JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Nothing that happens in the first three quarters today should break the spirit of either Gator Bowl opponent, Virginia or Texas Tech.

One year ago, the Red Raiders posted the biggest comeback in bowl history when they rallied from a 38-7 third-quarter deficit to defeat Minnesota 44-41 in the Insight Bowl.

In the regular season this year, 23rd-ranked Virginia won five games in which it trailed in the fourth quarter, setting a Division I record with five victories by one or two points.

The Cavaliers (9-3) are bidding to win 10 games in a season for only the second time in school history but prepare for today's 1 p.m. kickoff as six-point underdogs.

Unranked Texas Tech (8-4) ranks first in Division I-A in passing offense and second in total offense, as opposed to Virginia, which is 100th.

Of course, it won't be Texas Tech's offense against Virginia's offense, but the onus doesn't fall completely on a Virginia defense that ranks in the top 25 nationally in four different categories.

"Any time you look at a team that's averaging 42 points a game, that's pretty daunting," Virginia head coach Al Groh said. "Obviously, we've got to get their points down. That's the first thing our team has to do.

"It takes 33 players, including the offense and special teams. We're relying on special teams to get field position for us and counting on the offense to do something with that field position, not only score points but also move it away from their goal line."

The matchup features a pair of national award winners in Virginia's Chris Long, winner of the Ted Hendricks Award as college football's top defensive end, and Texas Tech's Michael Crabtree, winner of the Biletnikoff Award as the nation's top wide receiver.

Crabtree, a 6-foot-3, 208-pound redshirt freshman, leads Division I-A in receptions (125) and touchdown catches (21). Another Red Raider wideout, Danny Amendola, has 103 receptions and ranks fourth in the country.

Junior quarterback Graham Harrell became only the sixth player in Division I-A history to pass for more than 5,000 yards in a season and he is one of five players to have consecutive seasons with 4,000 yards or more.

Texas Tech's quarterbacks, who have thrown 694 passes, have been sacked only 15 times.

"A lot of their plays feature the quarterback catching the ball and throwing," Groh said. "One of the rationales for putting a system like that in place is to neutralize pass-rushers."

The Cavaliers rank sixth in Division I-A in sacks with 39, including an ACC-high 14 by Long.

"Obviously, one of our challenges is how to keep one of our best players vitally involved in the game," Groh said.

Long doesn't plan on being a decoy.

"As a defensive lineman I can't say, 'Oh, they're getting rid of it quick, I'm not going to bring it,' " Long said. "You've just got to keep coming, like you would as a pass-rusher in any game. Be relentless. It might be the fourth quarter before you get back there, [but] you've just got to keep bringing it.

"They're not doing anything nobody's ever seen before. All year it's been chase, chase, chase. That's what you do as a defensive lineman: You turn and run."

Texas Tech has averaged fewer than 20 rushing attempts per game and that number could go down in the absence of leading rusher Shannon Woods. Red Raiders coach Mike Leach said that Woods, a junior, was sent back to Lubbock, Texas, after a violation of team rules.

Virginia, on the other hand, regained the services of tailback Mikell Simpson after he took care of an academic matter that had delayed his arrival in Jacksonville.

The Cavaliers are making their fifth bowl appearances in seven seasons under Groh, who has a 3-1 bowl record, including an overtime loss to Fresno State in the 2004 MPC Computers Bowl.

Leach, who is in his eighth year at Texas Tech, has enjoyed similar success in bowls. The Red Raiders, who haven't had a losing season since 1992, have won four of their last five bowl games and are 4-3 under Leach in postseason play.

Texas Tech hasn't played since Nov. 17, when the Red Raiders knocked off third-ranked Oklahoma 34-27 in Lubbock, Texas. Virginia ended its regular season one week later in a 33-21 home loss to Virginia Tech.

"I was talking to a guy from the [Jacksonville] Jaguars and told him, 'Imagine you won your first playoff game and then had to sit for 45 days till you played again,' " Leach said. "I think that's why you see so many surprises."

Leach doesn't profess to have any secrets on getting a team ready to play in the postseason and Groh probably won't make a fortune by marketing his postseason philosophy.

"Most of all, we try to be flexible," Groh said. "We've kept all of our practice plans from past [bowl] trips, but we didn't refer to them once."