Florida Football Hangs On To Defeat UCF

The Florida Gators took down the UCF Knights 24-13 Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. The Gators improved to 3-2 after back-to-back wins.

Goodknight!

Presented by @WellsFargo pic.twitter.com/IDroNl2c4S

— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) October 6, 2024

Hot Start

Coach Billy Napier said the Gators needed a fast start to be able to keep up with UCF’s elite run game. Florida’s offense did just that in front of 90,369 in attendance.

Quarterback Graham Mertz led a 15-play, 75-yard drive to open the game. His The 13-yard touchdown pass Elijhah Badger capped the 7:58 drive.

The Knights (3-2) were only able to score a field goal on their first drive.

The Gators opened up a 21-3 lead halfway through the second quarter. The deficit forced UCF to get out of its comfort zone. With such a run-first mentality, being down forces the team to throw the ball more than usual. The Gators defense stood strong and brought a 24-3 lead into halftime on second-quarter scores by Ja’Kobi Jackson (1-yard run), Montrell Johnson Jr. (3-yard run) and Trey Smack (28-yard field goal).

Defensive Awakening

The Gator defense struggled through its first four games, allowing 425 total yards per game, including 189 on the ground. Mississippi State ran for 240 yards in the last game. UCF entered ranked second in rushing offense in the FBS, averaging 326 rush yards per game.

Florida held the Knights to only 108 yards rushing on 40 attempts.

With the bye week to prepare, the Gators made sure to work on tackling and defensive fundamentals. The preparation paid off in ending UCF’s 13-game winning streak against in-state opponents.

.@GeorgeGumbs blasting off the edge 🚀

💻 https://t.co/em3XcBNCnh pic.twitter.com/E7GdKh2JxD

— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) October 6, 2024

Second-Half Stall

Florida couldn’t keep the first-half offensive momentum going. The Gators were held to zero points in the second half. In their three-second half drives they missed a field goal and punted twice.

Mertz (19 of 23 for 179 yards) took responsibility for the offensive decline. He praised the defense for keeping the Gators in the game and acknowledged that the offense needs to do better.

Highlights from our 24-13 win over Central Florida. 🐊 pic.twitter.com/7TUjQbJzW9

— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) October 6, 2024

Takeaways

The Gators showed their potential with the defensive performance Saturday. The defense has been the worst in the SEC over the first month of the season. If the they can turn that around, they may be able to compete with the upcoming ranked competition. The pressure on the quarterback (five sacks) and ability to stop the run was promising.

The positives and drawbacks of the two-quarterback system (DJ Lagway was 4-for-4, 50 yards) are more apparent after a few games. Both quarterbacks played well in the first half, but some of the stagnation in the second half can be attributed to the system. It is hard to create a rhythm in an offense when you are constantly being switched off. Napier seems adamant on continuing the use of the system throughout the year.

UF has plenty of depth in the wide receiver room. The receivers stepped up, even with Eugene Wilson III and Aidan Mizell out for the game. Freshman Tank Hawkins was the primary example. Hawkins took charge as the lead receiver in the game with seven receptions for 60 yards. Chimere Dike (four catches for 88 yards) and Badger (3, 41) also had good games for the Gators.

FIRE US UP 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/0CAbxv8SBW

— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) October 6, 2024

Up Next

The Gators (1-1 SEC) face No. 4 Tennessee (4-1, 1-1) in Knoxville. The Volunteers were upset 19-14 Saturday at Arkansas. The Saturday game will kick off at 7 p.m. and air on ESPN and 98.1-FM/850-AM WRUF.