| Game Name: | Gator Bowl |
| Subheader: | 55th Gator Bowl |
| Title Sponsor: | Toyota |
| Date Game Played: | January 1 |
| Year Game Played: | 2000 |
| Football Season: | 1999 |
| Visitor School: | Georgia Institute of Technology |
| Visitor Name Short: | Georgia Tech |
| Visitor Nickname: | Yellow Jackets |
| Visitor Record: | 8–3 |
| Visitor 1Q: | 0 |
| Visitor 2Q: | 7 |
| Visitor 3Q: | 6 |
| Visitor 4Q: | 0 |
| Home School: | University of Miami |
| Home Name Short: | Miami |
| Home Nickname: | Hurricanes |
| Home Record: | 8–4 |
| Home 1Q: | 7 |
| Home 2Q: | 14 |
| Home 3Q: | 0 |
| Home 4Q: | 7 |
| Mvp: | LB Nate Webster (Miami) QB Joe Hamilton (Georgia Tech) |
| Visitor Rank Ap: | 17 |
| Home Rank Ap: | 23 |
| Type: | b |
| Referee: | Bill McCabe (Mtn. West) |
| Attendance: | 43,416 |
The 2000 Gator Bowl featured the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Miami Hurricanes.
The Jackets had at one point been ranked as high as 7th in the polls before two losses had made them fall to 17th. They finished 2nd in the Atlantic Coast Conference. This was their third consecutive bowl season. The Hurricanes finished 2nd in the Big East Conference with a loss to Virginia Tech late in the season costing them a share of the title. But Miami was making their third bowl appearance under Davis, who was hired to help rebuild the program after a scandal that rocked the school in 1995.
Tech had multiple opportunities to score, but two interceptions and two missed field goals doomed the Jackets in their first bowl loss since 1978. Miami scored the first 14 points of the game on a James Jackson rushing touchdown and an Andre King touchdown catch from Kenny Kelly. Tech mustered a Joe Hamilton touchdown late in the first half but Miami scored before the half ended on a Clinton Portis 73 yard run to lead 21–7. From that point on, Tech scored just six points on two Luke Manget field goals, which narrowed it to 21–13. But Ken Dorsey's touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne midway through the fourth quarter sealed the game for the Hurricanes.[1]
The Jackets would go to one more bowl game with O'Leary before he left the program. The Jackets would return to the Gator Bowl seven years later. Miami would go to the Sugar Bowl the next year, their last bowl game with Davis before he departed for the Cleveland Browns.
| Statistics | GT | Miami |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 29 | 22 |
| Yards Rushing | 217 | 239 |
| Yards Passing | 245 | 208 |
| Total Offense Yards | 462 | 447 |
| Punts-Average | 6-26.2 | 5-42.6 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 1-0 | 1-1 |
| Interceptions | 2 | 1 |
| Penalties-Yards | 7-75 | 9-90 |
| Time of Possession | 32:20 | 27:40 |