2002 Orange Bowl
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| 2002 FedEx Orange Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| BCS Bowl Game 68th Orange Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Pro Player Stadium in Miami, Florida, hosted the Orange Bowl. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 2, 2002 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2001 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Pro Player Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Miami, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Florida WR Taylor Jacobs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Florida by 14.5 (58) [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | James Sprenger (Pac-10) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 73,640[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ABC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Brad Nessler and Bob Griese | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nielsen ratings | 9.5[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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.
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.
