2011 Gator Bowl

2011 Progressive Gator Bowl
66th Gator Bowl
Mississippi State Bulldogs Michigan Wolverines (8–4) (7–5) SEC Big Ten 52 14 Head coach:  Dan Mullen Head coach:  Rich Rodriguez AP Coaches BCS 21 22 21
1 2 3 4 Total Mississippi State 10 21 14 7 52 Michigan 14 0 0 0 14
Date	January 1, 2011
Season	2010
Stadium	EverBank Field
Location	Jacksonville, Florida
MVP	Chris Relf (QB, Mississippi State) & Denard Robinson (QB, Michigan)[1]
Favorite	Miss. St. by 5[2]
Referee	Jerry McGinn (Big East)
Attendance	77,497
Payout	US$2.75 million
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN2
Announcers	Mike Patrick (play-by-play) Craig James (analyst) Todd Harris (sideline)
Gator Bowl  < 2010  2012 >

The 2011 Gator Bowl game was a post-season college football bowl game between the Mississippi State Bulldogs of the SEC and Michigan Wolverines of the Big Ten, and was played on January 1, 2011 (1:30 p.m. ET), at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. It was the 66th edition of the bowl game and was broadcast by ESPN2. It was the first time these two teams have ever met. After the game started fairly close, Mississippi State ultimately pulled away and routed Michigan 52–14. It was the most points ever scored by one team in the Gator Bowl, and the worst loss Michigan has ever suffered in any bowl game in its long history. Rich Rodriguez was fired by Michigan after the game, marking the beginning of the "Brady Hoke Era," as Hoke would be named Rodriguez's replacement as Michigan head coach.

Konica Minolta ended its sponsorship after the 2010 Gator Bowl game. On December 14, 2010, the Gator Bowl Association announced that Progressive Insurance would become the title sponsor for the 2011 Gator Bowl.^[3]