The 1998 Gator Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game between the Virginia Tech Hokies from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and the North Carolina Tar Heels from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The 53rd edition of the Gator Bowl, it was played at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida, on January 1, 1998. The game was the final contest of the 1997 NCAA Division I-A football season for both teams, and ended in a 42–3 victory for North Carolina.
Virginia Tech was selected to play in the Gator Bowl following a 7–4 regular season. Facing the unranked Hokies were the No. 7-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels. The Heels had gone 10–1 during the regular season and were ranked seventh in the Associated Press poll heading into the game. North Carolina narrowly missed an at-large selection to a higher-prestige Bowl Alliance postseason game and was playing under new head coach Carl Torbush for the first time. Torbush had taken over for former head coach Mack Brown on December 8, after Brown announced that he was departing to take the position of head coach at Texas.
The game kicked off on January 1, 1998, at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. From the opening kickoff, North Carolina dominated every aspect of the game. In the first quarter, the Tar Heels scored 16 unanswered points, including a defensive touchdown. North Carolina added six points in the second and third quarters before Tech scored its first points of the game—a 40-yard field goal by kicker Shayne Graham. The Tar Heels rounded out the game by scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter. The Tar Heels set school records for largest bowl game margin of victory, most points scored in a bowl game, and most touchdown passes in a bowl game. The eventual 42–3 loss was Virginia Tech's largest bowl loss in school history.
Quarterbacks Chris Keldorf and Nick Sorensen were named the most valuable players of their respective teams, and each team saw multiple players selected in the 1998 NFL draft, which followed the game.
Team selection During the 1997 college football season, the Gator Bowl selection committee held contracts with both the Big East and Atlantic Coast Conferences. In exchange for guaranteeing to pay a total of $3.2 million to the participating teams,The Gator Bowl. "Year-by-Year results" , Gatorbowl.com. Accessed January 10, 2009. the committee held the right to the second pick of bowl-eligible teams from each conference.Hickman, Dave. "Bowl picture unclear for WVU", The Charleston (W.V.) Gazette. December 1, 1997. Page D1. Each conference's champion was awarded an automatic spot in a Bowl Alliance game, and it was expected that the Gator Bowl would select each conference's second-place team unless other circumstances arose.Cherry, Mike. "Pastilong's best guess is Gator", The Charleston (WV) Daily Mail. December 2, 1997. Page B1.
Prior to the final week of the regular season, it appeared that circumstances might indeed throw that plan into confusion. North Carolina, the ACC's second-place team, had risen to No. 5 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and No. 7 in the Associated Press college football poll, and was considered to be a candidate for an at-large Bowl Alliance selection.Fairbank, Dave. "Posturing for bowls under way", The (Newport News) Daily Press. December 1, 1997. Page D1. If North Carolina was selected for a higher-tier bowl game, the door would be opened for Notre Dame to play in the 1998 Gator Bowl—a circumstance provided for if neither the first nor second-place ACC team was available to play.The Associated Press. "Now Irish fans are waiting", The St. Petersburg Times. December 1, 1997. Page C5. In the end, however, ACC runner-up North Carolina was bypassed by Bowl Alliance officials, leaving the team available for the Gator Bowl. Facing the Tar Heels were the Virginia Tech Hokies, second-place finishers in the Big East Conference.Johnson, Dave. "Bowls make their picks – Tech faces UNC; Cavaliers left out", The (Newport News) Daily Press. December 8, 1997. Gator Bowl officials considered inviting Big East third-place West Virginia due to its reputation for bringing large numbers of fans to bowl games,Hickman, Dave. "Gator Bowl looks like West Virginia vs. UNC", The Charleston (W.V.) Gazette. December 6, 1997. Page B4. but decided against inviting the Mountaineers out of recognition that North Carolina and West Virginia played each other in the 1997 Gator Bowl.King, Randy. "Tech to face North Carolina on January 1 in Gator Bowl", The Roanoke Times. December 8, 1997. Page B1.
Virginia Tech
The Virginia Tech Hokies began the 1997 college football season having gone 10–2 the previous season, ending with a 41–21 loss to Nebraska in the 1996 Orange Bowl.Virginia Tech Athletics Communications Department. "Virginia Tech Past football schedules: 1996-1997", Hokiesports.com . Accessed January 16, 2009. The Hokies began the new season with hopes of repeating the success that saw the team reach consecutive Bowl Alliance games in the previous two seasons, but the loss of much of the starting lineup that led the Hokies in those years left some people's skeptical about Tech's chance to reach a third Bowl Alliance game.
