How do Orange Bowl rivals UF and UVA stack up off the field?

The University of Florida's bowl matchup with the University of Virginia Dec. 30 is a clash of academic powerhouses: The Capital One Orange Bowl is the only New Year's Six game to pair two schools ranked as Top 10 public universities for academics. 

It's the second year in a row that UF — No. 7 in U.S. News & World Report's rankings for 2020 — has had that honor, as the Gators beat the University of Michigan at the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl last year. 

So how do UF and UVA compare off the field?

• UF is on the rise in U.S. News & World Report, jumping from #8 to #7 in top public universities, while UVA slipped from #3 to #4 in the 2020 rankings. Fourth in the nation is impressive, but we like UF’s trajectory. Advantage: Tie

• Earlier this month, 46 students nationwide were chosen as recipients of the Marshall Scholarship to pursue graduate studies in the United Kingdom. UF and UVA each had one scholar in the 2020 class. (Congrats, Aaron and Kristen!) Advantage: Tie

• UF is the only university with marine labs on two coasts: Nature Coast Biological Station on the Gulf of Mexico and the Whitney Laboratory for Marine Bioscience on the Atlantic Coast. Advantage: Florida

• UF ranked in the top 5 Peace Corps producing schools in 2018 with 68 volunteers, but UVA made the top 5 in 2019 with 74. Advantage: UVA, by a nose

• UF has an office in Miami-Dade County, so...home-field advantage? Advantage: Florida

• UVA was named the country’s #2 best value public university in U.S. News & World Report’s ranking, but UF ranks #2 on Kiplinger’s Best Public College Values. Advantage: Tie

For Orange Bowl ticket info and alumni/fan events in Miami, visit https://connect.ufalumni.ufl.edu/events/orangebowl2019. Watching from home? Kickoff is at 8 p.m. Dec 30 on ESPN.