1982 Gator Bowl

The 1982 Gator Bowl was an American college football bowl game played on December 30, 1982, at Gator Bowl Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. The game pitted the Florida State Seminoles and the West Virginia Mountaineers.

1982 Gator Bowl
38th Gator Bowl
West Virginia Mountaineers Florida State Seminoles
(9–2) (8–3)
Independent Independent
12 31
Head coach: 
Don Nehlen		 Head coach: 
Bobby Bowden
APCoaches
109
APCoaches
NR20
1234 Total
West Virginia 0606 12
Florida State 314140 31
DateDecember 30, 1982
Season1982
StadiumGator Bowl Stadium
LocationJacksonville, Florida
MVPTB Greg Allen (Florida State)
K Paul Woodside (West Virginia)
Attendance80,913
United States TV coverage
NetworkABC
AnnouncersAl Michaels
Lee Grosscup
Anne Simon

Background

West Virginia won their first three games (including a win against #9 Oklahoma) to be ranked at #14 heading into their rivalry game against #2 Pittsburgh. A close 16–13 loss made them fall to #16, but they rebounded with two straight victories to get to #13 heading into a home game versus #9 Penn State. A 24–0 loss to the eventual champion was their last loss of the regular season as they won the next four straight games to be invited to their second straight bowl game.

Florida State won seven straight games after starting the season 1–1 (with a loss to #2 Pittsburgh), rising to #7 heading into a non-conference matchup with #12 Louisiana State University. A 55–21 loss made them fall out of the polls, and they finished the season with a 13–10 loss to Florida. However, they were invited to the Gator Bowl, their first invite since 1967.

Game summary
  • Florida State – Hall 20 yard field goal
  • West Virginia – Woodside 48 field goal
  • Florida State – Allen 95 yard touchdown kickoff return (Hall kick)
  • West Virginia – Woodside 34 yard field goal
  • Florida State – McKinnon 27 yard touchdown pass from Williams (Hall kick)
  • Florida State – Allen 29 yard touchdown run (Hall kick)
  • Florida State – Allen 1 yard touchdown run (Hall kick)
  • West Virginia – Miller 26 yard touchdown pass from White (conversion failed)

Greg Allen rushed for 138 yards on 15 carries while Paul Woodside kicked two field goals. [1]

Aftermath

The Mountaineers went to five more bowl games in the decade, including another Gator Bowl in 1989. They have returned five more times, though they've won only once, in 2007. Florida State has gone to a bowl game in every season since 1982, including four Gator Bowls, the latter being Bowden's last game.

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 17, 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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