In the Hokies' first three games of the season, however, they answered their critics with wins. A season-opening 59–19 win against RutgersStaff report. "Tech Report", The Roanoke Times. August 31, 1997. Page B6. was followed by a 31–3 win over SyracuseKing, Randy. "Hokies beat Orange to a pulp", The Roanoke Times. September 14, 1997. Page C1. and a 23–13 triumph against Temple.King, Randy. "Hokies escape from Temple of doom", The Roanoke Times. September 21, 1997. Page C1. A 50–0 shutout win against Arkansas State University saw the Hokies elevated to the No. 14 position in the national college football polls.King, Randy. "Hokies get their money's worth", The Roanoke Times. September 28, 1997. Page C1. This, however, was followed by a 24–17 loss to Miami (Ohio) that dropped the Hokies to No. 23.King, Randy. "Nightmare interrupts Hokies' dream season", The Roanoke Times. October 5, 1997. Page C1. Tech rose again to No. 19 with a victory against Boston College.King, Randy. "Hokies get feet back on ground", The Roanoke Times. October 12, 1997. Page C1. At No. 21 West Virginia, however, the Hokies lost, 30–17.King, Randy. "Hokies get an 'Eer-ful", The Roanoke Times. October 26, 1997. Page C1.
The loss returned Tech to No. 23 in the polls. A recovery to No. 19 followed victories over the University of Alabama-BirminghamKing, Randy. "Hokies smother Blazers", The Roanoke Times. November 2, 1997. Page C1. and the University of Miami.King, Randy. "Hokies turn back Miami at the pass", The Roanoke Times. November 9, 1997. Page C1. In the final two games of the season, however, The Hokies lost to Pittsburgh, 30–23,King, Randy. "Hokies have a fit with Pitt", The Roanoke Times. November 23, 1997. Page C1. and Virginia, 34–20.Doughty, Doug. "Saving the best for last", The Roanoke Times. November 30, 1997. Page C1. The dual losses dropped Tech out of the polls for the first time since the opening week of the season, and the Hokies prepared for the Gator Bowl after recording a 7–4 regular-season record.Virginia Tech Athletics Communications Department. "Virginia Tech Past football schedules: 1997-1998", Hokiesports.com. Accessed January 16, 2009.
Pregame buildup Pregame media coverage of the contest focused on North Carolina's rejection by the Bowl Alliance, the Tar Heels' new coach, and questions about whether a lightly regarded and unranked Virginia Tech team could compete with a top-five North Carolina squad. This latter fact was reflected in the game's point spread. On December 9, shortly after the matchup was announced, spread bettors favored North Carolina to win by 12 points.Staff report. "Latest line", The Charleston (WV) Gazette. December 9, 1997. Page B2. Several sports commentators, including Lou Holtz and Craig James, said North Carolina deserved a more prestigious bowl game due to its high ranking. "The Alliance has not served its purpose," Holtz said in an interview. "It's politics as usual."Friedlander, Brett. "Holtz and Pony give Alliance two thumbs down", The Fayetteville Observer. December 14, 1997. Page Sports 1. The game was the 27th meeting between the two teams, continuing a matchup that first started in 1895. Despite that early beginning, the two teams hadn't played each other since 1946.Virginia Tech Athletics Communications Department. "Virginia Tech Football opponent database: North Carolina", Hokiesports.com. Accessed January 19, 2009.
Tickets to the game sold quickly at first, but trailed off as the game approached. Virginia Tech sold 5,000 tickets in the first three days after the Hokies were selected,Staff reports. "Tech sells 5,000 tickets for Gator", The Roanoke Times. December 9, 1997. Page C7. but one week later, Tech managed to increase that total to just 8,300. In an effort to spur sales at the school, Virginia Tech athletic director Jim Weaver asked fans to buy tickets even if they did not plan on attending the game. The tickets could then be donated to charity.Staff Reports. "Tech AD asks fans to buy tickets", The Roanoke Times. December 17, 1997. Page B8. As an incentive for Gator Bowl officials to select Virginia Tech, the school agreed to sell 18,000 tickets—more than the minimum 11,500 North Carolina agreed to sell. When a shortfall resulted in Tech selling just 11,000 tickets, the school was forced to purchase the remaining 7,000, costing Virginia Tech $245,000.Bogaczyk, Jack. "AD says shortfall is worth it", The Roanoke Times. December 31, 1997. Page B8. At North Carolina, tickets sales were even slower, with about 6,000 having been sold through the school two weeks after the matchup was announced.Smits, Garry. "Gator Bowl tickets selling in Carolina", The Jacksonville Times-Union. December 18, 1997. Page C1. The Gator Bowl ticket office sold approximately 22,000 tickets directly to fans in the same timeframe, and Gator Bowl officials predicted a crowd of between 50,000 and 55,000 people at the game.
North Carolina
The North Carolina Tar Heels began the 1997 college football season having gone 10–2 in 1996, a year that ended with a 20–13 win over West Virginia in the 1997 Gator Bowl.Staff report. "ACC football schedules, season schedules", The (Wilmington, N.C.) Star-News. August 31, 1997. Page C11. Hopes were high for the Tar Heels heading into the 1997 season, with some writers and fans picking North Carolina to have a chance to compete for the national championship.Boaz, Mike. "UNC counting on its defense", The (Wilmington, N.C.) Star-News. August 31, 1997. Page C10.Staff reports. "Tar Heels set their sights high", The Washington Post. September 2, 1997. Page D2. The Tar Heels bore out those hopes in the first game of the season, beating Big Ten opponent Indiana, 23–6.Mehrtens, Cliff. "UNC's defense compensates for struggling Keldorf in win", The Charlotte Observer. September 7, 1997. Page H1.