The 2013 Allstate Sugar Bowl was a postseason 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 ...

on Wednesday, January 2, 2013, at the

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New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

. The game featured the Florida Gators of the SEC and the

Louisville Cardinals The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Co ...

of the

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 ...

. The game was broadcast live on

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at 8:30 PM ET.Bowl Schedule
Bowl Info. Louisville was selected to their first Sugar Bowl after a 10–2 regular season that culminated in a share of the Big East title. Florida was picked as the other half of the matchup following an 11–1 campaign. As two touchdown underdogs, the Louisville Cardinals beat the Gators 33–23.Teddy Bridgewater paces Louisville to stunning upset of Florida

. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2013. In recognition of his performance during the game, Louisville quarterback

Teddy Bridgewater Theodore Edmond Bridgewater Jr. (born November 10, 1992) is an American football quarterback for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). Born and raised in Miami, Florida, he graduated from Miami Northwestern high school ...

was named the game's most valuable player.Nunez, Tammy
Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater wins the Miller-Digby MVP award
nola.com. 2 January 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2013.

Teams

The 2013 Sugar Bowl marked the third meeting between Florida and Louisville, with Florida holding a 2–0 advantage coming into the game. The previous meeting was on October 24, 1992, in a 31–17 win for the Gators.Florida and Louisville to Meet in 79th Allstate Sugar Bowl
allstatesugarbowl.org. 2 December 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2013.

Florida

Florida started the season with 7 straight wins before suffering their only regular season loss against rivals

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

. The Gators ended the season 11–1 and were SEC Eastern Division Co-Champions. Because of their loss to Georgia, Florida did not play in the

2012 SEC Championship Game The 2012 SEC Championship Game was played on December 1, 2012, in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia, and determined both the 2012 football champion of the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The game featured the Georgia Bulldogs, winners of the S ...

against

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

. However, because Alabama was playing in the 2013 BCS National Championship Game, Florida was selected as an at-large pick to replace Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. Florida came into the game with one of the nation's best defenses. In the regular season, Florida allowed an average of only 12.9 points per game, which was third in the FBS, and allowed only 5 passing touchdowns while making 19 interceptions. The Gators' defense was led by first-team All-America safety

Matt Elam Matthew D. Elam (born September 21, 1991) is an American football safety for the Orlando Guardians of the XFL. He played college football at Florida, where he earned All-American honors. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the first roun ...

. On offense, the Gators were led by All-SEC running back

Mike Gillislee Michael B. Gillislee Jr. (born November 1, 1990) is a former American football running back. He played college football for the University of Florida. He was drafted by the Miami Dolphins in the fifth round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Early years G ...

, who came into the game with 1,104 rushing yards and 10 touchdowns.Louisville-Florida Preview

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. 1 January 2013. Retrieved 3 January 2013. This was the Gators' 9th Sugar Bowl appearance; they had previously appeared in the 2010 game against

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, where they won 51–24. Florida had a 3–5 record in the Sugar Bowl coming into the game.

Louisville

Louisville started the season with a 9–0 record before dropping back-to-back games against Syracuse and

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

. In their regular season finale, the Cardinals were able to beat

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and w ...

20–17 in a come from behind victory to clinch a share of the final Big East title. Louisville ended the season with an overall record of 10–2. Louisville entered the game averaging 31 points and 425.67 yards of offense per game. The Cardinals offense was led by Big East Offensive Player of the Year

, who came into the game with 3,452 yards passing yards and 25 passing touchdowns. Louisville's ground game was led by running backs Jeremy Wright and Senorise Perry, who combined for 1,445 rushing yards and 20 rushing touchdowns. This was Louisville's first appearance in the Sugar Bowl.

Game summary

First half

Louisville scored on the first offensive play of the game when Louisville cornerback Terell Floyd intercepted

Jeff Driskel Jeffrey Adam Driskel (born April 23, 1993) is an American football quarterback for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida, before transferring to Louisiana Tech, and was drafted by the San ...

and returned the ball 38 yards for a touchdown. Louisville further extended their lead to 14–0 on a 1-yard touchdown run by Jeremy Wright. Florida finally got on board in the second quarter with a 33-yard field goal from

Caleb Sturgis Caleb James Sturgis (born August 9, 1989) is a former American football placekicker. He played college football at Florida, setting team records for field goals completed in a season and a career, and was recognized as an All-American. He was ...

to make it 14–3. Louisville responded with a 27-yard field goal from John Wallace to make it 17–3. After forcing Florida to punt, Louisville extended their lead 24–3 on a 15-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Teddy Bridgewater to DeVante Parker. Florida was able to close the gap towards the end of the second quarter on a 4th down, 1-yard touchdown run from Matt Jones to make the score 24–10 going into halftime.Louisville Cardinals vs. Florida Gators box score

. Retrieved 3 January 2013.Louisville Cardinals vs. Florida Gators play-by-play

. Retrieved 3 January 2013.

Second half

Florida opened the second half on with an

onside kick In gridiron football, an onside kick is a kickoff deliberately kicked short in an attempt by the kicking team to regain possession of the ball. This is in contrast with a typical kickoff, in which the kicking team intends to give the ball to the ...

. However, Florida was unable to recover the onside kick, giving Louisville the ball at Florida's 19-yard line following personal foul penalties on Florida. Taking advantage of the good field position, the Cardinals scored on a 19-yard touchdown pass from Teddy Bridgewater to Damian Copeland. The extra point was blocked, however, giving Louisville a 30–10 lead. Louisville had a few more opportunities in the third quarter to extend their lead. The Cardinals defense recovered a fumble at Florida's 4-yard line. However, after Bridgewater was sacked twice on drive, placekicker John Wallace missed a 43-yard field goal. After forcing Florida to punt on the ensuing drive, Louisville was able to drive to Florida's 9-yard line. However, after an illegal block penalty that backed up the Cardinals to the 24-yard line, John Wallace's 41-yard field goal attempt was blocked. Early in the 4th quarter, Florida drove to Louisville's 9-yard line. Florida came up empty, however, after Louisville's Andrew Johnson intercepted Jeff Driskel in the endzone. Taking advantage of the interception, Louisville extended their lead to 33–10 on a 30-yard field goal from John Wallace. On the ensuing kickoff, Florida's Andre Debose returned the ball 100 yards to cut the lead down to 33–17. After forcing Louisville to punt, Florida was able to cut further into the lead on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Jeff Driskel to Kent Taylor. Florida's two-point conversion attempt was unsuccessful, however, making the score 33–23 with 2:13 left in regulation. Florida was unable to recover the ensuing onside kick, and Louisville was able to hold on for the victory after getting a 1st down.

Scoring summary

Statistics

References

{{Louisville Cardinals bowl game navbox Sugar Bowl Sugar Bowl Sugar Bowl Florida Gators football bowl games Louisville Cardinals football bowl games Sugar Bowl