The 1999 Orange Bowl was a college football

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivi ...

played on January 2, 1999. It was also one of 1998–99 Bowl Championship Series (BCS) games. This 65th edition of the

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game ...

(the last one ever played at the

Miami Orange Bowl The Miami Orange Bowl was an outdoor athletic stadium in Miami, Florida from 1937 until 2008. The stadium was located in the Little Havana neighborhood west of Greater Downtown Miami, Downtown Miami. The Miami Orange Bowl was considered a landm ...

) featured the Syracuse Orangemen, and the Florida Gators. Florida came into the game with a 9–2 record, whereas Syracuse was 8–3. Consequently, the Gators were favorites playing in their home state. Florida came out of the gates swinging, with quarterback Doug Johnson throwing two touchdown passes to wide receiver Travis Taylor creating a 14-0 Florida lead. Syracuse got on the scoreboard in the second quarter following a field goal to close the gap to 14–3. Florida added two more touchdowns before the half to widen the gap to 28–3. Florida continued to dominate the game, before giving up a 62 yard touchdown from quarterback Donovan McNabb to wide receiver

Maurice Jackson Maurice Jackson is an American scholar and political activist. He is currently an Associate Professor of History and African-American Studies and an Affiliated Professor of Performing Arts (Jazz) at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., in ...

, with only 3 minutes left in the game. Florida then ran out the clock to finish the game. Florida, whose only two losses came against top-two opponents, cranked out over 400 yards of total offense. Travis Taylor was named MVP, after catching 7 passes for 159 yards and two touchdowns. Running back Terry Jackson rushed for 108 yards on 21 carries. This Orange Bowl was played at the Miami Orange Bowl because Pro Player Stadium (later known as

Hard Rock Stadium Hard Rock Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium located in Miami Gardens, Florida. The stadium is the home field for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL) and the Miami Hurricanes, the University of Miami's NCAA Division I coll ...

) was being used for an NFL wild card playoff game; coincidentally, both the NFL game and the Orange Bowl were aired on the same network,

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

Aftermath

The 1999 Orange Bowl victory clinched Florida's sixth consecutive 10-win season. They finished the season 10-2, and ranked in the final Top 5.

References

Orange Bowl Florida Gators football bowl games Syracuse Orange football bowl games

January 1999 sports events in the United States {{Collegefootball-bowl-stub