2017 TaxSlayer Bowl

2017 TaxSlayer Bowl
73rd Gator Bowl
Louisville Cardinals Mississippi State Bulldogs (8–4) (8–4) ACC SEC 27 31 Head coach:  Bobby Petrino Head coach:  Greg Knox (interim) AP Coaches CFP 24 24 23
1 2 3 4 Total Louisville 7 14 3 3 27 Mississippi State 14 3 0 14 31
Date	December 30, 2017
Season	2017
Stadium	EverBank Field
Location	Jacksonville, Florida
MVP	Mark McLaurin (S, Mississippi State) & Lamar Jackson (QB, Louisville)
Favorite	Louisville by 7.5
Referee	Jerry McGinn (Big Ten)
Attendance	41,310
United States TV coverage
Network	ESPN
Announcers	Tom Hart, Jordan Rodgers, Cole Cubelic

The 2017 TaxSlayer Bowl was a post-season American college football bowl game played on December 31, 2017, at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. The 73rd edition of the Gator Bowl featured the Louisville Cardinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference against the Mississippi State Bulldogs of the Southeastern Conference. It was one of the 2017–18 bowl games that concluded the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The game's naming rights sponsor was tax preparation software company TaxSlayer, and for sponsorship reasons was officially known as the TaxSlayer Bowl.

Teams

Louisville

See also: 2017 Louisville Cardinals football team and 2017 Atlantic Coast Conference football season

Mississippi State

See also: 2017 Mississippi State Bulldogs football team and 2017 Southeastern Conference football season

Game summary

Scoring summary

Scoring summary

Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP UL MSST 1 10:47 6 56 2:07 MSST Aeris Williams 5-yard touchdown run, Jace Christmann kick good 0 7 1 6:35 8 51 4:12 UL Charles Standberry 5-yard touchdown reception from Lamar Jackson, Blanton Creque kick good 7 7 1 3:11 9 79 3:24 MSST Keytaon Thompson 14-yard touchdown run, Jace Christmann kick good 7 14 2 10:29 5 74 1:38 UL Lamar Jackson 13-yard touchdown run, Blanton Creque kick good 14 14 2 4:21 7 14 3:24 MSST 23-yard field goal by Jace Christmann 14 17 2 0:19 3 88 0:45 UL Jaylen Smith 11-yard touchdown reception from Lamar Jackson, Blanton Creque kick good 21 17 3 3:14 6 27 2:38 UL 23-yard field goal by Blanton Creque 24 17 4 13:22 4 22 0:58 MSST Keytaon Thompson 2-yard touchdown run, Jace Christmann kick good 24 24 4 7:38 13 61 5:54 UL 31-yard field goal by Blanton Creque 27 24 4 3:39 11 65 3:59 MSST Keytaon Thompson 1-yard touchdown run, Jace Christmann kick good 27 31 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 27 31

Statistics

	1	2	3	4	Total
Cardinals	7	14	3	3	27
Bulldogs	14	3	0	14	31

Statistics	UL	MSST
First downs	20	23
Plays–yards	70–358	75–404
Rushes–yards	39–187	55–287
Passing yards	171	127
Passing: Comp–Att–Int	13–31–4	11–20–1
Time of possession	30:21	29:39

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
UL	Passing	Lamar Jackson	13/31, 171 yds, 2 TD, 4 INT
	Rushing	Lamar Jackson	24 car, 158 yds, 1 TD
	Receiving	Jaylen Smith	7 rec, 107 yds, 1 TD
MSST	Passing	Keytaon Thompson	11/20, 127 yds, 1 INT
	Rushing	Keytaon Thompson	27 car, 147 yds, 3 TD
	Receiving	Jesse Jackson	3 rec, 38 yds