After a disappointing season, the Gators received some surprising news.
On Sunday, Florida (7-5) accepted an invitation to play in the Outback Bowl in Tampa on Jan. 1 at 1 p.m. against Penn State (7-5).
The Gators were selected ahead of South Carolina and Mississippi State — two teams that beat UF in the Swamp this season — to play in the game.
Earlier in the week, many thought Florida would take part in the Gator Bowl, another New Year’s Day bowl in Jacksonville.
“We are excited to hear that we are going to the Outback Bowl and play in another New Year’s Day game,” coach Urban Meyer said in a statement.
“We are proud of our history of playing in January Bowl games — not everyone gets to enjoy that experience. We’ve been fortunate around here to be in a bowl game for 20 consecutive years, and I’ve told our players and staff to not take that for granted.”
In his first season as UF coach, Meyer led the Gators to a 31-24 victory against Iowa in the Outback Bowl. That was the last time Florida participated in the game.
The Jan. 1 meeting will feature a showdown between two of the country’s premier college football coaches in Meyer and Joe Paterno, who won his 400th game on Nov. 6 against Northwestern and is the all-time leader in FBS victories.
“We look forward to facing Penn State and one of the true legends in the game in coach Joe Paterno,” Meyer said. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for coach Paterno and I will be honored to have the opportunity to coach in the same game as him.”
The Gators and the Nittany Lions have faced off twice, with UF winning both of the matchups. The last time the two teams met up, Florida beat Penn State 21-6 in the Citrus Bowl on Jan. 1, 1998.
