"Guys overcame," coach Jimbo Fisher said. "We didn't look good at times, played sloppy at times ... but every time something happened we were able to step up the competitive nature. These guys are raising their game and are able to make plays when they matter."

Freshman running back Devon Achane's 76-yard touchdown run highlighted a 17--0 fourth quarter outburst by the Aggies (9-1) to put away a tenacious No. 13 North Carolina (8-4) 41-27. Achane's 140 rushing yards on just 12 carries included two touchdowns and won him the game's Most Outstanding Player award.

North Carolina was down three of its best offensive players and its top linebacker, but showed considerable poise against an Aggie team that had avoided opt-outs or COVID-19 cases. One of the Tar Heels' worst plays was one of their first, when QB Sam Howell (18-31, 234 yards 3 TD, 1 INT) threw an interception on UNC's third play from scrimmage. The pass went right to linebacker Andre White, who returned the ball to the UNC 13. But the play ushered in the start of a number of questionable calls, as A&M was hit with a 15-yard sideline infraction pushing the ball back to North Carolina's 28.

A&M was still able to take advantage, with Isaiah Spiller carrying the ball five times for 21 yards including a 9-yard touchdown scamper on 4th and 1. The Aggies seemed to be rolling, but fell into an uncharacteristic funk after taking the lead.

North Carolina would get on the board with a pair of short field goals to cut the lead to 7-6, before the Aggies finally got their footing again with 11:09 to go in the second quarter. Quarterback Kellen Mond (16-26, 232 yards passing; 11 carries, 36 yards, 1 TD rushing) found Ainias Smith (6 catches, 125 yards) for a 31-yard completion to move the ball into UNC territory, then a 14-yard run by Mond and a personal foul for a horse collar tackle moved A&M inside the UNC 15. The Aggies wouldn’t pick up another first down, however, and settled for a 25-yard field goal from Seth Small.

UNC responded quickly, in part due to another A&M mental mistake. Defensive tackle Jayden Peevy jumped offsides on a 3rd and 9 at the UNC 37; the Tar Heels would convert the shorter 3rd down and, after an 18-yard run by Howell, the sophomore quarterback found senior receiver Dazz Newsome in the end zone. Newsome made a spectacular catch, catching a bobbled pass as he laid out with nickel Antonio Johnson in nearly perfect position. The catch was ruled good and UNC took their first lead, going up 13-10 with 4:56 in the first half.

As they have all year, however, the Aggies responded with their final drive of the half. Mond shrugged off a pair of sacks to complete passes of 27 yards to Chase Lane and 23 yards to Hezekiah Jones to move the Aggies to the UNC 3, where Spiller (11 carries, 50 yards; 4 catches, 19 yards) punched it in on one of his last carries of the night.

After forcing a 3 and out to start the second half, the Aggies saw a great opportunity squandered when a 24-yard run by Mond to get A&M to midfield was called back on a hold by offensive tackle Dan Moore. UNC responded with a nine-play, 66-yard touchdown drive that should have ended in the A&M end zone with an interception by cornerback Brian George. Instead, nickel Erick Young was slow to get off the field, meaning A&M had 12 men on the field and UNC had new life. Howell took advantage, lobbing a 9-yard TD pass a wide open receiver Josh Downs, who had snuck out of the backfield on a wheel route.

The Aggies didn’t respond immediately; instead, the two teams exchanged punts before the A&M offense got in gear again. Mond completed passes of 18 and 14 yards to Smith and 15 yards to Achane as the Aggies moved inside the UNC 10 as the third quarter expired. A false start by tackle Carson Green pushed the Aggies back to the 10-yard-line on second down and tight end Jalen Wydermyer slipped on a third down target, so A&M settled for another short field goal and the tie.

That lasted all of one play from scrimmage, as Howell avoided a heavy A&M pass rush, rolled to his left and uncorked a bomb to Downs, who had gotten behind the A&M secondary, for a 75-yard touchdown pass. It looked like a fourth quarter shootout had commenced, but only the Aggies had bullets left in the gun.

After Smith broke a spectacular 54-yard catch and run to the UNC 6, Mond sprinted away from pressure on 3rd and goal from the 4 and slid for the tying touchdown. The Aggies and Tar Heels traded punts before UNC benefitted from another questionable call, with defensive tackle Bobby Brown being flagged for roughing the pass for “putting his body weight” onto Howell on 2nd and 6 from the UNC 44. Moved to the Aggie 41, the Tar Heels would go in reverse and punt after Howell was sacked by defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson on 3rd and 12. The Aggies got the ball back at their own 13 with 5:07 left in the game and it was Achane’s time to shine. After a run of 2 yards and a catch of 9 that picked up a first down, Achane ran off the left end and picked up a block from Wydermyer, but stumbled over the tight end’s leg. Instead of going down, Achane put his hand on the South Florida turf, pushed off and kept his footing. The speedster then hit the gas and sprinted down the sideline. Seventy-six yards later, Achane was in the end zone and A&M had the lead.

“We did a great job blocking the play and he made it, but then the balance, and the things he did to keep his balance, and we saw the explosion and all the ability he has and he's gonna he's got chance to be a very special player,” Fisher said of Achane.

Faced with a do-or-die situation, UNC died the way many A&M opponents did this year: by failing to run the football. After picking up 9 yards on first down, running back British Brooks (15 carries, 53 yards) was stuffed for a loss on 3rd and 1. UNC coach Mack Brown decided to go for it from his own 34 as the clock neared two minutes left in the game, but bigger back Josh Henderson ran into a swarm of A&M defenders led by defensive tackle Jayden Peevy in the backfield and was a full yard short of the first down. Achane then sealed the game for A&M, with runs of 11 and 22 yards before punching it in from a yard out.

The Aggie defense swarmed Howell on UNC’s final possession, sacking him twice and putting an exclamation point that saw A&M score more points in the fourth quarter of an Orange Bowl since 1958. While the 2020 team celebrated A&M’s biggest bowl win in decades, Fisher was already looking forward to 2021 and beyond.

"We had a good year, but not where we wanted to go and still not quite where we want to go,” he said. “We're not done yet.”