| 2002 Toyota Gator Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 57th Gator Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 1, 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2001 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Alltel Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Jacksonville, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | WR Javon Walker (FSU) WR André Davis (VT) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Virginia Tech by 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National anthem | Lee Greenwood | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | David Witvoet (Big Ten) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 72,202 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Payout | US$3,212,364 (both teams) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | NBC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Tom Hammond, Pat Haden, and Chris Wragge | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nielsen ratings | 6.9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2002 Gator Bowl (also known as the 2002 Toyota Gator Bowl for sponsorship reasons) 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.
Virginia Tech was selected to play in the 2002 Gator Bowl with an 8–3 regular-season record despite having just played in Jacksonville at the end of the previous year.[1] The selection of Virginia Tech over the Syracuse Orangemen (now just the "Orange") despite losing head-to-head and Syracuse having better conference and overall records was controversial.[2] Florida State, who had failed to win at least a share of the Atlantic Coast Conference title for the first time since joining the league in 1992, and who had played in all three BCS National Championship games held to that point, was selected as the opponent.
The 2002 Gator Bowl kicked off on January 1, 2002, at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, exactly one year since the Hokies had last played in the game. The game's early going seemed promising for the defense-minded Hokies. In the first quarter, Tech held Florida State scoreless despite only managing a single field goal on offense. In the second quarter, however, Florida State began to find gaps in the Hokie defense and scored 10 points. At halftime, Florida State held a 10–3 lead.[3]
In the third quarter, Tech struck back. The Hokies scored 14 points in the quarter, while Florida State managed just a field goal. The Hokies' All-American tailback Lee Suggs had suffered a season-ending injury in the first game of the season, but freshman Kevin Jones had carried the offense for the season, and continued to perform well in the post-season Gator Bowl game. With a 5-yard run from Jones and a 55-yard pass from Grant Noel to André Davis, Tech took a 17–13 lead going into the fourth quarter. But the lead quickly evaporated on a 77-yard catch and run from Chris Rix to Javon Walker.[3]
Florida State added ten more points after the long touchdown pass, and the Seminoles went on to win the game, 30–17.[4]