TaxSlayer Gator Bowl could land Tennessee or Vanderbilt vs. Miami
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The potential matchup for the 81st TaxSlayer Gator Bowl has come into sharper focus with selection day looming Dec. 7.
The final regular-season College Football Playoff rankings and contracted tie-ins point to a game as attractive as Miami (10-2) vs. Tennessee (8-4) on Dec. 27 at EverBank Stadium (7:30 p.m., ABC).
Or, it could be Missouri (8-4) vs. Louisville (8-4).
Depending on the outcome of the conference championship games on Dec. 6, Texas (9-3), Vanderbilt (10-2) and LSU (7-5) are also possibilities to fill the SEC side of the Gator Bowl scoreboard, and Virginia (10-2) and Georgia Tech (9-3) from the ACC.
The likeliest scenarios are some combination of Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Texas against Miami, Georgia Tech or Virginia.
Gator Bowl President Greg McGarity believes any of those SEC teams vs. Miami (should the Hurricanes be shut out of the 12-team playoff) would be the best-case scenario. Texas and Tennessee are legendary national college football brands and Vanderbilt, who went 1-1 vs. those teams, has perhaps the nation’s most exciting player in quarterback Diego Pavia.
“If you told us before the season we could have one of those teams against Miami, we would have signed that check immediately,” McGarity said. “But regardless of who we get, the ratings will be excellent.”
That’s because the Gator Bowl time slot, on network TV, isn’t competing with any other college games. There is an NFL game scheduled to be flexed into that night on Prime, a streaming channel.
What will happen on bowl selection day?
After the College Football Playoff committee makes its final selections and slots the top 12 teams on Sunday, here are the scenarios:
SEC: The Citrus Bowl in Orlando will take the next available SEC team after the likelihood of Georgia, Alabama, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Oklahoma making the playoffs. Going by potential ranking, the Citrus will take Texas.
That leaves Vanderbilt, Tennessee, Missouri and LSU as bowl-eligible SEC teams that could come to the Gator. The conference will make that call, with input from the Gator Bowl and the teams.
ACC: If Virginia loses to Duke in the ACC Championship game, the Cavaliers can’t fall below the Gator Bowl, according to the ACC’s bowl contract. If Virginia wins and gets into the playoffs, it would push Miami down.
Duke is out of the Gator Bowl picture as an ACC title game loser because the Blue Devils played in the game last year against Ole Miss.
The Pop Tarts Bowl in Orlando gets the next pick of ACC teams but the Hurricanes played there last year and that would likely send them to the Gator Bowl if they’re not in the playoffs.
Miami quarterback Carson Beck could have a decision to make if the ‘Canes come to Jacksonville: Play his final college game in his hometown or opt out to begin preparing for a possible selection in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
If Virginia and Miami make the 12-team playoff, look for Georgia Tech, Louisville or Pittsburgh to come to Jacksonville.
“Based on what we know so far, we feel good about our game,” McGarity said.
The Gator Bowl matchup should be revealed mid-to-late afternoon on Sunday.
How to get Gator Bowl tickets
Fans can purchase tickets through the game’s web site, taxslayergatorbowl.com. The Gator Bowl’s secondary market partner is Ticketmaster.
What is the national media projecting for the Gator Bowl?
- USA Today: Tennessee vs. Georgia Tech.
- ESPN: Kyle Bonagura, Tennessee vs. Georgia Tech; Mark Schlabach, Vanderbilt vs. Miami.
- Sports Illustrated: Vanderbilt vs. Miami.
- CBS Sports: Texas vs. Miami.
- College Football News: Vanderbilt vs. Miami.
- Athlon: Tennessee vs. Miami.
- Saturday Down South: Tennessee vs. Miami.
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Miami among the Gator Bowl possibilities
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