No. 5 Texas A&M states its case in 41-27 win over North Carolina in 87th Orange Bowl | Opinion

Through no fault of its own, this OB was the Overshadowed Bowl. How could it not have been?

The 87th annual Orange Bowl game, Saturday night at Miami’s Hard Rock Stadium, happened nine days before the same city and stadium will host the College Football Playoff National Championship between Alabama and Ohio State.

The OB previously has hosted 20 national championship games — including three of the Miami Hurricanes’ five crowning wins — so around here anything less is always going to feel like, well, less.

And this Orange Bowl, until recently, looked like it might present a locally coveted matchup between the hometown Hurricanes and the bitter-rival Florida Gators ... until both teams stumbled late.

So we got what we got: Texas A&M Aggies vs. North Carolina Tar Heels to help bring this strangest of all college football seasons nearer the finish line.

Most other years the stadium would have been filled to its 65,000-seat capacity. Saturday saw a mandatory 20 percent maximum on attendance, some 13,000 souls, spread out among all the empty seats, thanks to the ongoing coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic that has had its way with all sports the past 10-plus months, this one included.

(At least the Orange Bowl stayed in Miami, unlike the Rose Bowl, which was played in Texas.)

A&M and UNC did their best, though, give ‘em that. They put on a show. A taut, entertaining game that picked up steam as it went.

Favored Texas A&M defeated North Carolina, 41-27, in what refreshingly for a while was a defensive game until it popped like a pinata and points fell out.

The game tipped to the Aggies on Devon Achane’s 76-yard run down the sideline with 3:44 to play to make it 34-27. He was named the game’s Most Outstanding Player for the play that won it.

Texas A&M arrived as the No. 5-ranked team, which in the era of the four-team CFP means the jilted one, first in line to testify how the playoff needs to be expanded. No. 5 means first team out, and so the Aggies traveled with a giant chip on the collective shoulder, here to prove they should have had a shot at getting what ‘Bama and Ohio State got.

North Carolina, ranked No. 13, was out to earn the respect they’ve perhaps been denied.

Is it possible they both made their point?

It was in this same stadium just a few weeks earlier that North Carolina absolutely shredded the Miami Hurricanes, 62-26, instantly ruining UM’s shot at playing in Saturday’s OB. It continued a disturbing habit of promising Canes seasons ending badly, a trend that played out as Miami’s Cheez-It Bowl loss to Oklahoma State was The U’s 10th loss in its past 11 bowl games.

UNC rushed for an NCAA-record 554 yards on Miami’s defense that night.

On Saturday, the Heels sought to make the place feel like home away from home.

And, remarkably, they did it without their top two running backs, Michael Carter and Javonte Williams, who opted out of the OB to hugely weaken UNC’s chances (or so it seemed). It was a major reason, beyond the rankings, why the Tar Heels were 7 1/2 to 9-point underdogs.

Carter and Williams had combined for 2,385 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns. There seemed to be no way the Heels could manage without them.

There also seemed to be no way a somewhat ordinary North Carolina defense could stop A&M and its quarterback Kellen Mond, who had produced 92 TDs passing or rushing, one behind Johnny Manziel’s school record — before tying Manziel on Saturday night.

It was a quality matchup that started at the top. Texas A&M’s Jimbo Fisher and North Carolina’s Mack Brown are two of only six active FBS coaches who have won a national championship — and the only two to face off in a bowl game. Fisher reigned with Florida State (as Canes fans recall) and Brown with Texas.

Fisher is now 3-0 in Orange Bowls and 7-0 overall at Hard Rock Stadium, all with FSU until this time.

Jimbo left the place smiling once again.