2021 Orange Bowl (January)

2021 Capital One Orange Bowl
87th Orange Bowl
Texas A&M Aggies North Carolina Tar Heels
(8–1) (8–3)
SEC ACC
41 27
Head coach: 
Jimbo Fisher		 Head coach: 
Mack Brown
APCoachesCFP
555
APCoachesCFP
141413
1234 Total
Texas A&M 710024 41
North Carolina 31077 27
DateJanuary 2, 2021
Season2020
StadiumHard Rock Stadium
LocationMiami Gardens, Florida
MVPDe’Von Achane (RB, Texas A&M)[1]
FavoriteTexas A&M by 6[2]
National anthemReina Obzay
RefereeLarry Smith (Big Ten)[3]
Attendance13,737
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN and ESPN Radio
AnnouncersESPN: Bob Wischusen (play-by-play)
Dan Orlovsky (analyst)
Katie George (sideline)
ESPN Radio: Sean Kelley and Barrett Jones
Orange Bowl
 < 2019 2021 (Dec.) > 

The 2021 Orange Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 2, 2021, with kickoff scheduled for 8:00 p.m. EST on ESPN.[4] It was the 87th edition of the Orange Bowl, and was one of the 2020–21 bowl games concluding the 2020 FBS football season. Sponsored by bank holding company Capital One, the game was officially known as the Capital One Orange Bowl.

Teams

As one of the New Year's Six bowl games, the participants of the game were determined by the College Football Playoff selection committee. The committee matched No. 5[a] Texas A&M of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) against No. 13[a] North Carolina of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).[5] The programs had not previously met.[6]

Texas A&M Aggies

Main article: 2020 Texas A&M Aggies football team

Texas A&M entered the bowl with an 8–1 record, all in SEC games. Their only loss of the season was to Alabama, a 52–24 defeat. The Aggies defeated one ranked team during the season, Florida, by a score of 41–38. Texas A&M had appeared in one previous Orange Bowl, the 1944 edition.

North Carolina Tar Heels

Main article: 2020 North Carolina Tar Heels football team

North Carolina entered the bowl with an 8–3 record, 7–3 in ACC play. The Tar Heels' losses were to Florida State, Virginia, and ranked Notre Dame. North Carolina defeated three ranked teams during the season: Virginia Tech, NC State, and Miami (FL). This was the first appearance by the Tar Heels in an Orange Bowl.

Game summary

2021 Capital One Orange Bowl
Quarter 1 2 34Total
No. 5 Aggies 7 10 02441
No. 13 Tar Heels 3 10 7727

at Hard Rock Stadium • Miami Gardens, Florida

Game information
First quarter
  • (9:11) TAMU — Isaiah Spiller 9 yard rush, Seth Small kick (Drive: 7 plays, 28 yards, 3:31; Texas A&M 7–0)
  • (4:31) UNC — Grayson Atkins 29 yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 63 yards, 4:40; Texas A&M 7–3)
Second quarter
  • (11:09) UNC — Grayson Atkins 32 yard field goal (Drive: 11 plays, 36 yards, 5:48; Texas A&M 7–6)
  • (7:40) TAMU — Seth Small 25 yard field goal (Drive: 7 plays, 68 yards, 3:29; Texas A&M 10–6)
  • (4:56) UNC — Dazz Newsome 28 yard pass from Sam Howell, Grayson Atkins kick (Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 2:44; North Carolina 13–10)
  • (0:20) TAMU — Isaiah Spiller 3 yard rush, Seth Small kick (Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards, 4:36; Texas A&M 17–13)
Third quarter
  • (8:01) UNC — Josh Downs 10 yard pass from Sam Howell, Grayson Atkins kick (Drive: 9 plays, 66 yards, 3:25; North Carolina 20–17)
Fourth quarter
  • (14:02) TAMU — Seth Small 23 yard field goal (Drive: 12 plays, 74 yards, 5:31; Tied 20–20)
  • (13:51) UNC — Josh Downs 75 yard pass from Sam Howell, Grayson Atkins kick (Drive: 1 plays, 75 yards, 0:11; North Carolina 27–20)
  • (10:11) TAMU — Kellen Mond 4 yard rush, Seth Small kick (Drive: 7 plays, 75 yards, 3:40; Tied 27–27)
  • (3:44) TAMU — De’Von Achane 76 yard rush, Seth Small kick (Drive: 3 plays, 87 yards, 1:23; Texas A&M 34–27)
  • (1:34) TAMU — De’Von Achane 1 yard rush, Seth Small kick (Drive: 3 plays, 34 yards, 0:50; Texas A&M 41–27)

Statistics

Statistics TAMU UNC
First downs 19 18
Plays–yards 61–457 65–324
Rushes–yards 35–225 34–90
Passing yards 232 234
Passing: comp–att–int 16–26–0 18–31–1
Time of possession 32:13 27:47
Team Category Player Statistics
Texas A&M Passing Kellen Mond 16-for-26, 232 yards
Rushing De’Von Achane 140 yards on 12 carries, 2 TD
Receiving Ainias Smith 125 yards on 6 receptions
North Carolina Passing Sam Howell 18-for-31, 234 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing British Brooks 53 yards on 15 carries
Receiving Josh Downs 91 yards on 4 receptions, 2 TD

See also

Notes

  1. ^ a b Per final CFP Rankings released on December 20.

References

  1. ^ @TXMileSplit (January 2, 2021). "2019 UIL 5A 200m champ Devon Achane of FB Marshall helped Texas A&M win the Orange Bowl tonight with 2 TDS helping him win MVP" (Tweet). Retrieved January 2, 2021 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ "College football bowl betting lines released". 247Sports. Retrieved December 20, 2020.
  3. ^ Austro, Ben (December 23, 2020). "2020-21 bowl officiating assignments". footballzebras.com. Retrieved January 2, 2021.
  4. ^ "College Football Bowl Schedule | 2020". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  5. ^ Khan Jr., Sam (December 23, 2020). "Orange Bowl preview: Key players and matchups for Texas A&M-North Carolina". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 30, 2020.
  6. ^ "Texas A&M Aggies vs. North Carolina Tar Heels football series history". winsipedia.com. Retrieved December 30, 2020.