposing teams press when they finally get the ball.

It’s a veteran team with a great back in Isaiah Spiller, a veteran QB in Kellen Mond, and a defense that led the SEC in yards allowed and was third in the nation against the run. North Carolina was fourth in the country in yards per carry.

How many other bowl games feature a matchup of national championship-winning head coaches? None, unless it’s Clemson vs. Alabama for the national title.

UNC’s Mack Brown is fantastic in bowls going 10-2 since 2000, and one of those losses was to Alabama for the 2009 national title. However, the Tar Heels have only won three of their last ten bowl games going back to 2001.

On the other side, A&M has won its last two bowls under Jimbo Fisher – and six of its last nine – who’s 6-2 all-time in bowls with one of those losses coming in the 2014 College Football Playoff.

Why Texas A&M the Orange Bowl
Why North Carolina Will Win the Orange Bowl
What’s Going to Happen, Prediction, History

NEXT: Why Texas A&M Will Win, Why North Carolina Will Win, Texas A&M vs North Carolina Prediction