2003 Gator Bowl

Last updated

2003 Toyota Gator Bowl
58th Gator Bowl
1234Total
NC State0210728
Notre Dame30306
DateJanuary 1, 2003
Season 2002
Stadium Alltel Stadium
Location Jacksonville, Florida
MVP Philip Rivers (NCSU)
Cedric Hilliard (ND)
Favorite NC State by 2
Referee Ed Ardito (C-USA)
Attendance73,491
United States TV coverage
Network NBC
Announcers Mike Breen and Pat Haden
Gator Bowl
 < 2002   2004 > 

The 2003 Gator Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game between the NC State Wolfpack and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Alltel Stadium. The 58th edition of the Gator Bowl, it was played in Jacksonville, Florida, on January 1, 2003. The game was the final contest of the 2002 NCAA Division I–A football season for both teams and ended in a 28–6 victory for NC State.

Contents

Background

NC State

The Wolfpack had finished 4th in the Atlantic Coast Conference and were playing in a bowl game for the third consecutive year. At one point the Wolfpack were 9–0 and ranked at #8 in the Coaches Poll and #10 in the Media Poll before three straight losses knocked them out of the polls but they bounced back into the polls by beating Florida State in the last game of the regular season. This was their first appearance in the Gator Bowl since 1992.

Notre Dame

Notre Dame was in their first season under Tyrone Willingham and in their first bowl game since 2001. After achieving an 8–0 record, they were ranked as high as #4 in the Media Poll and #6 in the Coaches Poll before losing to Boston College in midseason and lost to USC in the last game of the regular season that cost them their shot at a BCS bowl game. This was Notre Dame's first Gator Bowl appearance since 1999.

Game summary

T. A. McLendon ran for only 18 yards, but two of his 11 rushes were for touchdowns as Philip Rivers threw 23 of 37 for 228 yards and two touchdowns of his own as Notre Dame's defense allowed 21 points in the second quarter and the Irish never recovered, having more interceptions (3) than scores (2 field goals). [1]

NC State would finish with an 11–3 record and the ACC's highest ranking, with final rankings of #11 in the Coaches Poll and #12 in the Media Poll. Notre Dame would finish with a 10–3 record and a #17 ranking in both Polls.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Urban Meyer</span> American football coach (born 1964)

Urban Frank Meyer III is a college football TV commentator and former American football coach. He spent most of his coaching career at the collegiate level, having served as the head coach of the Bowling Green Falcons from 2001 to 2002, the Utah Utes from 2003 to 2004, the Florida Gators from 2005 to 2010, and the Ohio State Buckeyes from 2012 to 2018. He retired from coaching in 2019 at the end of the Rose Bowl, and stayed at Ohio State as an assistant athletic director and was also an analyst for Fox Sports, appearing weekly on their Big Noon Kickoff pregame show. In 2021, Meyer came out of retirement to take his first National Football League (NFL) job as head coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars, but was fired 13 games into his first and only season, after going 2–11 and being involved in both on- and off-field controversies. He then went back to Fox Sports to resume his broadcasting career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charlie Weis</span> American football coach

Charles Joseph Weis Sr. is a former American football coach. He was the head coach for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish from 2005 to 2009 and the Kansas Jayhawks from 2012 to 2014. He also served as an offensive coordinator in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Jets, New England Patriots, and Kansas City Chiefs. Weis currently hosts "Airing It Out," along with Bob Papa, on Sirius XM NFL Radio.

The 1990 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with a split national championship and the ensuing controversy helped lead to the creation of the Bowl Coalition, a precursor to the Bowl Championship Series. The national title was split between the Colorado Buffaloes and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. The Buffaloes (11–1–1) took the AP poll while the Yellow Jackets (11–0–1) took the UPI Coaches poll by one vote over Colorado, 847 to 846. During the season Colorado had a particularly controversial victory over Missouri in what would later be known as the "Fifth Down Game". It was the only time in UPI Coaches poll history that a coach changed his vote against the pre-bowl #1 after that #1 team won their bowl game. Unlike several seasons to come in the 1990s, the two teams that became split national champions could have actually met in a 1 vs. 2 bowl game. Georgia Tech's ACC champion status did not preclude them from taking their #2 ranking to the Orange Bowl to face the automatic Big-8 champion in #1 Colorado for a decisive title game. But the Orange Bowl committee wanted Notre Dame instead of Georgia Tech as the Buffaloes' opponent, because Notre Dame had a larger fan base and would accrue more money and better TV ratings than the Yellow Jackets would have.

