TaxSlayer Gator Bowl: What you need to know about Jacksonville's college bowl game

Garry Smits, Florida Times-Union
·4 min read
Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman is eighth in the nation in passing yards with 3,924 and tied for sixth in touchdown passes with 36.
Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman is eighth in the nation in passing yards with 3,924 and tied for sixth in touchdown passes with 36.

Teams: No. 16 Wake Forest (10-3) vs. Rutgers (5-7).

Where: TIAA Bank Field.

When: Friday, 11 a.m.

TV: ESPN.

Tickets: taxslayergatorbowl.com.

Rivalry: Wake leads 2-0 (Deacons won last meeting 17-10 in Winston-Salem, N.C., 1999).

Gameday information

Parking: Stadium lots open at 7 a.m.

Park and ride: JTA will operate shuttles from two sites, the Kings Avenue Skyway Garage and lot (1201 Kings Avenue) and FSC North Campus (101 State Street). Shuttles will begin running two hours before kickoff and run up to one hour after the game.

Box office sales: All box offices open for walk-up ticket sales at 8 a.m., between Gates 2 and 3. Fans can still purchase mobile tickets by visiting taxslayergatorbowl.com at any time.

COVID-19: Face coverings are recommended for indoor areas of the stadium unless actively eating or drinking. All concession sales within the stadium are touchless, with no cash sales available. Fans are asked not to attend the game if they have symptoms of any COVID-19 variant.

Julius Turner of Rutgers closes in on Indiana's Davion Ervin-Poindexter during their game earlier this season.
Julius Turner of Rutgers closes in on Indiana's Davion Ervin-Poindexter during their game earlier this season.

Bowl histories

Wake Forest 9-6 (last, 42-28 loss to Wisconsin, 2020 Duke's Mayo Bowl).

Rutgers 6-4 (last, 40-21 victory over North Carolina, 2014 Quick Lane Bowl).

Gator Bowl history

Wake: 1-0 (beat South Carolina 26-14 in 1946).

Rutgers: first appearance.

Coaches

Wake Forest: Dave Clawson, 140-127 overall; 50-48 at Wake, 3-4 in bowls

Rutgers: Greg Schiano, 76-80 at Rutgers, 5-1 in bowls.

Key players

Wake: QB Sam Hartman sophomore, 3,924 yards, 36 TD passes, 14 interceptions, .588; WR A.T. Perry, sophomore, 61 receptions, 1,166 yards, 19.1 per catch, 14 TDs; LB Luke Masterson, senior, 78 tackles, 12 for losses, 2.5 sacks; LB Ryan Smenda, junior, 77 tackles, 3.5 for losses, three forced fumbles.

Rutgers: QB Noah Vedral, senior, 1,737 yards, seven TD passes, six interceptions, .595; WR Bo Melton, senior, 55 receptions, 618 yards, 11.2 per catch, three TDs; RB Isaih Pacheco, junior, 634 yards, 3.9 per attempt, five TDs; LB Olakunle Fatukasi, senior, 85 tackles, 11 for losses, 2.5 sacks, two forced fumbles; DT Julius Turner, senior, 33 tackles, five for losses, three sacks.

Wake Forest linebacker Ryan Smenda (5), a Fleming Island High graduate, is second on the team in tackles this season.
Wake Forest linebacker Ryan Smenda (5), a Fleming Island High graduate, is second on the team in tackles this season.

NCAA rankings

Wake Forest: Total offense 10th (469.1 yards per game); total defense 98th (423.8 yards per game); scoring offense 5th (41.2 points per game); scoring defense 94th (30.3 points per game); rushing offense 67th (161.5 yards per game); rushing defense 114th (202.0 yards per game); passing offense 12th (307.6 yards per game); pass defense 58th (221.8 yards per game); turnover margin T26th (plus-7).

Rutgers: Total offense 118th (313.5 yards per game); total defense 77th (391.8 yards per game); scoring offense 113th (20.5 points per game); scoring defense 52nd (24.6 points per game); rushing offense 87th (141.0 yards per game); rushing defense 84th (162.7 yards per game); passing offense 114th (172.8 yards per game); pass defense 66th (229.2 yards per game); turnover margin T35th (plus-5).

School information

Wake Forest: Private research university in Winston-Salem, N.C., that was founded in 1834 by the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. Its underclass enrollment is nearly 9,000.

Rutgers: A public land-grant research university based in New Brunswick, N.J. that was founded in 1766 and is the eighth-oldest university in America and the second-oldest, behind Princeton, in New Jersey. The undergraduate enrollment is nearly 50,000.

Best-known facts

Wake: The ACC's Brian Piccolo Award, given each year to a freshman and a senior for courage, loyalty, teamwork, dedication and sense of humor, is named in honor of the late Deacons running back who died on June 16, 1970, at age 26.

Rutgers: The school played in what has been credited as the first-ever college football game, beating Princeton 6-4 on Nov. 6, 1869.

James Gandolfini, who made the character of Tony Soprano one of the best-known in recent TV history, attended Rutgers University.
James Gandolfini, who made the character of Tony Soprano one of the best-known in recent TV history, attended Rutgers University.

Noted football alumni

Wake: Piccolo, WR Ricky Proehl, LB Bill George, DE Michael McCrary, QB Norm Snead.

Rutgers: RB Ray Rice, TE Marco Battaglia, RB Bill Austin, WR Kenny Britt, S Deron Cherry.

Noted non-football alumni

Wake Forest: Hall of Fame golfers Arnold Palmer, Curtis Strange and Lanny Wadkins, actor Carroll O'Connor, former basketball player and TV analyst Billy Packer, Sopranos creator and screenwriter David Chase.

Rutgers: Actor and activist Paul Robeson, economist Milton Friedman, actors James Gandolfini, Roy Scheider and Kristin Davis, Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: TaxSlayer Gator Bowl: What you need to know about Jacksonville's college bowl game