2018 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl
74th Gator Bowl
NC State Wolfpack Texas A&M Aggies
(9–3) (8–4)
ACC SEC
13 52
Head coach: 
Dave Doeren		 Head coach: 
Jimbo Fisher
APCoachesCFP
212019
1234 Total
NC State 31000 13
Texas A&M 7141417 52
DateDecember 31, 2018
Season2018
StadiumTIAA Bank Field
LocationJacksonville, Florida
MVPTrayveon Williams (RB, Texas A&M) & Ryan Finley (QB, NC State)[1]
FavoriteTexas A&M by 5[2]
RefereeMark Duddy (Pac-12)
Halftime showFightin Texas Aggie Band [3] NC State Marching Band[4]
Attendance38,206[5][6]
PayoutUS$3,168,000 [7]
United States TV coverage
NetworkESPN
AnnouncersAdam Amin, Rod Gilmore and Quint Kessenich
Gator Bowl
 < 2017 2020 > 

The 2018 Gator Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 31, 2018.[8] It was the 74th edition of the Gator Bowl, and one of the 2018–19 bowl games concluding the 2018 FBS football season. Sponsored by the financial technology company TaxSlayer, the game was officially known as the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, after four seasons without "Gator" in the bowl name.

Teams

The game featured the NC State Wolfpack from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the Texas A&M Aggies from the Southeastern Conference (SEC); the teams had never played each other.[9] This was Texas A&M's second Gator Bowl and NC State's fourth.

NC State Wolfpack

Main article: 2018 NC State Wolfpack football team

NC State received and accepted a bid to the Gator Bowl on December 2.[9] The Wolfpack entered the bowl with a 9–3 record (5–3 in conference).

Texas A&M Aggies

Main article: 2018 Texas A&M Aggies football team

Texas A&M received and accepted a bid to the Gator Bowl on December 2.[9] The Aggies entered the bowl with an 8–4 record (5–3 in conference).

Game summary

After holding a 21–13 lead at halftime, Texas A&M outscored NC State 31–0 in the second half, for a 52–13 final. Aggie running back Trayveon Williams set a new Gator Bowl rushing record with 236 yards, breaking the prior record of 216 that had been set in the 1966 edition[10] by Floyd Little. The game's attendance of 38,206 was the smallest since the 1950s.[5][11]

Scoring summary

Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP NCSU A&M
1 14:41 2 71 0:26 A&M Kellen Mond 62-yard touchdown run, Seth Small kick good 0 7
1 2:21 12 71 5:53 NCSU 43-yard field goal by Christopher Dunn 3 7
2 14:56 5 27 1:35 NCSU CJ Riley 9-yard touchdown reception from Ryan Finley, Christopher Dunn kick good 10 7
2 10:45 7 35 2:17 NCSU 49-yard field goal by Christopher Dunn 13 7
2 6:43 4 60 0:50 A&M Trayveon Williams 2-yard touchdown run, Seth Small kick good 13 14
2 0:32 11 72 5:15 A&M Kendrick Rogers 6-yard touchdown reception from Kellen Mond, Seth Small kick good 13 21
3 11:18 A&M Interception returned 78 yards for touchdown by Tyrel Dodson, Seth Small kick good 13 28
3 5:44 5 82 2:30 A&M Trayveon Williams 17-yard touchdown run, Seth Small kick good 13 35
4 13:56 1 93 0:13 A&M Trayveon Williams 93-yard touchdown run, Seth Small kick good 13 42
4 6:17 6 38 3:14 A&M 35-yard field goal by Seth Small 13 45
4 0:22 6 34 3:30 A&M Cullen Gillaspia 13-yard touchdown run, Daniel LaCamera kick good 13 52
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 13 52

Statistics

1 2 3 4 Total
Wolfpack 3 10 0 0 13
No. 19 Aggies 7 14 14 17 52
Statistics NCSU A&M
First downs 15 18
Plays–yards 69–273 60–541
Rushes–yards 37–134 34–401
Passing yards 139 140
Passing: Comp–Att–Int 19–32–2 14–26–1
Time of possession 32:57 27:03
Team Category Player Statistics
NC State Passing Ryan Finley 19/32, 139 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing Reggie Gallaspy 14 car, 79 yds
Receiving Emeka Emezie 6 rec, 36 yds
Texas A&M Passing Kellen Mond 14/26, 140 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing Trayveon Williams 19 car, 236 yds, 3 TD
Receiving Kendrick Rogers 6 rec, 44 yds, 1 TD

References

  1. ^ "2010's Game History". taxslayergatorbowl.com. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
  2. ^ Fawkes, Ben (December 10, 2018). "Odds for every 2018-19 CFB bowl game". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
  3. ^ Texas A&M Corps of Cadets, 2018 Gator Bowl Halftime Drill TAMU vs NC State, retrieved 2019-01-11
  4. ^ @taxslayerbowl (December 31, 2018). "The @ncstatemusic marching band jazzed up the crowd during half-time" (Tweet). Retrieved December 31, 2018 – via Twitter.
  5. ^ a b @APMarkLong (December 31, 2018). "The Gator Bowl drew 38,206, the game's smallest crowd since 1952" (Tweet). Retrieved January 1, 2019 – via Twitter.
  6. ^ @AlexMill20 (December 31, 2018). "Gator Bowl attendance: 38,206" (Tweet). Retrieved January 1, 2019 – via Twitter.
  7. ^ "2018 Bowl Schedule". CFP.com. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
  8. ^ "2018-19 College Football Playoff and bowl schedule". ESPN. May 2, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  9. ^ a b c "Texas A&M Accepts Invitation to TaxSlayer Gator Bowl".
  10. ^ @taxslayerbowl (December 31, 2018). "With that 93-yard rush, @TrayveonW just broke the record for most rushing yards in a #TaxSlayerGatorBowl game" (Tweet). Retrieved December 31, 2018 – via Twitter.
  11. ^ "1950's Game History". taxslayergatorbowl.com. Retrieved January 1, 2019.

External links

2018–19 NCAA football bowl game season
TaxSlayer / Gator Bowl
NC State Wolfpack bowl games
Texas A&M Aggies bowl games
Categories