Florida Football: 3 takeaways from Orange Bowl win over Virginia

Florida football prevailed in a thriller at Hard Rock Stadium. Here are three things we learned from the Gators victory over Virginia at the Orange Bowl.

Florida got more of a test than most people expected against Virginia, but the Gators still walked away from the Orange Bowl with a 36-28 victory on the final Monday of 2019. The win gave head coach Dan Mullen his second straight New Year’s Six victory since leaving Mississippi State after the 2017 season, and earned Florida their first 11-win season since Will Muschamp took the Gators to the Sugar Bowl in 2012.

Virginia certainly came out looking to prove they belonged in a New Year’s Six bowl game, after much was made about the Cavaliers receiving the ACC’s automatic bid into the Orange Bowl despite losing the conference championship against Clemson. Bronco Mendenhall’s team kept things tied up early into the second quarter, but Florida gained momentum and scored 10 unanswered points to take a 24-14 lead into the intermission.

The Cavaliers pulled within six points in the fourth quarter, but they would get no closer. Even so, Virginia acquitted themselves well on a night where they were expected to lose by more than two touchdowns.

What did we learn from a surprisingly good contest between the Gators and the Cavaliers in Miami? Here are three things to take away from Florida’s victory at the Orange Bowl.