The Florida Gators are going to the Orange Bowl.
For the second time under Dan Mullen, the Gators are going to a New Year’s Six Bowl game. This year Florida will take on Virginia in the Orange Bowl on Monday, December 30.
“We are honored to accept a bid to play in the Orange Bowl. South Florida is an important region for our program, and home for many Gators,” Athletic Director Scott Stricklin said. “It is rewarding to see all of the work by Coach Mullen, the staff and players pay off with a second consecutive New Year’s Six bowl, and it will be a great week in Miami for our players, staff and fans.”
This will be just the second time the Cavilers and Gators face off. The two teams first played in 1959 with Florida winning 55-10.
The Gators’ season began with a win over Miami and they ripped off six more wins to start the season 6-0. The Gators finished the regular season with a 10-2 record, their only losses coming to No.1 LSU and No. 5 Georgia.
The Orange Bowl has been played every year since 1935, making it — along with the Sugar and Sun Bowls — the second oldest bowl game in the country behind the Rose Bowl.
“We’re looking forward to our trip to Miami to play in the Orange Bowl and a second consecutive New Year’s Six Bowl game,” Dan Mullen said. “Our players and staff have done a great job all year focusing on how we could get better every day, along with developing our mental and physical toughness throughout the year. We finished strong and put ourselves in a position to win 11 games.”
This will be Florida’s fourth trip to the Orange Bowl, tied for 12th most trips to the game with Tennessee, Missouri and Virginia Tech. The Gators are 3-0 in the Orange Bowl.
1967: Florida 27 Georgia Tech 12
1999: Florida 31 Syracuse 10
2002: Florida 56 Maryland 23
Florida is making its 45th all-time bowl appearance, and it is 23-21 in its previous bowl games. This will be the 19th time the Gators play in a New Year’s Six bowl.
With a win in the bowl game, the Gators would record their eighth 11-win season in program history and first since 2012. Moreover, Florida would end consecutive seasons with bowl wins for the first time since a four-year streak from 2008-11. Florida has already secured its second consecutive 10-win season for the first time since 13-win campaigns in 2008 and 2009, and Dan Mullen is already the first head coach in program history to post 10 wins in each of his first two seasons.