No. 13 UNC football gets Orange Bowl bid, will face No. 5 Texas A&M
North Carolina will play Texas A&M in the Orange Bowl, which is the first major bowl appearance for the Tar Heels in seven decades.
“This is a huge accomplishment for our program and for our team and now we’ve got to play well because -- we want this to be who we are,” UNC coach Mack Brown said on a video conference Sunday. “We want this to be every year and not something that’s so unique for us.”
Carolina can thank Clemson’s 34-10 win over Notre Dame in the ACC Championship game for helping to solidify the bid. Because the College Football Playoff took both the Tigers and the Irish, ACC rules mandate the highest-ranked league team in the CFP rankings -- that’s not in the playoffs -- get the Orange Bowl invite.
The Tar Heels achieved that by pounding Miami 62-26 in the regular-season finale on Dec. 12 to surpass the Hurricanes in last week’s CFP rankings. Carolina jumped to No. 13 in the final CFP poll. It moved up another two spots from Tuesday, when it was No. 15 and the Canes fell eight spots to No. 18.
Carolina has never faced Texas A&M, but is familiar with its head coach Jimbo Fisher. The Tar Heels are 2-0 against Fisher with identical 37-35 wins in 2010 and 2016 during his tenure as the head coach of Florida State from 2010-2017.
The Aggies have won seven straight games after falling to Alabama 52-24 in their second game of the season. That win streak began with a 41-38 home win over Florida on Oct. 10, which is one of only two wins they had against a team with a winning record. Texas A&M also beat Auburn (6-4) 31-20 on Dec. 5.
It marks the Heels’ (8-3) first major bowl appearance since their string of Sugar Bowl (1947, 1949) and Cotton Bowl (1950) bids. Carolina will now be aiming for its first victory in a major bowl after going 0-3 in those games.
“What you want is verification to your players and your staff that what you’re doing is working,” Brown said. “They’re reaping a reward at the end of the second year that most people don’t get a chance to do. So just the simple fact that we’ve been chosen and that people are giving our program that much credit at this stage really reinforces what we’re trying to do moving forward.”
UNC vs. Texas A&M: Orange Bowl
When: 8 p.m., Jan. 2
Where: Miami
Watch: ESPN
This story was originally published December 20, 2020 at 11:48 AM.