Florida Gators Lead UCF Knights 10-9 at Halftime in Gasparilla Bowl
It's a Sunshine State showdown tonight.
At halftime, the Florida Gators (6-6) held an early lead over the UCF Knights (8-4), leading 10-9 after a field-goal drive by the Gators with 1:36 remaining in the first half.
Florida is taking on the Knights today in a matchup that many have been waiting for, perhaps since the Knights went on a magical run in 2017 that saw the program go undefeated, including in a Peach Bowl victory over the Auburn Tigers.
Their dominance that year propelled the Knights to the national stage and opened the door for a Group of 5 program to take on the powerhouse that is the SEC or any other Power 5 conference opponent.
Today in the Gasparilla Bowl in Tampa (Fla.) those dreams of a big-time matchup once again have come to fruition, albeit under different circumstances. In fact, this matchup was so heavily anticipated that it drew the first sellout in Gasparilla Bowl history.
For Florida, they're heading into the game having to juggle two staffs with Billy Napier now the lead man and Dan Mullen out as the team's head coach. It is interim HC Greg Knox and his staff, however, that has been coaching the team and is on the field today for the Gators.
Just prior to kickoff, Florida defensive tackle, Antonio Valentino, a graduate transfer from Penn State, announced he would not be suiting up for tonight's matchup. It would have been Valentino's final collegiate contest. He did not opt-out, but it was due to something out of his control, Valentino said.
Along with Valentino, Florida was without several other key players, including DT Daquan Newkirk, defensive lineman Zachary Carter, linebacker Mohamoud Diabate and cornerback Avery Helm.
In the first half of the competition, Florida would start out slow, unable to get anything going during its first two drives of the game, which resulted in two quick three-and-outs. The line of scrimmage was dominated by the Knights early, but Florida eventually would figure it out on offense.
Redshirt junior QB Emory Jones started the contest for Flordia tonight, playing in his final game with the university after entering the NCAA Transfer Portal just a couple of weeks ago. Florida, however, relied on its run game for much of the first half, instead.
In the first quarter of the contest, the Gators struck first with a two-yard Dameon Pierce run. The touchdown run would come after one of the more creative plays of the contest, a misdirection pass back to tight end Kemore Gamble that would get the ball down to the four-yard line.
During quarter No. 1, Florida would run the football 14 times for 79 yards and a touchdown.
The Knights wouldn't blink too much, matching the Gators with a touchdown drive of their own. They did so on the back of their own running game, starting out with a big-time gain from Johnny Richardson who went for 38 yards.
It would be the Knights' other RB who would ultimately punch it in, however, with Isaiah Bowser running three yards in for the score. The Knights would go for two, leaving Florida with the 7-6 lead with 12:21 remaining in the first half.
The Knights would ultimately take the lead with just 6:16 remaining in the first half, a field-goal drive that would give them the 9-7 lead. The 34-yard field goal came after a nice 34-yard end-around play by UCF WR Ryan O'Keefe.
The Gators were able to bounce back to retake the lead on a 26-yard field goal by Chris Howard with just over a minute remaining in the first half. On the drive, Jones converted a third-and-18 with a 20-yard scramble. He would end the first half with 66 yards rushing on just eight carries.
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