2002 FedEx Orange Bowl
68th Orange Bowl
BCS Bowl Game
Florida Gators Maryland Terrapins
(9–2) (10–1)
SEC ACC
56 23
Head coach: 
Steve Spurrier		 Head coach: 
Ralph Friedgen
APCoachesBCS
555
APCoachesBCS
6610
1234 Total
Florida 1414217 56
Maryland 73013 23
DateJanuary 2, 2002
Season2001
StadiumPro Player Stadium
LocationMiami, Florida
MVPFlorida WR Taylor Jacobs
FavoriteFlorida by 14.5 (58) [1]
RefereeJames Sprenger (Pac-10)
Attendance73,640[2]
United States TV coverage
NetworkABC
AnnouncersBrad Nessler and Bob Griese
Nielsen ratings9.5[2]
Orange Bowl
 < 2001  2003 > 

The 2002 FedEx Orange Bowl game was a post-season college football bowl game between the Florida Gators and the ACC champion Maryland Terrapins on January 2, 2002. Florida defeated Maryland 56–23.[3] The game was part of the 2001–2002 Bowl Championship Series (BCS) of the 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season and was the concluding game of the season for both teams. The Orange Bowl was first played in 1935, and the 2002 game was the 68th edition of the Orange Bowl. The contest was televised in the United States on ABC.

This was Steve Spurrier's last game as coach of the Florida Gators as he resigned two days after the game.

Teams

Florida Gators

Main article: 2001 Florida Gators football team

Florida, ranked No. 1 entering the season, lost two SEC games by a total of 5 points and missed out on the SEC championship game. Despite those setbacks, the talented Gators entered this matchup with a 9–2 record (6–2 SEC) and a No. 5 ranking in both major polls and the BCS.

Maryland Terrapins

Main article: 2001 Maryland Terrapins football team

Under first-year head coach and Maryland alumnus Ralph Friedgen, the Terps surprised many by finishing 10–1 after the regular season. That included a 7–1 conference record which gave Maryland its first ACC title since 1985.

Game summary

This potentially exciting matchup did not live up to the hype. Florida opened the scoring with a 1-yard TD run by Earnest Graham just over five minutes into the game. The opening quarter ended with some fireworks as each team scored a long touchdown in the final 12 seconds and the Gators led 14–7.

Maryland's Nick Novak kicked a 20-yard field goal with 12:20 remaining in the first half to make the score 14–10. The Terrapins inability to tie the game preceded an offensive onslaught by Florida that would last until the close of the third quarter. The Gators quick strike offense scored 35 consecutive points – including three TD passes by Heisman runner-up Rex Grossman and a second Graham TD run – in just over 15 minutes of game play to open a 49–10 advantage and put the game well out of reach.

Two touchdown runs by the Terps' Marc Riley sandwiched a fourth Grossman TD pass to close out the scoring, giving Steve Spurrier a 56–23 win in his final game as Florida's head coach.

2002 FedEx Orange Bowl
Period 1 2 34Total
No. 5 Florida 14 14 21756
No. 6 Maryland 7 3 01323

at Pro Player Stadium • Miami Gardens, Florida

  • Date: Wednesday, January 2, 2002
  • Game time: 8:12 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: Clear • Temperature: 74 °F (23 °C) • Wind: 7 mph (11 km/h) southeast
  • Game attendance: 73,640
  • Referee: James Sprenger (Pac-10)
  • TV announcers (ABC): Brad Nessler (play-by-play), Bob Griese (analyst), and Lynn Swann (sideline)
  • Box score
Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP Florida Maryland
1 9:51 10 83 3:59 Florida Earnest Graham 1-yard touchdown run, Jeff Chandler kick good 7 0
1 0:12 2 55 0:47 Florida Taylor Jacobs 46-yard touchdown reception from Brock Berlin, Jeff Chandler kick good 14 0
1 0:00 1 64 0:12 Maryland Jafar Williams 64-yard touchdown reception from Shaun Hill, Nick Novak kick good 14 7
2 12:20 4 1 0:45 Maryland 20-yard field goal by Nick Novak 14 10
2 2:18 10 72 3:45 Florida Taylor Jacobs 15-yard touchdown reception from Rex Grossman, Jeff Chandler kick good 21 10
2 0:03 6 64 1:21 Florida Jabar Gaffney 4-yard touchdown reception from Rex Grossman, Jeff Chandler kick good 28 10
3 11:22 10 65 3:38 Florida Earnest Graham 6-yard touchdown run, Jeff Chandler kick good 35 10
3 7:26 4 74 1:29 Florida Rob Gillespie 11-yard touchdown reception from Rex Grossman, Jeff Chandler kick good 42 10
3 2:52 2 68 0:19 Florida Jabar Gaffney 33-yard touchdown reception from Rex Grossman, Jeff Chandler kick good 49 10
4 11:56 15 5:56 Maryland Marc Riley 1-yard touchdown run, Nick Novak kick good 49 17
4 10:16 4 69 1:40 Florida Carlos Perez 10-yard touchdown reception from Rex Grossman, Jeff Chandler kick good 56 17
4 5:10 14 80 5:06 Maryland Marc Riley 10-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass failed 56 23
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 56 23

Statistics

Statistics UF MD
First downs 30 19
Plays–yards 74–659 79–360
Rushes–yards 25–203 40–103
Passing yards 456 257
Passing: comp–att–int 33–49–2 23–39–1
Time of possession 28:26 31:34
Team Category Player Statistics
Florida Passing Rex Grossman 20/28, 248 yds, 4 TD
Rushing Earnest Graham 16 car, 149 yds, 2 TD
Receiving Taylor Jacobs 10 rec, 170 yds, 2 TD
Maryland Passing Shaun Hill 23/39, 257 yds, TD, INT
Rushing Shaun Hill 11 car, 31 yds
Receiving Matt Murphy 5 rec, 42 yds

References

  1. ^ "Orange Bowl Odds: College football". Vegasinsider. January 1, 2003. p. C10. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "BCS Game Results". orangebowl.org. September 26, 2007. Archived from the original on June 2, 2009. Retrieved January 13, 2008.
  3. ^ "Maryland sees red in Orange Bowl embarrassment". CBS Sports. Associated Press. Retrieved September 2, 2011.


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