The 2021 Gator Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 31, 2021, with kickoff at 11:00 a.m. EST and televised on ESPN.[3] It was the 77th edition of the Gator Bowl, and was one of the 2021–22 bowl games concluding the 2021 FBS football season. Sponsored by financial technology company TaxSlayer, the game was officially known as the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.
| 2021 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 77th Gator Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | December 31, 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | TIAA Bank Field | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Jacksonville, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Sam Hartman (QB, Wake Forest)[1] & Johnny Langan (QB, Rutgers)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Rutgers by 12 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Kevin Mar (Big 12) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Halftime show | Marching Scarlet Knights, Spirit of Old Gold and Black | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 28,508 | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Taylor Zarzour (play-by-play), Matt Stinchcomb (analyst), and Alyssa Lang (sideline) | ||||||||||||||||||
On December 22, Texas A&M withdrew from the bowl, citing a breakout of positive COVID-19 cases and season-ending injuries limiting them to few players.[4] The bowl committee then worked to secure another participant.[5]
On December 23, the NCAA football oversight committee approved Rutgers as the first bowl alternate, under rules whereby five-win teams are ranked by Academic Progress Rate (APR) calculations. Rutgers finished first in APR among the five-win schools and was given the option to accept the bid. The NCAA also allowed the game to be postponed as late as January 10, if needed, by a replacement team.[6] Rutgers accepted the bid, and the game date was not altered.[7]
Teams
editThe bowl has tie-ins with the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). The initially planned matchup of Wake Forest vs. Texas A&M was consistent with those ties-ins,[8] until Texas A&M had to withdraw from the bowl due to an insufficient number of players being available.[9] Rutgers of the Big Ten was subsequently named as a replacement team due to having the highest APR amongst candidates.
Wake Forest Demon Deacons
editWake Forest enters the bowl with a 10–3 record (7–1 in ACC play). The Demon Deacons won their first eight games, then went 2–3 over their final five games. Wake Forest played two ranked teams, defeating NC State and losing to Pittsburgh.
Rutgers Scarlet Knights
editRutgers finished their season with a 5–7 record (2–7 in Big Ten play). The Scarlet Knights won their first three games, then lost four in a row, and finished the season by going 2–3 in their final five games. Four of their losses came against ranked teams in FBS.
Game summary
edit| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 17 Wake Forest | 14 | 6 | 3 | 15 | 38 |
| Rutgers | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
at TIAA Bank Field • Jacksonville, Florida
- Date: Friday, December 31, 2021
- Game time: 11:00 a.m. EST
- Game weather: Cloudy • Temperature: 74 °F (23 °C)
- Game attendance: 28,508
- Referee: Kevin Mar
- TV announcers (ESPN): Taylor Zarzour (play-by-play), Matt Stinchcomb (analyst), and Alyssa Lang (sideline)
- Box score
| Game information |
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Statistics
edit| Statistics | WF | RU |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 28 | 17 |
| Plays–yards | 60–452 | 47–276 |
| Rushes–yards | 37–148 | 29–111 |
| Passing yards | 304 | 165 |
| Passing: comp–att–int | 23–29–0 | 18–33–2 |
| Time of possession | 30:05 | 29:55 |
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wake Forest | Passing | Sam Hartman | 23/39, 304 yards, 3 TD |
| Rushing | Justice Ellison | 9 rushes, 59 yards, TD | |
| Receiving | A. T. Perry | 10 receptions, 127 yards, TD | |
| Rutgers | Passing | Noah Vedral | 8/13, 87 yards, INT |
| Rushing | Gavin Wimsatt | 4 rushes, 39 yards | |
| Receiving | Johnny Langan | 6 rushes, 57 yards |
References
edit- ^ @jaxdotcom (December 31, 2021). "A pregame meeting with former @BollesSchool and @WakeFB star Riley Skinner might have inspired Sam Hartman to TaxSlayer Gator Bowl MVP honors on Friday" (Tweet). Retrieved December 31, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ @BCpresident0718 (December 31, 2021). "Congratulations to our Johnny Langan for being named the Rutgers MVP for the Gator Bowl game" (Tweet). Retrieved December 31, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ "2021 College Football Bowl Schedule". FBSchedules.com. Retrieved June 17, 2021.
- ^ Li, David K. (December 22, 2021). "Texas A&M backs out of Gator Bowl after Covid outbreak leaves team without enough players". NBC News. Retrieved December 22, 2021.
- ^ @taxslayerbowl (December 22, 2021). "Ticket Update" (Tweet). Retrieved December 23, 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ Russo, Ralph. "NCAA clears way for Rutgers to replace (Texas) A&M in Gator Bowl". AP. The Associated Press. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
- ^ "Rutgers receives Gator Bowl bid". Chicago Sun-Times. AP. December 23, 2021. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
- ^ Brown, Travis L. (December 5, 2021). "No. 25 Texas A&M to face No. 17 Wake Forest in Gator Bowl on Dec. 31". theeagle.com. Retrieved December 23, 2021.
- ^ Smits, Garry (December 22, 2021). "Texas A&M opts out of TaxSlayer Gator Bowl; speculation centers on Rutgers, Illinois, Northern Illinois". The Florida Times-Union. Retrieved December 23, 2021 – via Yahoo! Sports.
External links
edit- Game statistics at statbroadcast.com