Running back leads No. 6 Florida past Virginia

Lamical Perine scored on a 61-yard run in the opening minute and didn’t stop until he climbed onto a platform for the postgame ceremony to receive the Orange Bowl’s most valuable player trophy.

Perine totaled 181 yards rushing and receiving with three touchdowns Monday to help No. 6 Florida beat

Virginia 36-28.

The win means the Gators (11-2) will likely finish in the Top 10 in consecutive seasons for the first time since 200809. Second-year coach Dan Mullen credited Perine and the rest of the senior class with leading the resurgence.

“They restored the Gator standards and are building what we want to build,” said Mullen, who improved to 21-5 at Florida.

“My sophomore year, we were 4-7,” Perine said. “We came back and had two double-digit win seasons. It’s great, man.”

Perine carried 13 times for a career-high 138 yards rushing at the end of a so-so senior season. He came into the game with only 538 yards rushing this year in the Gators’ pass-oriented offense.

“He’s one of the top running backs in the SEC,” Mullen said. “People say, ‘The stats say this, the stats say that.’ But every time we needed a big run this season, he came up with it.”

Perine was too quick and speedy for the Cavaliers. He also scored on a 10-yard run and caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Trask.

The Cavaliers (9-5) lost their final two games but still posted their highest win total since 2007. Trask capped a storybook junior season by throwing for 305 yards.