The 2006 Gator Bowl was a college football bowl game between the Louisville Cardinals and the Virginia Tech Hokies in Jacksonville, Florida on January 2, 2006. Virginia Tech was selected as a participant in the 2006 Gator Bowl following a 10–2 regular season; a loss to Florida State in the inaugural ACC Championship Game gave Tech a position in the Gator Bowl instead of the more prestigious Orange Bowl game. Facing the 12th-ranked Hokies were the 15th-ranked Cardinals, who finished 9–2 during the regular season of their first year in the Big East Conference. Louisville led for much of the game, beginning with an 11-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter by backup quarterback Hunter Cantwell. In the second half, however, Virginia Tech's offense began to have success. Tech earned the only points of the third quarter—a 28-yard field goal from kicker Brandon Pace—to narrow Louisville's lead to 17–13. In the fourth quarter, the game fully turned in the Hokies' favor. Though Louisville scored a touchdown early in the quarter, Virginia Tech scored 22 unanswered points in the final 13 minutes of the game to take a 35–24 lead and earn the win. (more...)
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