College football bowl game
College football game
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]
Scoring summary
Scoring summary
Quarter
Time
Drive
Team
Scoring information
Score
Plays
Yards
TOP
NCSU
A&M
1
14:41
2
71
0:26
A&M
Kellen Mond 62-yard touchdown run, Seth Small kick good
0
7
1
2:21
12
71
5:53
NCSU
43-yard field goal by Christopher Dunn
3
7
2
14:56
5
27
1:35
NCSU
CJ Riley 9-yard touchdown reception from Ryan Finley , Christopher Dunn kick good
10
7
2
10:45
7
35
2:17
NCSU
49-yard field goal by Christopher Dunn
13
7
2
6:43
4
60
0:50
A&M
Trayveon Williams 2-yard touchdown run, Seth Small kick good
13
14
2
0:32
11
72
5:15
A&M
Kendrick Rogers 6-yard touchdown reception from Kellen Mond, Seth Small kick good
13
21
3
11:18
A&M
Interception returned 78 yards for touchdown by Tyrel Dodson , Seth Small kick good
13
28
3
5:44
5
82
2:30
A&M
Trayveon Williams 17-yard touchdown run, Seth Small kick good
13
35
4
13:56
1
93
0:13
A&M
Trayveon Williams 93-yard touchdown run, Seth Small kick good
13
42
4
6:17
6
38
3:14
A&M
35-yard field goal by Seth Small
13
45
4
0:22
6
34
3:30
A&M
Cullen Gillaspia 13-yard touchdown run, Daniel LaCamera kick good
13
52
"TOP" = time of possession . For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football .
13
52
Statistics
1
2
3
4
Total
Wolfpack
3
10
0
0
13
No. 19 Aggies
7
14
14
17
52
Statistics
NCSU
A&M
First downs
15
18
Plays–yards
69–273
60–541
Rushes–yards
37–134
34–401
Passing yards
139
140
Passing: comp –att –int
19–32–2
14–26–1
Time of possession
32:57
27:03
Team
Category
Player
Statistics
NC State
Passing
Ryan Finley
19/32, 139 yds, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing
Reggie Gallaspy
14 car, 79 yds
Receiving
Emeka Emezie
6 rec, 36 yds
Texas A&M
Passing
Kellen Mond
14/26, 140 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing
Trayveon Williams
19 car, 236 yds, 3 TD
Receiving
Kendrick Rogers
6 rec, 44 yds, 1 TD
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 January 11, 2019
^ @taxslayerbowl (December 31, 2018). "The @ncstatemusic marching band jazzed up the crowd during half-time" (Tweet ). Retrieved December 31, 2018 – via Twitter .
^ a b @APMarkLong (December 31, 2018). "The Gator Bowl drew 38,206, the game's smallest crowd since 1952" (Tweet ). Retrieved January 1, 2019 – via Twitter .
^ @AlexMill20 (December 31, 2018). "Gator Bowl attendance: 38,206" (Tweet ). Retrieved January 1, 2019 – via Twitter .
^ "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 .
^ a b c "Texas A&M Accepts Invitation to TaxSlayer Gator Bowl" .
^ @taxslayerbowl (December 31, 2018). "With that 93-yard rush, @TrayveonW just broke the record for most rushing yards in a #TaxSlayerGatorBowl game" (Tweet ). Retrieved December 31, 2018 – via Twitter .
^ "1950s Game History" . taxslayergatorbowl.com . Retrieved January 1, 2019 .
External links
Known as the TaxSlayer Bowl from 2014–2017
History & conference tie-ins Games Notes
There was a Gator Bowl in January and December in 1954, 1960, 1965, 1971, 1989, 1991, 2016, and 2021.