The UCF Knights defeated the Florida Gators 29-17 in the Gasparilla Bowl. This game was an aggressive battle between both teams, but UCF was the more disciplined team; the Knights executed their game plan almost to perfection. However, this matchup was also a tale of two components that dictated the outcome of this game. Here’s more about how UCF won impressively against Florida on Thursday night.
Passing Struggles
Unfortunately, Emory Jones had more of the same inaccurate throws from the regular season. He missed Trent Whittemore and Justin Shorter on plays that would’ve been touchdowns. Jones finished the game with a completion percentage under 50%.
Whittemore had an opportunity to connect with Kemore Gamble on a trick play, but the ball was under-thrown. Similar to Dan Mullen’s tenure, there was reluctance to rely on the legs of Dameon Pierce even after he scored the first touchdown of the game.
Granted, all the blame can’t fall on Jones’ shoulders. In fact, Gamble and Rick Wells had drops on the opening drive, and Florida could’ve had momentum from the start of the game.
UCF freshman quarterback Mikey Keene also had struggles in the passing game, but those were mainly on deep shots. Gus Malzahn did a great job of making the game plan comfortable for his young quarterback.
Power Running Game
Running back Isaiah Bowser really dominated this game for the Knights; he had 35 carries for 155 yards and two touchdowns. Ryan O’Keefe is a receiver who had a big impact in the wildcat game. The Gators had no answer for O’Keefe in neither the running or passing game.
The Gators even really controlled the line of scrimmage on offense, and Malik Davis along with Pierce finished for a combined 143 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Florida then chose to put the ball in the hands of Jones and allowed him to drop back, which really limited the Gators on offense.
Jones did have some good scrambles outside the pocket when he couldn’t find anyone open downfield. However, Florida still should’ve kept the game simple by feeding Davis and Pierce the ball. It clearly worked for UCF on offense in the trenches, but the Gators chose to go away from their identity on offense.
Concluding Thoughts
This game is Greg Knox’s first loss as the interim head coach, and it will obviously be his last game as Florida’s head coach. Billy Napier starts the 2022 season as the head man for the Gators, and he has assembled quite a staff thus far. Expect Florida to take a big step forward this year; this game was more representative of the program’s transition, especially with many of the Gators’ players entering the transfer portal.
UCF should be extremely proud of this win over Florida, and it implicitly represents a ‘state title’ for the Knights. Malzahn has done an impeccable job of leading UCF to a 9-4 record in his first year as head coach. Now, UCF should look to getting back to the top of the AAC conference by taking down Cincinnati next year.
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