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The Florida Gators have a lot to celebrate this New Year’s Eve.

Dan Mullen’s champagne wishes of an 11-2 record came true at the Orange Bowl with a 36-28 victory over the Virginia Cavaliers.

The Gators didn’t cover the 14.5-point spread, but they performed well in all phases of play. And credit must be given to Virginia, who rose to the occasion behind the arm of quarterback Bryce Perkins.

Offense: A-

The Orange Bowl victory was perhaps Florida’s most complete offensive performance of the season. UF’s 244 rushing yards were its highest total of 2019, and it went along with 305 passing yards by quarterback Kyle Trask.

Running back Lamical Perine electrified Hard Rock Stadium on the third play from scrimmage. He scampered 61 yards — picking up a key sealing block from pulling guard Brett Heggie — and avoided a lunging defender to give the Gators the early lead.

Perine compiled 181 total yards (138 rushing on 13 carries, 43 receiving on five receptions) and added three touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving) to fuel the Florida offense.

Trask was UF’s second leading rusher (eight carries, 37 yards, touchdown), but his ability to spread the ball to nine different receivers reciprocated his production since stepping in against Kentucky on Sept. 14.

However, the success of Perine and Trask cannot be mentioned without acknowledging the efforts of the offensive line.

Offensive line coach John Hevesy used the bowl preparation period well, and it showed with the way his unit played. It allowed only one sack and two quarterback hurries while getting consistent push on 34 rushing attempts.

The only blunders by Florida came on a combined three drives. One of Trask’s hurried passes was intercepted on UF’s second offensive drive. He lobbed it just in front of intended target Freddie Swain, and corner Nick Grant made an impressive diving interception.

The Gators also started slowly in the second half, punting on their first two drives of the frame. A sack followed by a tackle for loss stifled the first UF possession of the third quarter, and a dropped pass by Tyrie Cleveland led to a three-and-out.

However, Cleveland redeemed himself with a big 30-yard reception in the fourth quarter, as the Gators executed much more than they floundered.

Defense: B+

The Gators allowed two early touchdowns and a pair of fourth-quarter scores, but they played inspired football between those possessions.

UF forced five consecutive punts between the second and third quarter, allowing their offense to build a 13-point lead in the process.

The defense drew a three-and-out on its opening drive, as a tackle by Reese on third-and-1 stuffed Perkins short of the marker.

The two touchdowns that followed were both fantastic throws by Perkins. The first was a 34-yard pass to Terrell Jana following the Trask interception, and then Perkins escaped a near-certain sack, rolled to his right and fired a perfect throw to the back of the painted area, where he found Hasise Dubois for his second touchdown.

However, the defense got back on track with a sack to force a three-and-out on the next drive, and the offense responded with a touchdown, as Florida led for the remainder of the game.

UF totaled three sacks and five tackles for loss, but it was an interception by Kaiir Elam in the fourth quarter that proved most critical. Perkins threw a jump ball intended for Dubois, but Elam was in perfect position to make a play on the football.

UVA came back to score thanks to Perkins’ fourth touchdown of the game, but the score came with just 38 seconds remaining and was too little too late.

Special Teams: A

Evan McPherson was undoubtedly a major reason why Florida won the Orange Bowl.

His three field goals were literally the difference in the eight-point Florida win.

McPherson’s first attempt was a chip-shot (23 yards in the second quarter), but his 49-yarder late in the third and 42-yard conversion following the Elam interception were extremely clutch kicks.

McPherson also did a great job taking away UVA’s Joe Reed in the kick-return game. Reed entered the contest leading the nation in kickoff return average (34.73 yards per attempt), but McPherson’s six touchbacks mitigated Reed’s chances.

However, when Reed took the ball out twice, he didn’t get much. The kick coverage by Florida limited him to just a 12-yard return and a 20-yard return.

Lastly, Freddie Swain made one of the most important plays by recovering the onside kick to end the contest.

Coaching: A

It’s second-and-8 from the UF 48 with just over two minutes in the third quarter.

Kyle Trask is alone in the backfield, and UVA’s only linebacker in the box is obviously playing coverage. Mullen and Trask see this, so the quarterback takes off for an easy 16-yard gain.

This is great recognition by Trask, but better play-calling by Mullen to set up this situation.

Emory Jones has entered the game twice by this point, and each time he ran the ball (four carries, 32 yards).

Because of this, Virginia saw Jones as the lone quarterback rushing threat, opening up opportunities for an underrated runner in Trask.

It was play-calling like this that won the game for Florida. Mullen utilized the skillset and moxy of his quarterbacks, and it paid off in critical situations.

The Gators converted two fourth downs, both ballsy calls on Mullen’s part.

On fourth-and-8 in the second quarter, Mullen trusted the arm of Trask rather than attempting a long field goal. Trask stood tall in the pocket and made a perfect throw to Freddie Swain despite being hit.

Then on fourth-and-1 in UF territory in the fourth quarter, Mullen trusted his quarterback again. This time Trask handled the ball on an option going to his unfavorable side, and he made a two-handed toss (resembling a chest pass) to Perine, who picked up the necessary yardage.

You’ve got to hand it to Mullen. Statistically, he shouldn’t have gone for either of those. However, he trusted his players to execute against the odds, which is more than most coaches would ever do in the Orange Bowl.

Mark Stine is a contributing writer to Chomp Talk. Follow him on Twitter @mstinejr.