Texas A&M Football: 3 Reasons Gator Bowl is a must-watch

Texas A&M football seeks a nine-win season in their first year under Jimbo Fisher. Can they take down NC State in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl?

There wasn’t a better way you could have scripted Texas A&M’s regular season-ending victory over LSU. The Aggies still haven’t emotionally moved past the seven overtime thriller but there is more football still to be played. Texas A&M (8-4) will end their season in Florida squaring off with NC State in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.

NC State (9-3) ended the season on a three-game winning streak and finished just outside of the final College Football Playoff ranks. Outside of a one-sided loss to Clemson, the Wolfpack have had a strong 2018 campaign which includes wins over Virginia and Boston College. They’ll be looking for their first win over an SEC team since downing Vanderbilt in the Camping Wolrd Independence Bowl in 2016.

Here’s why the December 31 meeting between these two teams will make for appointment viewing:

1. This is Texas A&M’s first Florida bowl game this millennium

New head coach Jimbo Fisher is no stranger to football in the Sunshine State, but this Texas A&M team hasn’t played too many games in the state of Florida. Their victory over the Florida Gators in 2017 was their first win in the state since they beat Miami in 1944.

The 2018 Gator Bowl will be their first postseason appearance in Florida since the 1957 Gator Bowl. The Bear Bryant-led Aggies fell to Tennessee 3-0 in a decidedly low scoring matchup of two Top 15 teams.