The 2002 Gator Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game between the Florida State Seminoles and the Virginia Tech Hokies, The 57th edition of the Gator Bowl, it was played at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, on January 1, 2002. The game was the final contest of the 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season for both teams, and ended in a 30–17 victory for Florida State.
Virginia Tech was selected to play in the 2002 Gator Bowl with an 8–3 regular-season record despite having just played in Jacksonville at the end of the previous year.[1] The selection of Virginia Tech over the Syracuse Orangemen (now just the "Orange") despite losing head-to-head and Syracuse having better conference and overall records was controversial.[2] Florida State, who had failed to win at least a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference title for the first time since joining the league in 1992, and who had played in all three BCS National Championship games held to that point, was selected as the opponent.
The 2002 Gator Bowl kicked off on January 1, 2002, at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, exactly one year since the Hokies had last played in the game. The game's early going seemed promising for the defense-minded Hokies. In the first quarter, Tech held Florida State scoreless despite only managing a single field goal on offense. In the second quarter, however, Florida State began to find gaps in the Hokie defense and scored 10 points. At halftime, Florida State held a 10–3 lead.[3]
In the third quarter, Tech struck back. The Hokies scored 14 points in the quarter, while Florida State managed just a field goal.
The Hokies' All-American tailback Lee Suggs had suffered a season-ending injury in the first game of the season, but freshman Kevin Jones had carried the offense for the season, and continued to perform well in the post-season Gator Bowl game. With a 5-yard run from Jones and a 55-yard pass from Grant Noel to André Davis, Tech took a 17–13 lead going into the fourth quarter. But the lead quickly evaporated on a 77-yard catch and run from Chris Rix to Javon Walker.[3]
Florida State added ten more points after the long touchdown pass, and the Seminoles went on to win the game, 30–17.[4]
^Virginia Tech Football Past Schedules: 2001–2002 Archived 2008-10-03 at the Wayback Machine Virginia Tech Athletics department, Hokiesports.com. Accessed February 27, 2008.
^Smits, Gary (November 28, 2006). "ACC rule affects bowl pick". The Florida Times-Union. Archived from the original on August 12, 2011. Retrieved February 17, 2008.
^ ab2002 Gator Bowl Archived 2007-12-10 at the Wayback Machine Virginia Tech Athletics department, Hokiesports.com. Accessed February 27, 2008.
^Virginia Tech Football Opponent History: Florida State Virginia Tech Athletics department, Hokiesports.com. Accessed February 27, 2008.
The 2002GatorBowl was a post-season American college football bowl game between the Florida State Seminoles and the Virginia Tech Hokies, The 57th edition...
The GatorBowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, usually contested on or around New Year's Day. It has been held...
The 2011 GatorBowl game was a post-season college football bowl game between the Mississippi State Bulldogs of the SEC and Michigan Wolverines of the...
with the GatorBowl ended after the 1994 game, and the Citrus Bowl had offered Florida and Georgia a larger sum of money than the GatorBowl for the right...
The 1978 GatorBowl was a college football bowl game played between the Ohio State Buckeyes and Clemson Tigers on December 29, 1978. Clemson won the contest...
The 1992 GatorBowl was an American college football bowl game that was played on December 31, 1992, at GatorBowl Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. The...
The 1975 GatorBowl was a college football bowl game played between the Maryland Terrapins and the Florida Gators on December 29, 1975. Maryland won the...
58th edition of the GatorBowl, it was played in Jacksonville, Florida, on January 1, 2003. The game was the final contest of the 2002 NCAA Division I–A...
The 1984 GatorBowl game was a post-season college football bowl game between the #7 South Carolina Gamecocks and the #9 Oklahoma State Cowboys. It was...
The 1969 GatorBowl was a post-season college football bowl game between the Florida Gators and the Tennessee Volunteers, both representing the SEC. Florida...
Cotton Bowl Classic (2001–06), AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic (since 2007) The GatorBowl has been known as: the GatorBowl (1946–85), Mazda GatorBowl (1986–91)...
Petersburg, Florida (2002). ISBN 0-9650782-1-3. Hairston, Jack, Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told, Sports...
The 2001 GatorBowl was a post-season American college football bowl game between the Clemson Tigers and the Virginia Tech Hokies at Alltel Stadium in...
The 1962 GatorBowl was a post-season college football bowl game between the Penn State Nittany Lions an independent and the Gators of the University of...
receiving yards by a Seminole in bowl history, breaking Javon Walker's record of 195 receiving yards set during the 2002GatorBowl. As a junior in 2016, Rudolph...
last five games before the GatorBowl and had participated in the Liberty Bowl during the previous season. The 2006 GatorBowl was played on January 2,...
The 2012 TaxSlayer.com GatorBowl, the 67th edition of the game, was a post-season American college football bowl game, held on January 2, 2012 at EverBank...
The 1983 GatorBowl was an American college football bowl game played on December 30, 1983, at GatorBowl Stadium in Jacksonville, FL. The matchup featured...
Petersburg, Florida (2002). ISBN 0-9650782-1-3. Hairston, Jack, Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told, Sports...
GatorBowl was a post-season college football bowl game between the Tulsa Golden Hurricane of the Missouri Valley Conference and the Florida Gators representing...
Muschamp. Muschamp coached the Gators to a third-place finish in the SEC East, a 3–5 conference record, a 24–17 GatorBowl victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes...
The 2002 FedEx Orange Bowl game was a post-season college football bowl game between the Florida Gators and the ACC champion Maryland Terrapins on January...
The 1985 GatorBowl game was a post-season college football bowl game between the Florida State University Seminoles and the Oklahoma State Cowboys, and...
that cut the Gator advantage to 3 late in the 3rd quarter. Mississippi's lead in the all-time series was reduced to 11-10-1. The Gator victory broke...
and its sports fans are often collectively referred to as the "Gator Nation." The Gators compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)...
National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivision sub-level for football), primarily competing in the Atlantic...