1982 Gator Bowl

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1982 Gator Bowl
38th Gator Bowl
1234Total
West Virginia060612
Florida State31414031
DateDecember 30, 1982
Season 1982
Stadium Gator Bowl Stadium
Location Jacksonville, Florida
MVPTB Greg Allen (Florida State)
K Paul Woodside (West Virginia)
Referee Robert Aillet (SEC)
Attendance80,913
United States TV coverage
Network ABC
Announcers Al Michaels
Lee Grosscup
Anne Simon
Gator Bowl
 < 1981   1983 > 

The 1982 Gator Bowl was an American college football bowl game played on December 30, 1982, at Gator Bowl Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. The game pitted the West Virginia Mountaineers and the Florida State Seminoles.

Contents

Background

West Virginia won their first three games (including a win against #9 Oklahoma) to be ranked at #14 heading into their rivalry game against #2 Pittsburgh. A close 16–13 loss made them fall to #16, but they rebounded with two straight victories to get to #13 heading into a home game versus #9 Penn State. A 24–0 loss to the eventual champion was their last loss of the regular season as they won the next four straight games to be invited to their second straight bowl game.

Florida State won seven straight games after starting the season 1–1 (with a loss to #2 Pittsburgh), rising to #7 heading into a non-conference matchup with #12 Louisiana State University. A 55–21 loss made them fall out of the polls, and they finished the season with a 13–10 loss to Florida. However, they were invited to the Gator Bowl, their first invite since 1967.

Game summary

Greg Allen rushed for 138 yards on 15 carries while Paul Woodside kicked two field goals. [1] [2]

Aftermath

The Mountaineers went to five more bowl games in the decade, including another Gator Bowl in 1989. They have returned five more times, though they have won only once, in 2007. Florida State then began a record 35 year bowl streak, which they went to a bowl game in every season from 1982 to 2017, including four Gator Bowls, the latter being Bowden's last game.

References

  1. "Seminoles rout Mountaineers in Gator Bowl". The Palm Beach Post. December 31, 1982. Retrieved January 28, 2024 via Newspapers.com.
  2. "'82 Gator Bowl Recap - WVU Athletics". Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 17, 2016.