Long-awaited clash between Florida, UCF is here

GAINESVILLE — When Florida hosts UCF on Saturday night, in-state bragging rights and midseason momentum on the line and the future of Gators coach Billy Napier in the balance.

The schools’ long-awaited fourth meeting pits UF (2-2) struggling to re-establish SEC relevancy and UCF (3-1) aiming to ascend the Big 12 pecking order, an effort undercut by the Knights recent 48-21 loss to Colorado.

“They are going to come out with a lot of juice,” Florida senior cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. said. “We just have to come out, start fast, take away whatever they’re trying to game plan on us.”

Each team features a 23-year-old quarterback, UF’s Graham Mertz and UCF’s KJ Jefferson, coaches who like to establish the run, Napier and Gus Malzahn, and defenses with issues.

A sold-out Swamp will greet the Knights during their first trip to Gainesville since a 42-0 loss to the Gators’ 2006 national championship team. The teams did square off during the 2021 Gasparilla Bowl, a 29-17 UCF victory to culminate Malzahn’s 9-4 debut season against Florida which was in a coaching transition after Dan Mullen was fired a month earlier.

Napier faces a similar fate barring a seismic turn of events. Malzahn, who signed a contract extension last fall, could use a win himself.

“We are capable of being a good team,” he said. “It’s just one game and we have learned from it. I expect our leadership to step up, do that and be better moving forward.”

Coaches: Malzahn 27-17 (104-55 overall); Napier 13-16 (53-28 overall)

Quick slant:Napier is 10-6 in the Swamp, one more loss than Steve Spurrier (68-5) and Urban Meyer (35-5). The schools are scheduled to play again Sept. 14, 2030 in Orlando and Sept. 3, 2033 in Gainesville. The last time Malzahn was at the Swamp was on Oct. 5, 2019, when he was the head coach at Auburn. The Tigers…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/long-awaited-clash-between-florida-210000822.html

Author : Orlando Sentinel

Publish date : 2024-10-04 21:00:00

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