| 1977 Gator Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 30, 1977 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1977 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Gator Bowl Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Jacksonville, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Matt Cavanaugh (QB, Pitt) & Jerry Butler (SE, Clemson) [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | James M. Artley (SEC) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 72,289 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ABC | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Keith Jackson, Frank Broyles | ||||||||||||||||||||
The 1977 Gator Bowl was a college football bowl game played between the Pittsburgh Panthers and Clemson Tigers on December 30, 1977. The 10th-ranked Panthers defeated the 11th-ranked Tigers, 34–3. Panthers quarterback Matt Cavanaugh broke the Gator Bowl record for passing yards with 387 yards, breaking the previous record of 362 yards set by Florida State's Kim Hammond in 1967. [2]
The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, operated by Gator Bowl Sports. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nationally. The game was originally played at Gator Bowl Stadium through the December 1993 game. The December 1994 game was played at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville after the namesake stadium was demolished to make way for a replacement venue, Jacksonville Municipal Stadium. That venue, now known as TIAA Bank Field, has been home to the Gator Bowl since the January 1996 game.
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