5th ranked Texas A&M is facing off against 13th ranked North Carolina in the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. Texas A&M missed the College playoffs to Notre Dame who fell to Alabama 14-31.
It's nice to see Texas A&M back at the top as their only loss came against Nick Saban's Alabama which is currently undefeated at 12-0. North Carolina hasn't found as much success as Texas A&M as they went 8-3 with losses to Florida State, Virginia, and 4th ranked Notre Dame. Virginia and Florida State both struggled greatly this season with Virginia going 5-5 after a late push where they went 4-1, Florida State on the other hand never found their stride as they went 3-6.
Kellen Mond has improved greatly throughout the years and he leads a very solid A&M offense. The defense has been key to A&M's success as they've bailed out the offense during some rocky times especially earlier in the season. Texas A&M's offense is kinda lackluster as they lack firepower with consistent receiver threats aside from tight end Jalen Wydermyer, the receiver corp has lacked depth and experience. As long as they lead this problem should be mostly hidden.
Sam Howell has been the heart and soul of this North Carolina offense as he's been one of the best quarterbacks this season with his production but he'll be without one of his top receivers in Dyami Brown who has topped a thousand yards with 9 touchdowns this season. Unfourtanly for North Carolina that's not the only player they'll be without as they'll also be without running backs Michael Carter, Javonte Williams, and D.J. Jones meaning the passing game will absolutely be vital if North Carolina is gonna win with their best skill player left being Daz Newsome. Not only is this team without their top 3 playmakers on the offense but they'll also be without their best defensive player Chazz Surratt.
I hate to say it as a Texas A&M fan but I think they are a bit overrated fortunately they may have caught a break with all of the opt-outs from North Carolina. I wouldn't be shocked to see a North Carolina win but at the same time North Carolina could fall flat to this A&M defense so I'll be leaning toward the Under in this one as I doubt this will turn into a shoot-out with both teams taking a balanced approach. The most likely potential issue is North Carolina's defense as they have shown to be exploitable this season.
