| Game Name: | Orange Bowl |
| Subheader: | 87th Orange Bowl |
| Title Sponsor: | Capital One |
| Date Game Played: | January 2 |
| Year Game Played: | 2021 |
| Football Season: | 2020 |
| Stadium: | Hard Rock Stadium |
| City: | Miami Gardens, Florida |
| Visitor School: | Texas A&M University |
| Visitor Name Short: | Texas A&M |
| Visitor Nickname: | Aggies |
| Visitor Record: | 8–1 |
| Visitor Conference: | SEC |
| Visitor Rank Ap: | 5 |
| Visitor Rank Coaches: | 5 |
| Visitor Rank Cfp: | 5 |
| Visitor Coach: | Jimbo Fisher |
| Visitor 1Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 10 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 24 |
| Home School: | University of North Carolina |
| Home Name Short: | North Carolina |
| Home Nickname: | Tar Heels |
| Home Record: | 8–3 |
| Home Conference: | ACC |
| Home Rank Ap: | 14 |
| Home Rank Coaches: | 14 |
| Home Rank Cfp: | 13 |
| Home Coach: | Mack Brown |
| Home 1Q: | 3 |
| Home 2Q: | 10 |
| Home 3Q: | 7 |
| Home 4Q: | 7 |
| Mvp: | De’Von Achane (RB, Texas A&M)<ref>TXMileSplit . 1345593679348715521 . 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. . January 2, 2021 . January 2, 2021. |
| Odds: | Texas A&M by 6[1] |
| Anthem: | Reina Obzay |
| Referee: | Larry Smith (Big Ten)[2] |
| Attendance: | 13,737 |
| Us Network: | ESPN and ESPN Radio |
| Us Announcers: | ESPN: Bob Wischusen (play-by-play) Dan Orlovsky (analyst) Katie George (sideline) ESPN Radio: Sean Kelley and Barrett Jones |
| Different Previous: | 2019 |
| Different Next: | 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.[3] 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.
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 Texas A&M of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) against No. 13 North Carolina of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).[4] The programs had not previously met.[5]
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.
See 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.