2002 Orange Bowl

The 2002 FedEx Orange Bowl game was a post-season college football bowl game between the Florida Gators and the ACC champion Maryland Terrapins on January 2, 2002. Florida defeated Maryland 56–23. The game was part of the 2001–2002 Bowl Championship Series (BCS) of the 2001 NCAA Division I-A football season and was the concluding game of the season for both teams. The Orange Bowl was first played in 1935, and the 2002 game was the 68th edition of the Orange Bowl. The contest was televised in the United States on ABC.

This was Steve Spurrier's last game as coach of the Florida Gators as he resigned two days after the game.

Florida Gators
Florida, ranked No. 1 entering the season, lost two SEC games by a total of 5 points and missed out on the SEC championship game. Despite those setbacks, the talented Gators entered this matchup with a 9–2 record (6–2 SEC) and a No. 5 ranking in both major polls and the BCS.

Maryland Terrapins
Under first-year head coach and Maryland alumnus Ralph Friedgen, the Terps surprised many by finishing 10–1 after the regular season. That included a 7–1 conference record which gave Maryland its first ACC title since 1985.

Game summary
This potentially exciting matchup did not live up to the hype. Florida opened the scoring with a 1-yard TD run by Earnest Graham just over five minutes into the game. The opening quarter ended with some fireworks as each team scored a long touchdown in the final 12 seconds and the Gators led 14–7.

Maryland's Nick Novak kicked a 20-yard field goal with 12:20 remaining in the first half to make the score 14–10. The Terrapins inability to tie the game preceded an offensive onslaught by Florida that would last until the close of the third quarter. The Gators quick strike offense scored 35 consecutive points – including three TD passes by Heisman runner-up Rex Grossman and a second Graham TD run – in just over 15 minutes of game play to open a 49–10 advantage and put the game well out of reach.

Two touchdown runs by the Terps' Marc Riley sandwiched a fourth Grossman TD pass to close out the scoring, giving Steve Spurrier a 56–23 win in his final game as Florida's head coach.