1998 Gator Bowl

NCAAFootballSingleGameHeader
Name=1998 Gator Bowl
Year=1997
Type=bg


Date=January 1, 1998
Stadium=Alltel Stadium
City=Jacksonville, Florida
Visitor Name Short=North Carolina
Visitor Nickname=Tar Heels
Home Name Short=Virginia Tech
Home Nickname=Hokies
Visitor Record=10–1
Home Record=7–4
Visitor Coach=Carl Torbush
Home Coach=Frank Beamer
Visitor1=16
Visitor2=6
Visitor3=6
Visitor4=14
Home1=0
Home2=0
Home3=3
Home4=0
Visitor

Visitor Coaches=
Home

Home Coaches=
MVP=
Odds=
Anthem=
Referee=
Halftime=
Attendance=54,116
US Network= NBC
US Announcers=
Ratings=
Intl Network=
Intl Announcers=

The 1998 Gator Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Tar Heels from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida on January 1, 1998. The game was the final contest of the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season for both teams, and ended in a 42-3 victory for North Carolina.

Following the 1997 college football season, Virginia Tech was selected to play in the 1998 Gator Bowl as a reward for a 7–4 regular season. [ [http://www.hokiesports.com/football/pastschedules.html?season=1997 Virginia Tech Football Past Schedules, 1997-1998] Virginia Tech Athletics department, Hokiesports.com, Accessed February 25, 2008.] Facing the unranked Hokies were the No. 7-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels. The Heels had gone 10–1 during the regular season and were ranked seventh in the Associated Press poll heading into the game. North Carolina was playing under new head coach Carl Torbush for the first time. Torbush had taken over for former head coach Mack Brown on December 8 after Brown announced that he was departing to take the position of head coach at Texas.

The game kicked off on January 1, 1998 at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. From the opening kickoff, North Carolina dominated every aspect of the game. In the first quarter, the Tar Heels scored 16 points, matching the total number of first-quarter points they had scored in every game of the regular season combined. [http://www.cstv.com/auto_pdf/p_hotos/s_chools/unc/sports/m-footbl/auto_pdf/history121-156 2007 North Carolina football media guide] North Carolina Athletics Department, Tarheelblue.cstv.com. Page 143. Accessed February 25, 2005.] North Carolina added six points in the second and third quarters before Tech scored its first points of the game—a 40-yard field goal by kicker Shayne Graham. North Carolina set records for largest bowl game margin of victory, most points scored in a bowl game, and most touchdown passes in a bowl game.

The eventual 42–3 loss was Virginia Tech's largest bowl loss in school history. [ [http://www.hokiesports.com/football/bowls/1998Gator.html 1998 Gator Bowl] Virginia Tech Athletics department, Hokiesports.com, Accessed February 25, 2008.]

Notes