2008 Gator Bowl

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2008 Konica Minolta Gator Bowl
63rd Gator Bowl
Texas Tech Red Raiders Virginia Cavaliers
(8–4) (9–3)
Big 12 ACC
31 28
Head coach: 
Mike Leach		 Head coach: 
Al Groh
AP
CoachesBCS
212020
1234 Total
Texas Tech 70717 31
Virginia 91207 28
DateJanuary 1, 2008
Season
Announcers
Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson[3]
Gator Bowl
 < 2007  2009 > 

The 2008 Gator Bowl was played on January 1, 2008, as part of the

field goal
, securing a 31–28 victory.

It was one of 32 games in the

Jacksonville Municipal Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. It is one of the oldest college bowls, held continuously since 1946. This edition's full name was the Konica Minolta Gator Bowl after its sponsor, Konica Minolta.[6]

Overview

The Gator Bowl has

tie-ins from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), Big 12 Conference, and Big East Conferences, as well as independent Notre Dame. They have the right to the third pick of a team from the ACC, and have the option to offer the other spot to the second pick from the Big East, the fourth pick from the Big 12, or Notre Dame. The 2008 game featured the ACC's Virginia Cavaliers, who finished the 2007 season with an overall record of 9–3 (6–2 in the ACC) playing the Big 12's Texas Tech Red Raiders
, who finished the 2007 season with an overall record of 8–4 (4–4 in the Big 12). The game was the eighth straight post season appearance for the Red Raiders. Virginia returned to a bowl game after failing to qualify for one following the 2006 season.

Recap

After Texas Tech jumped out to an early 7–0 lead, scoring on their second drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass from

safeties where Harrell was called for intentional grounding in the endzone. Virginia tailback Mikell Simpson scored on a 96-yard run, an NCAA bowl record for a running back.[7]

Virginia carried a 21–7 lead into the locker room at halftime and seemed to be in control after Simpson hauled in an 11-yard pass from quarterback Peter Lalich with 11:26 left in the game to make the score 28–14.

With 7:54 left in the game, Texas Tech turned the ball over on downs just outside Virginia's goal line. The Cavaliers were unable to pick up a first down and, following a punt, the Red Raiders took over at midfield trailing by 14 with 5:32 left. Harrell engineered an efficient drive completing five of his eight passes on the drive, including a 20-yard fade to Michael Crabtree for a touchdown to make it 28–21 with 3:31 left on the clock.

On Virginia's ensuing drive, Lalich was sacked and fumbled the football, setting up a one-play drive for Texas Tech – a four-yard touchdown run for Aaron Crawford.

Virginia was again unable to pick up a first down and Texas Tech drove to the UVA 24 yard line and Alex Trlica kicked the winning 41-yard field goal with two seconds left. The final score was Texas Tech 31, Virginia 28.

Notes

  1. ^ The bowl's official website lists DE Chris Long as Virginia's MVP.

References

  • "Gator Bowl Preview". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on January 4, 2008. Retrieved December 12, 2007.
  1. ^ "2007". Archived from the original on December 31, 2017. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  2. ^ "Mikell Simpson". IMDb.
  3. ^ a b Fox, David (December 13, 2007). "Rivals.com Bowl Viewer's Guide". Rivals.com. Archived from the original on December 15, 2007. Retrieved December 17, 2007.
  4. ^ Doughty, Doug (January 3, 2008). "Stadium barely half full at Gator Bowl". The Roanoke Times. Archived from the original on September 18, 2012. Retrieved January 18, 2008.
  5. ^ "ncaafootball.com - Bowl Schedules/Results". Archived from the original on August 3, 2007. Retrieved September 19, 2009.
  6. ^ Gator Bowl lands new deal for title sponsor
  7. ^ "ESPN Gator Bowl Game Recap". ESPN.com. Associated Press. January 1, 2008. Archived from the original on January 4, 2008. Retrieved January 3, 2008.

External links

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