2014 Gator Bowl
| 2014 TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 69th Gator Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 1, 2014 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 2013 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Jacksonville Municipal Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Jacksonville, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Quincy Enunwa (Nebraska WR)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Georgia by 9[2] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Mike Batlan (Pac-12) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 60,712[3] | ||||||||||||||||||
| United States TV coverage | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ESPN2 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Mike Patrick (play-by-play) Ed Cunningham (analyst) Jeannine Edwards (sideline) | ||||||||||||||||||
The 2014 Gator Bowl, known as the TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl for sponsorship purposes, was the sixty-ninth edition of the college football bowl game, played on January 1, 2014 at Jacksonville Municipal Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. Part of the 2013–14 bowl season, it featured the Nebraska Cornhuskers of the Big Ten and the Georgia Bulldogs of the SEC. The game began at noon EST and aired on ESPN2.
Nebraska, an underdog by nearly ten points, used timely red-zone defense and a 99-yard Quincy Enunwa touchdown to hold on for a 24–19 victory.
Teams
The 2014 Gator Bowl was the third all-time meeting between Georgia and Nebraska, with the series tied 1–1 prior to the game, including a 45–31 Bulldogs win in the 2013 Citrus Bowl.[4]
Nebraska
Nebraska entered 8–4 and 5–3 in the Big Ten. The Cornhuskers began the season ranked eighteenth in the AP poll, but dropped out after a loss to UCLA in September. Nebraska played most of the season without senior quarterback Taylor Martinez, and went 3–3 across the second half to finish third in the Legends Division.[5] Speculation head coach Bo Pelini would be fired after a season-ending loss to Iowa was rebuffed by administration.[6]
Nebraska appeared in the Gator Bowl once prior to 2014, a victory over Clemson in 2009. The 2014 Gator Bowl marked Nebraska's fiftieth bowl appearance.[7]
Georgia
Georgia entered 8–4 and 5–3 in the SEC. The Bulldogs began the season ranked fifth in the AP poll as the media's pick to win the SEC East.[8] UGA lost its season opener to Clemson, but followed with victories over a pair of top-ten opponents to enter October ranked sixth nationally. The injury-ridden Bulldogs went just 4–3 over the rest of the season, including a last-second loss to Auburn termed the "Prayer at Jordan-Hare," to finish third in the East. Quarterback Aaron Murray suffered a season-ending injury in late November, ending his streak of 52 consecutive starts.[9]
Georgia was making its fourth appearance in the Gator Bowl and its first since a victory over Michigan State in 1989.[7]
Game summary
First half
Each of the game's first five drives ended in punts.[10] Georgia drove to Nebraska's ten-yard line early in the second quarter, settling for a 39-yard Marshall Morgan field goal to open the scoring. The Bulldogs forced a quick three-and-out, but a muffed punt gave Nebraska possession deep inside Georgia territory. NU quickly capitalized, taking a 7–3 lead on a five-yard touchdown pass from Tommy Armstrong to Quincy Enunwa. The half's final three drives led to field goals, giving NU a 10–9 lead at the break.[11]
Second half
Georgia's opening drive of the second half ended when Hutson Mason, UGA's starter in place of Murray, was intercepted by Josh Mitchell near midfield, allowing Nebraska to stretch the lead to 17–9. A fourth Georgia drive stalled in NU territory and another Morgan field goal closed the gap to 17–12. Nebraska started the ensuing drive at its own five-yard line after a holding penalty on the kickoff, and a sack pushed the Cornhuskers back to the one.[10] Facing a long third down, Armstrong connected with Enunwa on a 99-yard touchdown, the longest pass play in bowl history, to take a 24–12 lead with 4:58 remaining in the third quarter.[11] Nebraska forced a quick punt on Georgia's ensuing possession, but Armstrong was intercepted by Shaq Wiggins on NU's side of the field.[10]
