| Game name | Gator Bowl |
|---|---|
| Subheader | 74th Gator Bowl |
| Title sponsor | TaxSlayer |
| Date game played | December 31 |
| Year game played | 2018 |
| Football season | 2018 |
| Stadium | TIAA Bank Field |
| City | Jacksonville, Florida |
| Visitor school | North Carolina State University |
| Visitor name short | NC State |
| Visitor nickname | Wolfpack |
| Visitor record | 9–3 |
| Visitor conference | ACC |
| Visitor coach | Dave Doeren |
| Visitor 1q | 3 |
| Visitor 2q | 10 |
| Visitor 3q | 0 |
| Visitor 4q | 0 |
| Home school | Texas A&M University |
| Home name short | Texas A&M |
| Home nickname | Aggies |
| Home record | 8–4 |
| Home conference | SEC |
| Home rank ap | 21 |
| Home rank coaches | 20 |
| Home rank cfp | 19 |
| Home coach | Jimbo Fisher |
| Home 1q | 7 |
| Home 2q | 14 |
| Home 3q | 14 |
| Home 4q | 17 |
| Mvp | Trayveon Williams (RB, Texas A&M) & Ryan Finley (QB, NC State)[1] |
| Odds | Texas A&M by 5[2] |
| Halftime | Fightin Texas Aggie Band [3] NC State Marching Band[4] |
| Referee | Mark Duddy (Pac-12) |
| Attendance | 38,206[5][6] |
| Payout | 3,168,000 [7] |
| Us network | ESPN |
| Us announcers | Adam Amin, Rod Gilmore and Quint Kessenich |
| Different previous | 2017 |
| Different next | 2020 |
The 2018 Gator Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 31, 2018.[8] It was the 74th edition of the Gator Bowl, and one of the 2018–19 bowl games concluding the 2018 FBS football season. Sponsored by the financial technology company TaxSlayer, the game was officially known as the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, after four seasons without "Gator" in the bowl name.
Teams
The game featured the NC State Wolfpack from the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and the Texas A&M Aggies from the Southeastern Conference (SEC); the teams had never played each other.[9] This was Texas A&M's second Gator Bowl and NC State's fourth.
NC State Wolfpack
NC State received and accepted a bid to the Gator Bowl on December 2.[9] The Wolfpack entered the bowl with a 9–3 record (5–3 in conference).
Texas A&M Aggies
Texas A&M received and accepted a bid to the Gator Bowl on December 2.[9] The Aggies entered the bowl with an 8–4 record (5–3 in conference).
Game summary
After holding a 21–13 lead at halftime, Texas A&M outscored NC State 31–0 in the second half, for a 52–13 final. Aggie running back Trayveon Williams set a new Gator Bowl rushing record with 236 yards, breaking the prior record of 216 that had been set in the 1966 edition[10] by Floyd Little. The game's attendance of 38,206 was the smallest since the 1950s.[5][11]
References
- ^ "2010s Game History". taxslayergatorbowl.com. Retrieved January 3, 2020.
- ^ Fawkes, Ben (December 10, 2018). "Odds for every 2018-19 CFB bowl game". ESPN.com. Retrieved December 18, 2018.
- ^ Texas A&M Corps of Cadets, "2018 Gator Bowl Halftime Drill TAMU vs NC State", retrieved 2019-01-11
- ^ "The @ncstatemusic marching band jazzed up the crowd during half-time". No. 1079938026267131905. December 31, 2018. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
- ^ "The Gator Bowl drew 38,206, the game's smallest crowd since 1952". No. 1079946395317166080. December 31, 2018. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
- ^ "Gator Bowl attendance: 38,206". No. 1079948935303782400. December 31, 2018. Retrieved January 1, 2019.
- ^ "2018 Bowl Schedule". CFP.com. Retrieved December 3, 2018.
- ^ "2018-19 College Football Playoff and bowl schedule". ESPN. May 2, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
- ^ "Texas A&M Accepts Invitation to TaxSlayer Gator Bowl"
- ^ "With that 93-yard rush, @TrayveonW just broke the record for most rushing yards in a #TaxSlayerGatorBowl game". No. 1079941777480708099. December 31, 2018. Retrieved December 31, 2018.
- ^ "1950s Game History". taxslayergatorbowl.com. Retrieved January 1, 2019.