Lamical Perine's 3 TDs Power Florida to Win over Virginia in 2019 Orange Bowl

The Florida Gators won a New Year's Six bowl game for the second straight year.

Florida defeated the Virginia Cavaliers 36-28 at the 2019 Orange Bowl on Monday at Hard Rock Stadium. Lamical Perine led the way for the SEC team with three total touchdowns, helping them finish 11-2 on the season.

As for Virginia, it was still a successful campaign at 9-5 with an ACC Championship Game appearance and New Year's Six showing despite the loss.

Notable Player Stats

• UF QB Kyle Trask: 24-of-39 passing for 305 yards, one touchdown and one interception; one rushing touchdown
• UF RB Lamical Perine: 13 carries for 138 yards and two touchdowns; five catches for 43 yards and a touchdown
• UF WR Van Jefferson: six catches for 129 yards
• UVA QB Bryce Perkins: 28-of-40 passing for 323 yards, four touchdowns and one interception
• UVA WR Hasise Dubois: 10 catches for 83 yards and two touchdowns
• UVA WR Terrell Jana: seven catches for 126 yards and one touchdown            

Virginia Misses Opportunity for Marquee Win

Monday's matchup was a critical opportunity for both Virginia and the ACC as a whole.

The conference was widely maligned outside of powerhouse Clemson, which is one win away from back-to-back national championships. Even the Tigers were punished indirectly by falling behind LSU and Ohio State in the polls during the regular season because the quality of competition in the conference was widely assumed to be subpar.

Playing a traditional SEC powerhouse with double-digit wins in Florida in the team's home state was a monster chance to turn around the narrative, especially for a Cavaliers squad that lost by 15 to Notre Dame and 45 to Clemson in the ACC Championship Game.

They hung with the Gators for extended stretches even though it appeared as if the SEC representative was going to run away with it when Perine exploded for a 61-yard touchdown on the third offensive snap of the game. Virginia bounced back in a two-snap sequence with a Nick Grant interception and Bryce Perkins touchdown strike to Terrell Jana.

The Cavaliers also found the end zone in the first half with one of the best individual efforts of the bowl season when Perkins broke free from pressure and found Hasise Dubois in the back of the end zone over the outstretched arms of a defender.

Perkins continued his brilliance with a touchdown pass to Joe Reed to pull within a score in the fourth quarter, but the defense couldn't contain Perine with the game on the line. Perkins also threw a critical interception inside the red zone to Kaiir Elam in the final six minutes, all but sealing Virginia's fate even though it had an onside kick in the last 38 seconds.

Mark it as another high-profile loss for the part of the ACC not named Clemson.

Lamical Perine Makes Sure Run Game Isn't a Weakness for Gators

The Gators were defined by their quarterback play and defense this season.

Kyle Trask took over for the injured Feleipe Franks under center while Emory Jones served as the occasional change-of-pace option, and the defense was one of the best units in the country. However, Florida didn't feature a single runner with more than 600 rushing yards in the regular season and was an ugly 119th in the country in rushing yards per game.

Perine missed the memo.

He scored twice on the ground and again through the air in the first half as the teams traded early touchdowns and was at his best with the game on the line in the fourth quarter. With his team up six and all the momentum on the other side, he picked up a key fourth down inside Florida territory and set up a Trask touchdown keeper with a long run to the 1-yard line.

It was an ideal way for the senior to finish his collegiate career, especially since the running game was inconsistent at best throughout the season.