Orange Bowl
2002
Florida 56
Maryland 23
Florida’s third appearance in the Orange Bowl was a memorable one, as
the Gators rolled to a runaway victory on their way to setting numerous
offensive records against the Atlantic Coast Conference champion
Maryland Terrapins. The Gators jumped on top early, as first-time
starter Brock Berlin quarterbacked Florida to scoring drives of 83 and
55 yards respectively in the first quarter. The first, capped off by a
one-yard plunge by running back Earnest Graham (video)
and the second was capped by a 46-yard pass from Berlin to Orange Bowl
MVP wide receiver Taylor Jacobs down the right sideline. Jacobs would
establish himself as Berlin’s favorite target early on, totaling 115
yards receiving on five catches in the first quarter. Maryland answered
quickly with a strike of its own. On the first play from scrimmage after
Jacobs’ touchdown catch, Maryland quarterback Shaun Hill hit Jafar
Williams with a 64 pass that closed the score to 14-7 (video).
Berlin, named the starter earlier in the week due to Rex Grossman
missing curfew, eventually gave way to the Heisman Trophy runner-up
early in the second quarter after the Gators third turnover led to a
Terrapin field goal that cut the score to 14-10. Eager to display why he
had been the Gators’ starting quarterback since August, Grossman entered
the game and proceeded to lead the Gators on six straight touchdown
drives, including four touchdown passes to three separate receivers.
Grossman began by connecting on six of eight passes, including a 15-yard
touchdown pass to Jacobs as the sophomore guided the Gators 72 yards on
his initial drive (video). Jacobs’ second
touchdown reception of the game tied for the most in the Orange Bowl and
the most since former Gator Travis Taylor also caught two in the 1999
Orange Bowl.
Florida would score once more just before the half as Grossman found
wide receiver Jabar Gaffney in the endzone for a touchdown to conclude
the Gators 64-yard touchdown drive during the last 1:24 of the half. The
Gators entered the locker room with a comfortable 28-10 lead.
After receiving the opening kick off of the second half, Florida put
together another impressive drive, highlighted by Graham’s second
touchdown of the game, this one a four-yard rush up the middle, capping
off the 65-yard drive and extending the lead to 35-10. During the drive,
Jacobs surpassed the Orange Bowl single-game mark for receiving yards
with his ten receptions and 170 yards receiving. Another quick drive,
this one capitalizing on a 35-yard run by Graham, ended with running
back Robert Gillespie darting for an 11-yard touchdown. The five-play
drive lasted a minute and a half and covered 74 yards without once
incurring a second down.
The next drive would see more of the same, as the Gators scored again in
just two plays. The first play, a 35-yard run by Earnest Graham and the
ensuing play, a 33-yard Grossman pass to Gaffney for his second
touchdown of the game (video). With the
Gators holding a 49-10 lead, Maryland answered with a 15-play, 71-yard
drive ending with a one-yard run by Terrapin running back Marc Riley.
During the drive, Hill completed six of eight passes, to four different
receivers, and also rushed twice for 12 yards. Maryland would recover
its on-side kick, but due to an offside call, would forfeit possession
and be forced to kick again, this time downfield to the Gators. The
Gators’ final scoring drive produced the highlight of the game. Robert
Gillespie rushed around the right side, spinning around numerous
Maryland defenders and racing 50 yards before eventually being pushed
out of bounds at the Terrapin 10-yard line. Grossman next fired 10 yards
to receiver Carlos Perez for his fourth and final touchdown pass of the
game.
With the Gators’ offense chewing up yards and minutes on the clock, the
Florida defense also helped prevent any Terrapin uprisings with its
consistent play. Maryland was forced to punt in three of its first four
possessions to start the game and then, during the second half, the
Terps never had a chance to get back on track as Maryland was only
provided with five possessions over the last 30 minutes of play.
The Terrapins received the ball once again and produced their final points of the night. With his feet and with his arm, Hill led Maryland to the endzone. Hill passed for 43 yards on the drive and rushed for an additional 26 yards before Riley swept to the right for a 10-yard touchdown. Hill’s pass attempt fell incomplete for the two-point conversion and the Terrapins kicked off to the Gators. The Gators inserted quarterback Jeff Creveling, their third quarterback of the game, in for Grossman and ran the remaining 2:25 off the clock.
Attendance: 73,640
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
UF- Graham 1 yard run (Chandler kick)
UF- Jacobs 46 yard pass from Brock Berlin (Chandler kick)
UM- J. Williams 64 yard pass from Shaun Hill (Novak kick)
Second Quarter
UM- FG Novak 20
UF- Jacobs 15 yard pass from Grossman (Chandler kick)
UF- Gaffney 4 yard pass from Grossman (Chandler kick)
Third Quarter
UF- Graham 4 yd run (Chandler kick)
UF- Gillespie 11 yard run (Chandler kick)
UF- Gaffney 33 yd pass from Grossman (Chandler kick)
Fourth Quarter
UM- Riley 1 yard run (Noval kick)
UF- Perez 10 yard pass from Grossman (Chandler kick)
UM- Riley 10 yard run (Hill pass failed)
Individual Statistics
RUSHING
UF- Graham 16-149, Gillespie 4-63
UM- Hill 11-31, Riley 9-23, Perry 11-22, Parson 4-18
Passing
UF- Grossman 20-28-248, Berlin 11-19-196
UM- Hill 23-39-257
Receiving
UF- Jacobs 10-170, Gaffney 7-118, Caldwell 4-47, Perez 2-31
UM- Murphy 5-42, Williams 4-91, Gary 4-35, Parson 3-46, Perry 3-27
