The Florida Gators will play the UCF Knights in the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl on Dec. 23, it was announced on Sunday. Kickoff from Raymond James Stadium in Tampa will be at 7, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN.
Florida holds a 24-22 record all-time record in bowl games and had won three consecutive bowl games until the blowout loss to Oklahoma in the 2020 Cotton Bowl.
This will be just the third meeting between UF and UCF, with Florida winning both. Their last meeting came in 2006.
After UCF posted back-to-back undefeated regular seasons in 2017 and 2018, Florida reportedly attempted to schedule UCF to a 2-for-1 series, meaning two games in Gainesville and one in Orlando. The Knights, however, declined, believing that a program that had enjoyed that much recent success shouldn’t have to travel to a Power Five school twice to get one home game.
When Terry Mohajir took over as UCF’s athletic director in February, he reversed course and agreed to a 2-for-1 series that will see the teams play in Gainesville in 2024 and 2033 and in Orlando in 2030.
Now, the two sides will get to play each other a couple of years earlier than planned.
The Knights (8-4, 5-3 American Athletic) have had a bit of a down year under first year head coach Gus Malzahn, who previously coached at Auburn. However, two of their losses were in one-possession games. They’re averaging 32.2 points per game, the 38th-best mark in the FBS, despite having to start true freshman quarterback Mikey Keene following a season-ending injury to Dillon Gabriel in week three.
While it might seem like this game doesn’t mean much to the Gators (6-6, 2-6 SEC) given their disappointing season and the coaching transition that’s taking place, it still has some significance to them. It’s a chance for them to send out their departing players with one final win and earn bragging rights within the state. They can avoid finishing with a losing record for the third time in the last nine years.
Additionally, head coach Billy Napier will get a chance to observe bowl practices and the game in-person instead of having to rely on film to evaluate his new team.