WHAT HAPPENED: Tailback Isaiah Bowser rushed 35 times for 155 yards and two touchdowns, while junior wide receiver Ryan O'Keefe tallied 251 yards of total offense, including a go-ahead 54-yard touchdown bomb from freshman quarterback Mikey Keene in the third quarter Thursday night, as the highly motivated Knights defeated the Gators in the Gasparilla Bowl at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. Bowser, the senior from Sidney, Ohio, set a bowl record with his carries and scored on touchdown runs of three yards in the first half and four early in the second. O'Keefe, a junior from Austin, Texas, was named the the game's Most Valuable Player after rushing four times for 110 yards, catching seven passes for 85 yards and adding another 56 yards in kickoff returns. Keene completed 14 of 24 passes for 144 yards and out-dueled UF counterpart, Emory Jones, the senior who finished just 14 of 36 for 171 yards in his final UF performance after announcing last week that he planned to transfer. The Knights tallied 436 yards of total offense, with a whopping 288 on the ground via 50 carries. UCF shredded the UF defense for seven plays of at least 20 yards and five of at least 34. The Gators, meanwhile, gained just 376 yards (only 90 after halftime), went 2-for-13 on third down, missed both four-down tries and were hit with four costly 15-yard penalties in the second half. Still, the Gators led 17-16 lead, courtesy of a 19-yard run by senior tailback Malik Davis (7 carries, 86 yards), midway through the third period, but let the margin quickly evaporate when they gambled (and failed) with an onsides kick attempt and instead surrendered excellent field position to the Knights. The next two possessions for UCF netted a go-ahead field goal by Daniel Obarski and the 54-yard strike from Keene to O'Keefe with 1:08 to go in the third quarter for a 26-17 lead. Obarski's third field goal, a 33-yarder field goal with 2:41 remaining, finished the scoring and gave the Knights the last 13 points of the game. With 2:28 seconds to go, UF junior receiver Justin Shortertook a nasty hit skying for a high pass and after a lengthy stoppage (and surrounded by concerned teammates) had to be taken from the field on a stretcher with his neck area immobilized.
Defensive end Brenton Cox Jr. celebrates a first-half sack Thursday night. (Photo: Leslie White/UAA Communications)
WHAT IT MEANS: The loss was Florida's first in three meetings against UCF, with Knights fans sure to delight in the outcome for ... well ... years. It also means Florida will post its first losing record since the 2017 season (and just the third since 1980) that saw the firing of Jim McElwain after seven games and interim coach Randy Shannon taking the wheel for the final four games of what turned out to be a 4-7 campaign. And speaking of interim coaches, UF's Greg Knox suffered his first in three sideline scenarios. In 2017, Knox took the reigns at Mississippi State when Dan Mullen bolted for Florida and guided the Bulldogs to a Gator Bowl defeat of Louisville and Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson. Knox had the big Gator headset on in November, following Mullen's firing, and steered the Gators past rival Florida State in the regular-season finale that qualified them for this bowl. He'll leave 2-1 as an interim coach. Florida dropped to 24-23 all-time in bowl games, losing for just the second time in their last six.
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: As far as the Gators are concerned, that would be Billy Napier, the recently hired coach from Louisiana-Lafayette who can't get his imprint on this program fast enough.
STAGGERING STATISTIC: Other than Florida State and Miami, the last in-state opponent to beat Florida was (wait for it) Stetson in 1938. Yeah, that would be 83 years ago.
UP NEXT: The Napier era, that's what. He'll inherit a program that finished 6-7 and is in utter rebuild mode. The Knights, in exiting their season in style, finished with a 9-4 record.
