The No. 9 Florida Gators will take on the No. 24 Virginia Cavaliers in the Orange Bowl. The Gators and Cavaliers have only ever played one time in either school’s history (1959).
The Cavaliers finished the season with a 9-4 record after a 62-17 loss to Clemson in the ACC Championship game. Virginia opened up the season 4-0 with wins over Pittsburgh and Florida State before losing to Notre Dame. They dropped games against Miami and Louisville in October before finishing the regular season with four consecutive wins, including a 39-30 win over in-state rival Virginia Tech.
Record: 9-4
@ Pittsburgh — W 30-14
William & Mary — W 52-17
Florida State — W 31-24
Old Dominion — W 28-17
@ Notre Dame — L 35-20
@ Miami — L 17-9
Duke — W 48-14
@ Louisville — L 28-21
@ North Carolina — W 38-31
Georgia Tech — W 33-28
Liberty — W 55-27
Virginia Tech — W 39-30
Clemson — L 62-17 (ACC Championship Game)
National rankings
Offense
Scoring: 42 (32.