Tampa Bay Football History Network

2000 Outback Bowl

This year the game featured a special logo for Outback Bowl 2000 and was promoted as the first major sporting event of the new millennium. Two teams with 7-4 records and exciting quarterbacks were selected. Nineteenth ranked Purdue made its first Outback appearance and first Florida trip in seven previous bowl games. The Boilermakers were coached Joe Tiller. For number twenty-one Georgia, it was the school's third trip to Tampa and thirty-fifth bowl appearance overall. Head coach Jim Donnan brought the Bulldogs to town for the second time in three years. Bowl organizers were hoping for plenty of offensive fireworks. Purdue, lead by quarterback Drew Brees, featured the top offense in the Big Ten and Georgia, behind QB Quincy Carter, had the second best offensive in the SEC. A crowd of 54,509 attended the game.

Drew Brees ended up setting several bowl records and received Most Valuable Player honors. The Purdue quarterback set Outback records for attempts (60), completions (36), passing yardage (378), total yards (374) and tied the record with four touchdown passes. Chris Daniels, a wide receiver from Clearwater, caught a record tying 12 pass for 103 yards and two TDs. Purdue also set records for first downs (30), passing yards (378), total yards (528) and penalty yards (153). The Boilermakers built a 25-0 second quarter lead and it looked as if the rout was on. Quincy Carter (20 of 33 for 243 yards) threw for a score and ran for another, as the Bulldogs staged the largest comeback in the history of college bowl games. Regulation time ended with the score knotted at 25. In overtime, Hap Hines kicked a 21 yard field goal and Georgia had an amazing 28-25 victory.

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