Vegas, Baby! Gators earn bid to Las Vegas Bowl
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The Florida Gators have earned a bid to the 2022 SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl and will face the Oregon State Beavers. It will be the first ever meeting between the two schools.
The 31st edition of the Las Vegas Bowl will be played Saturday, December 17, 2022. Kickoff is set for 7:30 pm ET, 4:30 pm local. ABC will broadcast the game.
“We’re very excited to have the opportunity to play in the Las Vegas Bowl in what will be an exciting matchup between the SEC and the PAC-12,” Florida coach Billy Napier said. “We have a lot of respect for Oregon State and what coach [Jonathan] Smith has been able to accomplish. Our staff and players are looking forward to the opportunity and challenge.”
The Gators finished the season 6-6 after losing their final two games of the season. The Beavers posted a 9-3 record in the regular season with wins in their final three games. Oregon State and Florida had one common opponent: Utah. The Gators beat the Utes to kick off the season, while Oregon State lost 42-16 at Utah on October 1.
The Las Vegas Bowl pays out $2,900,000 to each team. The SEC takes all of the bowl money that its eligible teams earn and puts it into a pool. That money is then split between the 14 teams in the conference.
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About the Las Vegas Bowl
This will be the Florida Gators’ first trip to the Las Vegas Bowl. The Gators have a 7-2 overall record against the Pac-12. That includes a win over Pac-12 Champion Utah to kick off the 2022 season in September.
Of the 39 bowl games recognized by the NCAA, the Las Vegas Bowl is now the 16th-oldest game overall and ranks No. 13 in age on a list of current bowls that have remained in one city during their entire history.
The Las Vegas Bowl entered the 2020 season with a new partnership with the Pac-12 Conference, Big Ten Conference, and Southeastern Conference. The new contract rotates the Big Ten and SEC every year playing a Pac-12 opponent. However, the 2020 Las Vegas Bowl matchup between the Pac-12 and SEC did not come to fruition. The bowl was not played due to the COVID pandemic which forced the cancellation of the 2020 game.
The 2021 SRS Distribution Las Vegas Bowl featured a new home in Allegiant Stadium played. It hosted the Pac-12’s Arizona State Sun Devils and the Big Ten’s Wisconsin Badgers. The Badgers jumped to a 20-6 halftime lead, then held on for a 20-13 victory.
