TAMPA, Fla. — The Florida-UCF relationship is hard to describe.
It’s not a true rivalry, like what the Gators have with Florida State or the War on I-4. UF interim coach Greg Knox started to call it a rivalry Monday but corrected himself, settling on “an in-state game against an in-state team.”
But there are some rivalrous aspects to this series that add spice to Thursday’s Gasparilla Bowl at Raymond James Stadium.
Three years and two coaching changes ago, it looked as if the Gators and Knights would meet with a lot more at stake when both teams earned spots in prestigious New Year’s Six bowl games. But instead of a Sunshine State showdown, the College Football Playoff selection committee gave UF a third game against Michigan in three years in the Peach Bowl and sent UCF to the Fiesta Bowl to face LSU.
UCF conspiracy theorists assumed Gators athletic director Scott Stricklin — then a member of the selection committee — ducked the Knights. The argument made little sense; Stricklin called it “pure fantasy.”
Regardless, the conspiracy theories continued because of another lingering issue: the state’s top two programs couldn’t agree on a series.
UCF wanted a home-and-home deal (one game at the Bounce House and one in Gainesville). UF wanted a two-for-one arrangement (two in Gainesville, one in Orlando) like its contracts with other Group of Five teams.
Instead, the teams got nothing but message-board grumblings and thinly veiled shots, like this one from a Gators news release announcing a tweak to their two-for-one deal with USF: “This series is another example of the University of Florida’s history to play in-state schools in its recent past.”
The posturing continued even after they finally agreed on a series over the summer. Though there are two games in Gainesville and one in Orlando, UCF described the deal as the Gators filling a hole in their 2024 schedule and then playing a future home-and-home.
That’s a lot of baggage for two teams whose entire on-field history consists of UF routs in 1999 and 2006.
But all that drama has made the Gasparilla Bowl resonate more than any lower-tier bowl should. The fact that this pairing of rebuilding teams sold out is a testament to the pent-up demand for a meeting between one of the state’s marquee programs and its rising star.
For UCF, the matchup is a chance to help validate what Knights fans have been saying for years — that the state’s Big Three should be considered a Big Four.
“We really don’t get this opportunity much,” UCF linebacker Tatum Bethune said, “so we’ve got to seize the moment.”
For UF, it’s a chance to beat a fourth in-state program this year (after Florida State, USF and Florida Atlantic) and prove that even in a down year, the Gators still rule the state.
“It would mean, shoot, we’re the best team in Florida, honestly,” Gators cornerback Kaiir Elam said.
That claim does not mean as much as it used to, or as much as it might in the coming years if Billy Napier turns the Gators around or the Knights take off in the Big 12.
But it’s enough to make the Gasparilla Bowl one of the highlights of bowl season — and a matchup that will be talked about in this state for years.
UF adds QB
The Gators picked up an oral commitment from quarterback Jack Miller, a former four-star recruit from Ohio State. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Arizona native appeared in four games as a redshirt freshman last season, finishing 7 of 14 for 101 yards.
Future series
The official dates for the upcoming UF-UCF series: Oct. 5, 2024 (Gainesville), Sept. 14, 2030 (Orlando) and Sept. 3, 2033 (Gainesville).
The Gators must pay the Knights $800,000 for the first contest and $200,000 for the second Gainesville date, according to the series contract. UCF will pay $250,000 for the Orlando game. Both schools must negotiate in good faith for alternative dates if the SEC schedule expands to nine or more conference games.
Talking Tigers
UF running back Malik Davis’ Tampa homecoming has a special significance. His Gators were set to practice Tuesday at Jesuit High, where he became Hillsborough County’s all-time leading rusher. The trip will also give him the chance to talk to some of the players on his former team, which beat Pensacola Pine Forest 35-29 to win the program’s first state championship since 1968.
“That’s what’s up,” Davis said. “Proud of them.”
