The 2008 Gator Bowl was played on January 1, 2008, as part of the

2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season The 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season was the highest level of college football competition in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The regular season began on August 30, 2007 and ended on ...

. It featured the Red Raiders of

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sy ...

, who finished third in the

Big 12 Conference The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Irving, Texas, USA. It consists of ten full-member universities. It is a member of Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) for all sports. Its ...

's South Division, and the Cavaliers of the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

, who finished second in the Atlantic Coast Conference's Coastal Division. Texas Tech won the game on a last-second field goal, securing a 31–28 victory. It was one of 32 games in the 2007–08 bowl season. The Gator Bowl is an annual 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 ...

that is played at

Jacksonville Municipal Stadium TIAA Bank Field is an American football stadium located in Jacksonville, Florida, that primarily serves as the home facility of the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL) and the headquarters of the professional wrestling prom ...

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

. It is one of the oldest college bowls, held continuously since 1946. This edition's full name was the Konica Minolta Gator Bowl after its sponsor,

Konica Minolta is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational technology company headquartered in Marunouchi, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Chiyoda, Tokyo, with offices in 49 countries worldwide. The company manufactures business and industrial imaging products, in ...

.Gator Bowl lands new deal for title sponsor
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Overview

The Gator Bowl has

tie-ins A tie-in work is a work of fiction or other product based on a media property such as a film, video game, television series, board game, web site, role-playing game or literary property. Tie-ins are authorized by the owners of the original prope ...

from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC),

, and

Big East The Big East Conference is a collegiate athletic conference that competes in NCAA Division I in ten men's sports and twelve women's sports. Headquartered in New York City, the eleven full-member schools are primarily located in Northeast and ...

Conferences, as well as independent Notre Dame. They have the right to the third pick of a team from the ACC, and have the option to offer the other spot to the second pick from the Big East, the fourth pick from the Big 12, or Notre Dame. The 2008 game featured the ACC's Virginia Cavaliers, who finished the 2007 season with an overall record of 9–3 (6–2 in the ACC) playing the Big 12's

Texas Tech Red Raiders The Texas Tech Red Raiders and Lady Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University, located in Lubbock, Texas. The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders, while the school's other women's teams use the "Red Raider ...

, who finished the 2007 season with an overall record of 8–4 (4–4 in the Big 12). The game was the eighth straight post season appearance for the Red Raiders. Virginia returned to a bowl game after failing to qualify for one following the 2006 season.

Recap

After Texas Tech jumped out to an early 7–0 lead, scoring on their second drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass from

Graham Harrell Graham Stanton Harrell (born May 22, 1985) is an American football coach and former quarterback, who is the current offensive coordinator for the Purdue Boilermakers. He played college football at Texas Tech from 2004 to 2008. He played in the ...

to Detron Lewis, Virginia reeled off 21 straight points, including two

safeties Safety is the condition of being protected against harmful conditions or events, or the control of hazards to reduce risk. Safety may also refer to: Places * Safety Island, Antarctica Government * The Internet Stopping Adults Facilitating t ...

where Harrell was called for intentional grounding in the endzone. Virginia tailback Mikell Simpson scored on a 96-yard run, an NCAA bowl record for a running back. Virginia carried a 21–7 lead into the locker room at halftime and seemed to be in control after Simpson hauled in an 11-yard pass from quarterback Peter Lalich with 11:26 left in the game to make the score 28–14. With 7:54 left in the game, Texas Tech turned the ball over on downs just outside Virginia's goal line. The Cavaliers were unable to pick up a first down and, following a punt, the Red Raiders took over at midfield trailing by 14 with 5:32 left. Harrell engineered an efficient drive completing five of his eight passes on the drive, including a 20-yard fade to

Michael Crabtree Michael Alex Crabtree Jr. (born September 14, 1987) is a former American football wide receiver who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. He played college football at Texas Tech, where he was a two-time unanimous All-Am ...

for a touchdown to make it 28–21 with 3:31 left on the clock. On Virginia's ensuing drive, Lalich was sacked and fumbled the football, setting up a one-play drive for Texas Tech – a four-yard touchdown run for Aaron Crawford. Virginia was again unable to pick up a first down and Texas Tech drove to the UVA 24 yard line and Alex Trlica kicked the winning 41-yard field goal with two seconds left. The final score was Texas Tech 31, Virginia 28.

Notes

References

External links

Official Website of the Gator Bowl
{{Virginia Cavaliers bowl game navbox Gator Bowl Virginia Cavaliers football bowl games Texas Tech Red Raiders football bowl games Gator Bowl 21st century in Jacksonville, Florida Gator Bowl Gator Bowl