2007 Toyota Gator Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
62nd Gator Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||
Date | January 1, 2007 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Season | 2006 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Stadium | Jacksonville Municipal Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||
Location | Jacksonville, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||
MVP | Pat White (QB, West Virginia) Calvin Johnson (WR, Georgia Tech) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Referee | Karl Richins (Mtn. West) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Attendance | 67,947 | ||||||||||||||||||||
United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||
Network | CBS | ||||||||||||||||||||
Announcers | Verne Lundquist and Gary Danielson | ||||||||||||||||||||
The 2007 Gator Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game between the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the West Virginia Mountaineers played on January 1, 2007, at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, United States. For sponsorship reasons, the bowl was officially known as the Toyota Gator Bowl. [1] Down by 18 in the third quarter, West Virginia scored 21 unanswered points to win, 38–35. [2]
The game matched Georgia Tech from the Atlantic Coast Conference against West Virginia from the Big East Conference. West Virginia entered the game ranked #13 in the AP Poll; it was West Virginia's third appearance in the Gator Bowl in the last four years and sixth overall. [3] Georgia Tech accepted a bid to the Gator Bowl after losing the ACC championship to Wake Forest. It was Georgia Tech's first appearance in the Gator Bowl since 2000 and seventh overall. [4]
The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, usually contested on or around New Year's Day. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first 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 EverBank Stadium, has been home to the Gator Bowl since the January 1996 game.
The Peach Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played annually in Atlanta, Georgia, since December 30, 1968.
Urban Frank Meyer III is an American sportscaster and former college 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.
Richard Alan Rodriguez, also known as Rich Rod, is an American college football coach and former player. He is the current head football coach at West Virginia University, his second stint with his alma mater. Rodriguez previously was the head football coach at Salem University, Glenville State College, the University of Michigan, the University of Arizona, and Jacksonville State University. In 2011, Rodriguez worked as an analyst for CBS Sports.
The ACC Championship Game is an annual American college football game held in early December by the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) each year to determine its football champion. From its inception in 2005 to 2019, and from 2021 to 2022, the game pit the champion of the Coastal Division against the champion of the Atlantic Division in a game that follows the conclusion of the regular season. However, since the 2023 title game, the ACC no longer sends the Atlantic and Coastal champions to meet in Charlotte. Now, the divisions are gone and the top 2 ACC teams with the best conference record will battle it out. The current champions, the Clemson Tigers, defeated the SMU Mustangs after the 2024 regular season concluded.
The 2005 Virginia Tech Hokies football team represented Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University during the 2005 NCAA Division I-A football season. The team's head coach was Frank Beamer.
The 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
The 2008 Gator Bowl was played on January 1, 2008, as part of the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It featured the Red Raiders of Texas Tech University, who finished third in the Big 12 Conference's South Division, and the Cavaliers of the University of Virginia, who finished second in the Atlantic Coast Conference's Coastal Division. Texas Tech won the game on a last-second field goal, securing a 31–28 victory.
The 2007 Dr. Pepper ACC Championship Game featured the Boston College Eagles and the Virginia Tech Hokies in a regular-season college football game that determined the conference's champion for the 2007 season. Virginia Tech defeated Boston College 30–16 to win the ACC football championship. The game, held at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, was a rematch of a regular-season game that took place on October 25, in Blacksburg, Virginia. In that game, Boston College, courtesy of a late-game comeback by quarterback Matt Ryan, won 14–10.
The 2006 Dr Pepper ACC Championship Game featured the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Wake Forest Demon Deacons in a regular-season American football game to determine the champion of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Wake Forest defeated Georgia Tech by a 9–6 score to win its first ACC football championship since 1970 and its second in school history. The game was held at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida and was the concluding game of the regular season for each team.
The Virginia Tech Hokies football team represents Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in the sport of American football. The Hokies compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Coastal Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference. They previously competed in the Big East. Their home games are played at Lane Stadium, located in Blacksburg, Virginia, with a seating capacity of over 65,000 fans. Lane Stadium is considered to be one of the loudest stadiums in the country, being voted number two in ESPN's 2007 "Top 20 Scariest Places to Play". It was also recognized in 2005 by Rivals.com as having the best home-field advantage in the country.
The 2006 Gator Bowl was a college football bowl game between the Louisville Cardinals and the Virginia Tech Hokies at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, United States, on January 2, 2006. The game was the final contest of the 2005 football season for each team and resulted in a 35–24 Virginia Tech victory. Louisville represented the Big East Conference, and Virginia Tech represented the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) in the competition.
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.
The 2010 FedEx Orange Bowl game featured the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Iowa Hawkeyes on Tuesday, January 5, 2010, at Land Shark Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. Iowa won the game 24–14, securing the Hawkeyes' first major bowl win since the 1959 Rose Bowl.
The 2009 ACC Championship Game was a college football game between the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Clemson Tigers. The game, sponsored by Dr. Pepper, was the final regular-season contest of the 2009 college football season for the Atlantic Coast Conference. Georgia Tech defeated Clemson, winning the Atlantic Coast Conference football championship, 39–34. However, Georgia Tech was forced to vacate the game victory and the conference title in 2011 due to sanctions stemming from an NCAA investigation.
The 2010 Gator Bowl game was a post-season college football bowl game between the West Virginia University Mountaineers representing the Big East, and the Florida State University Seminoles from the ACC, and was played on Friday, January 1, 2010, at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. It was the 65th edition of the bowl game. This edition's full name was the Konica Minolta Gator Bowl after its sponsor, Konica Minolta.
The 2010 ACC Championship Game was a college football game between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Florida State Seminoles. The game, sponsored by Dr. Pepper, was the final regular-season contest of the 2010 college football season for the Atlantic Coast Conference. Virginia Tech defeated Florida State, winning the Atlantic Coast Conference football championship, 44–33. Until 2021, this was the last ACC championship game won by the Coastal Division.
The history of Florida Gators football began in 1906, when the newly established "University of the State of Florida" fielded a football team during its first full academic year of existence. The school's name was shortened to the University of Florida in 1908, and the football team gained the nickname "Gators" in 1911. The program started small, usually playing six to eight games per season against small colleges and local athletic club teams in north Florida and south Georgia. The Orange and Blue developed early rivalries with the Stetson Hatters from nearby Deland and Mercer Bears from Macon. During the 1910s, Florida began playing a wider range of opponents from more established football programs across the southeastern United States and faced off against several future rivals - such as Georgia, Georgia Tech, South Carolina, and Auburn - for the first time.
The 2016 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game played on December 31, 2016, at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. The 72nd edition of the Gator Bowl featured the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets of the Atlantic Coast Conference against the Kentucky Wildcats of the Southeastern Conference. It began at 11 a.m. EST and aired on ESPN. It was one of the 2016–17 bowl games concluding the 2016 FBS football season. The game's naming rights sponsor was tax preparation software company TaxSlayer.com, and for sponsorship reasons was officially known as the TaxSlayer Bowl.