Mason opened the fourth quarter with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Todd Gurley to cut the deficit to five. Georgia's defense forced a punt on Nebraska's next two drives, giving its offense a chance to take the lead for the first time since it was 3–0. Starting at their own twenty-yard line with 7:31 remaining, the Bulldogs drove deep into Nebraska territory, but were turned back when Rantavious Wooten dropped a fourth-down pass.[12] After forcing a punt, Georgia reached Nebraska's sixteen-yard line with 31 seconds remaining, but another dropped pass on fourth down allowed NU to run out the clock on a 24–19 victory.[12]
Enunwa was named most valuable player after finishing with two touchdowns and 129 receiving yards, including his record-setting score in the third quarter.[1] Georgia outgained Nebraska by over 100 yards, but converted just one of seven trips inside NU's 21-yard line into a touchdown.[11]
Scoring summary
| Qtr | Time | Drive | Team | Detail | Score | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plays | Yards | TOP | NU | UGA | ||||
| 2 | 10:37 | 12 | 38 | 5:05 | UGA | Marshall Morgan 38-yd field goal | 0 | 3 |
| 9:05 | 2 | 14 | 0:32 | NU | Quincy Enunwa 5-yd pass from Tommy Armstrong (Pat Smith kick) | 7 | 3 | |
| 6:53 | 7 | 41 | 2:03 | UGA | Morgan 28-yd field goal | 7 | 6 | |
| 3:18 | 9 | 54 | 3:12 | NU | Smith 46-yd field goal | 10 | 6 | |
| 0:00 | 9 | 54 | 3:12 | UGA | Morgan 38-yd field goal | 10 | 9 | |
| 3 | 10:08 | 7 | 38 | 3:35 | NU | Ameer Abdullah 1-yd run (Smith kick) | 17 | 9 |
| 6:32 | 10 | 62 | 3:36 | UGA | Morgan 30-yd field goal | 17 | 12 | |
| 4:58 | 3 | 95 | 1:14 | NU | Enunwa 99-yd pass from Armstrong (Smith kick) | 24 | 12 | |
| 4 | 14:49 | 7 | 39 | 2:14 | UGA | Todd Gurley 25-yd pass from Hutson Mason (Morgan kick) | 24 | 19 |
Individual leaders
| Team | Category | Player | Statistics[3] |
|---|---|---|---|
| NU | Passing | Tommy Armstrong | 6/14, 163 yds, 2 TD, INT |
| Rushing | Ameer Abdullah | 27 car, 122 yds, TD | |
| Receiving | Quincy Enunwa | 4 rec, 129 yds, 2 TD | |
| UGA | Passing | Hutson Mason | 21/39, 320 yds, TD, INT |
| Rushing | Todd Gurley | 21 car, 86 yds | |
| Receiving | Todd Gurley | 7 rec, 97 yds, TD |
Team statistics
| Statistic[3] | Nebraska | Georgia |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 14 | 22 |
| Rushes-yards | 43–144 | 43–96 |
| Comp.–att.–yards | 6–16–163 | 21–39–320 |
| Total offense | 307 | 416 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 2 |
| Punts–average | 7–38.7 | 4–37.8 |
| Penalties–yards | 6–50 | 7–42 |
| Time of possession | 26:36 | 33:24 |
References
- ^ a b "From Good to Great: MVP Enunwa Explodes]". Nebraska Athletics. January 1, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
- ^ "Georgia Bulldogs vs Nebraska Cornhuskers Odds: Gator Bowl Betting Pick, Preview". SB Nation. OddsShark. December 31, 2013. Retrieved August 25, 2025.
- ^ a b c "Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Georgia Bulldogs - Boxscore". ESPN. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
- ^ Eddie Timanus (January 1, 2014). "Gator Bowl preview: Georgia vs. Nebraska". USA Today Sports. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
- ^ David Ching (December 23, 2013). "Injuries impacted UGA, Nebraska seasons". ESPN. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
- ^ Tom Fornelli (November 30, 2013). "Nebraska AD: Bo Pelini will continue 'to lead our program'". CBS Sports. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
- ^ a b "Nebraska to play Georgia in the January 1, 2014 TaxSlayer.com Gator Bowl" (PDF). Gator Bowl. December 8, 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 24, 2015. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
- ^ Bill King (August 1, 2013). "UGA fans hope preseason camp eliminates question marks". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on January 4, 2014. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
- ^ Tom Fornelli (November 24, 2013). "Aaron Murray has a torn ACL". CBS Sports. Retrieved January 4, 2014.
- ^ a b c "Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Georgia Bulldogs - Play-By-Play". ESPN. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
- ^ a b c "99-yard TD pass propels Cornhuskers past No. 23 Bulldogs". ESPN. January 1, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
- ^ a b Mike Huguenin (January 1, 2014). "Nebraska's Ameer Abdullah rushes for 122 yards in victory". NFL. Archived from the original on January 3, 2014. Retrieved January 2, 2014.