It took about three days for all 65,000 seats at Raymond James Stadium to be sold as the Florida Gators and the Central Florida Knights face each other in the 2021 Gasparilla Bowl Dc. 23 at 7 pm airing nationally on ESPN TV.
Truth be told both UCF 8-4, from the American Athletic Conference and Florida 6-6, from the SEC had much higher hopes than playing here in Tampa but things don’t always work out the way we plan. That being said to have the two-state schools are more than happy to battle for bragging rights.
TOP PLAYERS
UCF: DE Big Kat Bryant, all-AAC first-team selection, team leader with six sacks, 14 tackles for loss and eight quarterback hurries.
Florida: QB Emory Jones, led Florida in passing and rushing, 2,563 yards passing, 19 touchdowns; 696 yards rushing, four touchdowns.
NOTABLE
UCF: Knights first-year coach Gus Malzahn has qualified for a bowl game all 10 of his seasons as a college head coach.
Florida: The Gators were a top-10 team in early October before losing five of seven that led to the dismissal of coach Dan Mullen. It took a 24-21 rivalry win over Florida State on the season’s final weekend to secure a bowl game.
LAST TIME
Florida 42, UCF 0. (Sept. 9, 2006).
BOWL HISTORY
UCF: Fifth appearance in the Gasparilla Bowl and ninth postseason trip in the past 10 years.
Florida: First appearance in the Gasparilla Bowl, 48th postseason game in program history.
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