ORLANDO, Fla. _ The No. 8 Florida Gators had the national stage all to themselves on Saturday night.
Much of the night, UF probably wanted to hide.
Despite a sloppy performance, the Gators did just enough to earn a 24-20 win over the rival Miami Hurricanes at Orlando's Camping World Stadium.
"What a game. College football is back," UF coach Dan Mullen exclaimed to ESPN after the narrow win. "This is the best. Helluva job by Miami. ... Love our guys. Had some veteran guys not flinch.
" ... We found a way to win."
The kickoff to the 150th season of college football pitted two in-state rivals in a rare meeting. With a sellout announced crowd of 66,543 looking on, the sloppy season opener featured 23 penalties, along with endless mistakes and missed opportunities.
But there was plenty of drama.
Two pass-interference penalties by the Gators during the final two minutes allowed the Hurricanes to hang around. Miami moved from its 36-yard-line to the UF 26 despite managing just one play from scrimmage for 12 yards.
The Hurricanes' chance to upset the Gators _ a seven-point favorite _ ended when UF sacked elusive redshirt freshman quarterback Jarren Williams on fourth down and for the 11th time.
The Gators' struggling offense and quarterback Feleipe Franks did rise to the occasion one time when it mattered. It ultimately proved enough.
With his team trailing 20-17, Franks had been off the mark much of the night when he threw a perfect strike to senior receiver and security blanket Josh Hammond for 65 yards to set up a 3-yard scoring run by Franks three plays later with 8:08 remaining.
Enough time remained for Franks, who finished with 254 passing yards, two touchdowns and three turnovers, to once again become the Gators' goat.
UF stopped Miami on fourth-and-nine with 4:30 remaining, registering the Gators' seventh sack of Williams, who was making his first start. But on the next play, Franks threw the ball right into the hands of Miami's Romeo Finley.
Taking over on the Gators' 40-yard line, the Hurricanes started going backward against coordinator Todd Grantham's relentless UF defense, setting the stage for a wild finish.
