The Florida Gators (2-2, 1-1 SEC) host UCF (3-1, 1-1 Big 12) at 7:30 PM EST inside the Swamp on Saturday night. Week six marks the fourth all-time meeting between Florida and UCF, including the third in Gainesville. The Knights defeated Florida 29-17 in the 2021 Gasparilla Bowl at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
UCF is currently 2.5-point favorites over the Gators, according to Hard Rock Bet.
Let’s take a look at how these teams match up statistically.
Total offense
UF: 424.2 YPG (50th)
UCF: 543.2 YPG (4th)
Scoring offense
UF: 31.8 PPG (55th)
UCF: 39.5 PPG (20th)
Passing offense
UF: 278.5 YPG (30th)
UCF: 217.2 YPG (80th)
Rushing offense
UF: 145.8 YPG (T-84th)
UCF: 326.0 YPG (2nd)
Total defense
UF: 425.5 YPG (112th)
UCF: 331.5 YPG (53rd)
Scoring defense
UF: 27.25 PPG (92nd)
UCF: 24.75 PPG (T-77th)
Passing defense
UF: 236.8 YPG (97th)
UCF: 251.5 YPG (106th)
Rushing defense
UF: 188.8 YPG (109th)
UCF: 80.0 YPG (11th)
Penalties per game
UF: 5.50 (T-47th)
UCF: 5.25 (T-40th)
Turnovers lost
UF: 7 (T-82nd)
UCF: 7 (T-82nd)
Turnovers gained
UF: 3 (T-110th)
UCF: 5 (T-81st)
Team sacks
UF: 8: (T-60th)
UCF: 3 (T-131st)
Sacks allowed
UF: 5 (T-42nd)
UCF: 8 (T-80th)
Tackles for loss
UF: 23 (T-72nd)
UCF: 22 (T-75th)
3rd down conversion
UF: .368 (T-87th)
UCF: .500 (T-19th)
3rd down conversion defense
UF: .466 (119th)
UCF: .415 (T-97th)
Keys to victory
1- Stop the run
Florida will have to limit UCF’s explosive rushing attack that ranks second in the Nation. The Knights have not been effective in obvious passing downs, when they can’t utilize the play action fake. Winning on 1st and 2nd down is crucial against UCF’s run heavy offense. You have to keep the Knights in third and long and force KJ Jefferson to beat you with his arm.
2- Create takeaways
The Gators emphasized this throughout practice this week. Colorado was able to create four turnovers against UCF and cruise to a victory. The Knights found themselves playing from behind and relying too much on an inefficient pass game.
3- Start fast
Starting fast is critical against an opponent like UCF. If the Gators can jump out to an early lead, UCF will be forced to rely more on the pass game than they’d like, and they might be pressing a little bit. Florida badly needs to have the Swamp come alive on Saturday night, and that will happen if the football team allows it to.