Texas A&M football takes on NC State in the Gator Bowl. The Aggies are looking for their first bowl victory since the 2014 season.
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The Texas A&M Aggies finished Jimbo Fisher’s first season in College Station with eight wins and earned an invite to the Gator Bowl. They will face the NC State Wolfpack of the ACC.
Eight wins is a pretty good start to Fisher’s career as head Aggie. Texas A&M nearly pulled off a monumental upset of Clemson in Week 2, coming up two points short. Their other three losses were all on the road against Alabama, Mississippi State and Auburn. The Aggies ended the regular season on a three game winning streak, including a wild 74-72 win over LSU in seven overtimes to conclude the year.
NC State quietly went 9-3 this season. The Wolfpack did not have a lot of eye popping wins, perhaps their best victory being over Boston College in early October. They fell completely flat against Clemson, lost to Syracuse on the road, and blew a fourth quarter lead against Wake Forest at home to lose by four. The Wolfpack are looking for their first season of double-digit victories since 2002, when they finished 11-3.
This is a solid match-up and should be a great game for the last college football game of 2018. Can the Aggies finish Fisher’s first season on a high note or will the Wolfpack pull the upset for a 10 win season?
How to watch
Date: Monday, Dec. 31
Time: 7:30 pm ET
Location: Jacksonville, FL
Venue: EverBank Field
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN or FuboTV
Keys to Victory
The key for A&M will be to keep their well-balanced offense on the field and keep the chains moving. The Aggies excelled at time of possession this season, finishing only behind Army, possessing the ball for over 35 minutes per game. Quarterback Kellen Mond turned in a solid season with nearly 3,000 yards thrown and 32 touchdowns to only eight interceptions. If Mond throws for at least 250 yards and adds a few scores on the ground and through the air, the Aggies should win.
If NC State is to pull the upset, they will do it without two of their key players, receiver Kelvin Harmon and linebacker Germaine Pratt. Both are skipping the bowl to keep healthy for the NFL Draft. The Wolfpack still have their NFL caliber quarterback Ryan Finley and they sported the most efficient passing game in the ACC this season as a result. Like A&M, the key will be for Finley to keep the chains moving and they did a good job this season, converting 51 percent on third downs, which was also best in the conference.
Betting Odds
Odds courtesy of oddsshark.com
Point Spread: Texas A&M -7
Over/Under: 56
Prediction
The Aggies appear to be the better team as the oddsmakers have them a touchdown favorite. Ryan Finley can get heated up, but the Aggies defense had a month to prepare for him. As long as they keep Finley in check and keep their balanced offense on the field for long stretches, the Aggies should win this one.
The Wolfpack will still find ways to put points on the board. But missing their leading receiver and leading tackler is going to be too much to overcome. The Aggies will take advantage of the missing pieces. Kellen Mond leads a handful of long scoring drives and the Aggies win comfortably by two scores in the end. The victory will set up high expectations for the 2019 edition of Texas A&M.
Final Score: Texas A&M 30, NC State 20