Capital One Orange Bowl Football Game
The date for this annual event has passed. A new date will be provided when available.
By: Harvey Fialkov | December 6, 2019
Hard Rock Stadium will host the 2019 Capital One Orange Bowl classic on Dec. 30 at 8 p.m.
Every year the Capital One Orange Bowl classic offers fans an early New Year’s Eve party-like atmosphere that is unrivaled throughout the nation.
The upcoming game on December 30 (ESPN at 8 p.m.) at Hard Rock Stadium will be no different when ACC’s surprising 23rd-ranked Virginia (9-3) takes on most likely Florida (10-2) or the highest-ranked team between 10-2 Notre Dame, the Big 10 and SEC that isn’t headed to a College Football Bowl playoff seminal at either the Fiesta Bowl or Peach Bowl on December 28.
A year ago, confetti was raining down on Alabama iconic coach Nick Saban while he was flinging oranges from the Orange Bowl trophy amidst a serenade of “Sweet Home Alabama’’ blaring from the scoreboard speakers following the Crimson Tide’s 45-34 semifinal victory over Oklahoma.
“The city of Miami, the Orange Bowl folks, everyone involved in this game was first class in every way,” Saban said last year. “We had great accommodations at the Intercontinental. People did a great job for us in terms of a practice facility. There’s not one thing I would say that I was disappointed in any way shape or form. The hospitality was wonderful.”
However, for the first time since the latest incarnation of the College Football Playoff system was installed in 2015, Alabama (10-2) won’t be in the final four after its recent stunning 48-45 loss to Auburn in the Iron Bowl. Because the Crimson Tide dropped below Florida in the rankings, that all but assured the Gators from taking the short trek from Gainesville to Miami, thus remaining in the Sunshine State and being the recipients of a huge hometown advantage at Hard Rock.
First-year coach Dan Mullen has turned around a floundering program, but it wasn’t easy as the Gators lost starting quarterback Felipe Franks 2½ quarters into SEC play. In stepped quarterback Kyle Trask, and soon the Gators were vying for a national championship bid until their crushing 24-17 defeat to the Georgia Bulldogs last month.
This will mark the Gators’ fourth all-time appearance in the Orange Bowl with the last coming in 2002 (1967, 1999) when they vanquished the Maryland Terrapins 56-23. Legendary Gators coach Steve Spurrier resigned after the game.
The Gators crushed the Cavaliers 55-10 in 1959 in their only meeting, but don’t count on a lopsided result this time.
Similarly, fourth-year Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall has directed the Cavaliers into the spotlight and an unexpected berth into the ACC championship game against third-ranked, undefeated Clemson (12-0), the defending national champions riding a 27-game win streak.
Barring a titanic upset, the Cavaliers, winners of nine games for the first time in 21 years, seemed bound for the Orange Bowl and their first major postseason game since their Sugar Bowl appearance in 1990.
Virginia is a short flight to Miami so the Gators’ blue and orange-clad student section will have plenty of navy-blue Cavs fans to flash their trademark Gators Chomp at.
The Orange Bowl has served as one of six bowls in the CFP since the 2014 season. It hosted a national semifinal following the 2015 and 2018 seasons and will again in 2021 and 2024.
The game is the main course, but fans can enjoy an all-day appetizer by attending a fun-filled tailgating party running from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. at this year’s Fan Fest. It’s located on the North West gate parking lot at the Hard Rock Stadium. Admission is free with all fans with a ticket to the game.
In addition to live performances, there will be tons of activities and vendors for the whole family to enjoy. A zip line, free-fall, bungee trampoline, rock climbing wall, face painters and interactive games for the fans of all ages will be on hand.
If you’re interested in purchasing tickets, click here. For parking information, click here.
There is also an opportunity to enjoy a premium experience to take in the 86th rendition of the Orange Bowl from plush suites, with access to the luxurious Nine Club or enjoy views from the theater boxes and endzone ‘courtside’ seats.
As always, sun-splashed Miami offers northern-based fans a perfect opportunity to escape the frigid climes and come to a tropical paradise and lie on sandy beaches while enjoying local restaurants and the diverse city’s eclectic nightlife. Be sure to check out the best places to eat in Miami Gardens.
If you can stay in town past the Orange Bowl game, Miami is the ideal spot to celebrate New Year’s Eve!
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