The 2021 Gator Bowl is a college football bowl game that is scheduled to be played on January 2, 2021, with kickoff scheduled for noon EST on ESPN. It will be the 76th edition of the Gator Bowl, and will be one of the 2020–21 bowl games concluding the 2020 FBS football season. Sponsored by financial technology company TaxSlayer, the game will be officially known as the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.
The bowl matchup was announced on December 20, featuring the Kentucky Wildcats of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) and the NC State Wolfpack of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), consistent with the bowl's conference tie-ins. While the bowl's press release stated that the programs have previously met three times, records list only two prior games—a win by NC State in 1909 and a win by Kentucky in 1970.
Kentucky enters the bowl with a 4–6 record, all in SEC contests. They are one of a limited number of teams to enter a bowl game with a losing record. The Wildcats were ranked 23rd in the AP Poll in late September. They faced five ranked opponents during the season, defeating Tennessee while losing to Auburn, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida.
NC State enters the bowl with an 8–3 record (7–3 in ACC play), ranked 24th in the AP Poll and 23rd in CFP rankings. They also faced five ranked opponents during the season, defeating Pittsburgh and Liberty while falling to Virginia Tech, North Carolina, and Miami (FL).