The 1989 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Miami winning its third National Championship during the 1980s, cementing its claim as the decade's top team, winning more titles than any other program.

The phrase "Game of the Century" is a superlative that was applied to several college football contests played in the 20th century, the first full century of college football in the United States. It is a subjective term applied by sportswriters to describe the most notable games of the period.

The 1993 NCAA Division I-A football season saw Florida State crowned national champions, in both the AP and Coaches poll.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2000 NCAA Division I-A football season</span> American college football season

The 2000 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with the Oklahoma Sooners beating the defending national champion Florida State Seminoles to claim the Sooners' seventh national championship and their thirty-seventh conference championship, the first of each since the 1988 departure of head coach Barry Switzer.

The 1988 NCAA Division I-A football season ended with Notre Dame winning the national championship. The Fighting Irish won the title via a 34–21 defeat of previously unbeaten West Virginia in the Fiesta Bowl in Tempe, Arizona. With 4 of the final Top 5 teams being independents, 1988 became a focus for fans and critics who wondered how the traditional conferences would deal with the indies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 BCS National Championship Game</span> College football game

The 2007 Tostitos BCS National Championship Game was an American football game played at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on January 8, 2007, and featured the top-ranked Big Ten champion Ohio State Buckeyes against the 2nd-ranked SEC champion Florida Gators. The Gators routed the Buckeyes by a final score of 41–14 to win their first national championship since 1996.

The 1993 Florida State vs. Notre Dame Game was a regular season college football game between the unbeaten Florida State Seminoles, and the unbeaten Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The game took place at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. The game is one of the 20th-century college football games to be coined a "Game of the Century."

The 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season saw a university from the state of Georgia take its first national title since 1942.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2002 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team</span> American college football season

The 2002 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2002 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Tyrone Willingham and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana.

The 1992 Sugar Bowl was the 58th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Wednesday, January 1. Part of the 1991–92 bowl game season, it matched the eighteenth-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the #3 Florida Gators of the Southeastern Conference (SEC).

The 1973 Orange Bowl was the 39th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, on Monday, January 1. The final game of the 1972–73 bowl season, it matched the ninth-ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers of the Big Eight Conference and the independent #12 Notre Dame Fighting Irish, led by their respective hall of fame coaches, Bob Devaney and Ara Parseghian. Nebraska scored early and won 40–6.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1993 Florida State Seminoles football team</span> American college football season

The 1993 Florida State Seminoles football team represented Florida State University and were the national champions of the 1993 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team was coached by Bobby Bowden and played their home games at Doak Campbell Stadium.

The 1978 Sugar Bowl was the 44th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Monday, January 2. Part of the 1977–78 bowl game season, it matched the third-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the #9 Ohio State Buckeyes of the Big Ten Conference.

The 1973 Sugar Bowl, part of the 1973 bowl game season, took place on December 31, 1973, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana. The top-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) met the independent Notre Dame Fighting Irish; both teams were undefeated.

The 1975 Peach Bowl matched the West Virginia Mountaineers and the NC State Wolfpack.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team</span> American college football season

The 2017 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Brian Kelly and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. They competed as an independent. They finished the season 10–3, an impressive turnaround from the season before, where the Irish finished with their worst record since 2007. They were invited to the Citrus Bowl where they defeated LSU. The Irish would finish the season with four wins over teams that finished in the top 25 rankings, including winning three of those by over 20 points or more.

The 2021 Gator Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 2, 2021, with kickoff at noon EST on ESPN. It was the 76th edition of the Gator Bowl, and was one of the 2020–21 bowl games concluding the 2020 FBS football season. Sponsored by financial technology company TaxSlayer, the game was officially known as the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl. Kentucky would go on to win the Taxslayer Gator Bowl against North Carolina State 23-21. This was Kentucky's third straight bowl victory following the 2019 Citrus Bowl and the 2019 Belk Bowl. The last time the Kentucky football program won three straight bowl games was 2006 to 2008, winning back-to-back Music City Bowls and Liberty Bowl.

References

  1. "Gator Bowl". USA Today . December 4, 2003. Retrieved August 2, 2022.