North Carolina Football: 3 takeaways from Orange Bowl loss to Texas A&M

3. The offense performed better than expected

I was skeptical at how effective the offense would be for the Tar Heels tonight, but it was mostly effective, although not always pretty.

A lot of the country got to see how talented Sam Howell is and with the offense missing Javonte Williams, Michael Carter and Dyami Brown, they were able to put 27 points on one of the best defenses in the country.

Freshman wide receiver Josh Downs was a constant big play threat, getting the go ahead 75-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. The offensive line has been the biggest liability for the Tar Heels most of the season and it really showed late in the game when North Carolina needed to convert a fourth downs and they were stood up by the Aggies front.

The running game was mostly ineffective and that was to be expected with the talent that was missing. All in all, it was a solid game for an offense missing some of the best skill talent in the whole country.