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2002 FedEx Orange Bowl
2002 FedEx Orange Bowl
68th Orange Bowl; BCS Bowl Game
Florida Gators	Maryland Terrapins
(9–2)	(10–1)
SEC	ACC
56	23
Head coach: ; Steve Spurrier	Head coach: ; Ralph Friedgen
Date	January 2, 2002
Season	2001
Stadium	Pro Player Stadium
Location	Miami, Florida
MVP	Florida WR Taylor Jacobs
Favorite	Florida by 14.5 (58)
Referee	James Sprenger (Pac-10)
Attendance	73,640
United States TV coverage
Network	ABC
Announcers	Brad Nessler and Bob Griese
Nielsen ratings	9.5
Orange Bowl
< 2001	2003 >

The 2002 FedEx Orange Bowl game was a post-season college football bowl game between the Florida Gators and the ACC champion Maryland Terrapins on January 2, 2002. Florida defeated Maryland 56–23.^[3] The game was part of the 2001–2002 Bowl Championship Series (BCS) of the 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season and was the concluding game of the season for both teams. The Orange Bowl was first played in 1935, and the 2002 game was the 68th edition of the Orange Bowl. The contest was televised in the United States on ABC.

This was Steve Spurrier's last game as coach of the Florida Gators as he resigned two days after the game.

Teams

Florida Gators

Florida, ranked No. 1 entering the season, lost two SEC games by a total of 5 points and missed out on the SEC championship game. Despite those setbacks, the talented Gators entered this matchup with a 9–2 record (6–2 SEC) and a No. 5 ranking in both major polls and the BCS.

Maryland Terrapins

Under first-year head coach and Maryland alumnus Ralph Friedgen, the Terps surprised many by finishing 10–1 after the regular season. That included a 7–1 conference record which gave Maryland its first ACC title since 1985.

Game summary

This potentially exciting matchup did not live up to the hype. Florida opened the scoring with a 1-yard TD run by Earnest Graham just over five minutes into the game. The opening quarter ended with some fireworks as each team scored a long touchdown in the final 12 seconds and the Gators led 14–7.

Maryland's Nick Novak kicked a 20-yard field goal with 12:20 remaining in the first half to make the score 14–10. The Terrapins inability to tie the game preceded an offensive onslaught by Florida that would last until the close of the third quarter. The Gators quick strike offense scored 35 consecutive points – including three TD passes by Heisman runner-up Rex Grossman and a second Graham TD run – in just over 15 minutes of game play to open a 49–10 advantage and put the game well out of reach.

Two touchdown runs by the Terps' Marc Riley sandwiched a fourth Grossman TD pass to close out the scoring, giving Steve Spurrier a 56–23 win in his final game as Florida's head coach.

2002 FedEx Orange Bowl

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
No. 5 Florida	14	14	21	7	56
No. 6 Maryland	7	3	0	13	23

at Pro Player Stadium • Miami Gardens, Florida

Date: Wednesday, January 2, 2002
Game time: 8:12 p.m. EST
Game weather: Clear • Temperature: 74 °F (23 °C) • Wind: 7 mph (11 km/h) southeast
Game attendance: 73,640
Referee: James Sprenger (Pac-10)
TV announcers (ABC): Brad Nessler (play-by-play), Bob Griese (analyst), and Lynn Swann (sideline)
Box score

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	Florida	Maryland
1	9:51	10	83	3:59	Florida	Earnest Graham 1-yard touchdown run, Jeff Chandler kick good	7	0
1	0:12	2	55	0:47	Florida	Taylor Jacobs 46-yard touchdown reception from Brock Berlin, Jeff Chandler kick good	14	0
1	0:00	1	64	0:12	Maryland	Jafar Williams 64-yard touchdown reception from Shaun Hill, Nick Novak kick good	14	7
2	12:20	4	1	0:45	Maryland	20-yard field goal by Nick Novak	14	10
2	2:18	10	72	3:45	Florida	Taylor Jacobs 15-yard touchdown reception from Rex Grossman, Jeff Chandler kick good	21	10
2	0:03	6	64	1:21	Florida	Jabar Gaffney 4-yard touchdown reception from Rex Grossman, Jeff Chandler kick good	28	10
3	11:22	10	65	3:38	Florida	Earnest Graham 6-yard touchdown run, Jeff Chandler kick good	35	10
3	7:26	4	74	1:29	Florida	Rob Gillespie 11-yard touchdown reception from Rex Grossman, Jeff Chandler kick good	42	10
3	2:52	2	68	0:19	Florida	Jabar Gaffney 33-yard touchdown reception from Rex Grossman, Jeff Chandler kick good	49	10
4	11:56	15		5:56	Maryland	Marc Riley 1-yard touchdown run, Nick Novak kick good	49	17
4	10:16	4	69	1:40	Florida	Carlos Perez 10-yard touchdown reception from Rex Grossman, Jeff Chandler kick good	56	17
4	5:10	14	80	5:06	Maryland	Marc Riley 10-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass failed	56	23
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							56	23

Statistics

Statistics	UF	MD
First downs	30	19
Plays–yards	74–659	79–360
Rushes–yards	25–203	40–103
Passing yards	456	257
Passing: comp–att–int	33–49–2	23–39–1
Time of possession	28:26	31:34

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
Florida	Passing	Rex Grossman	20/28, 248 yds, 4 TD
	Rushing	Earnest Graham	16 car, 149 yds, 2 TD
	Receiving	Taylor Jacobs	10 rec, 170 yds, 2 TD
Maryland	Passing	Shaun Hill	23/39, 257 yds, TD, INT
	Rushing	Shaun Hill	11 car, 31 yds
	Receiving	Matt Murphy	5 rec, 42 yds

References

^ "Orange Bowl Odds: College football". Vegasinsider. January 1, 2003. p. C10. Archived from the original on October 26, 2020. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
^ ^a ^b "BCS Game Results". orangebowl.org. September 26, 2007. Archived from the original on June 2, 2009. Retrieved January 13, 2008.
^ "Maryland sees red in Orange Bowl embarrassment". CBS Sports. Associated Press. Retrieved September 2, 2011.