The much-maligned Florida football defense played at a different level on Saturday night at The Swamp.
The Florida Gators (3-2, 1-1 SEC) shut down UCF’s up-tempo attack to beat the in-state foe Knights 24-13 before a sellout crowd of 90,369.
Florida built a 24-3 halftime lead, getting two big fourth down stops that led to 10 points for UF. From there, UF’s defense maintained the lead. Florida held UCF, the nation’s second ranked rushing offense at 326.0 yards per game, to 108 yards on 2.7 yards per carry. UF also generated a strong pass rush, recording five sacks.
Senior quarterback Graham Mertz led Florida on a 15-play, 75-yard TD drive to start the game, capped by a 13-yard TD pass to Elijhah Badger.
Freshman quarterback DJ Lagway set up UF’s second touchdown with a 37-yard strike to wide receiver Chimere Dike down to UCF’s 1-yard line. On the next play, Florida running back Ja’Kobi Jackson pluged in from one-yard out, giving UF a 14-3 lead.
Florida added 10 more points in the second quarter on a 3-yard TD run by Montrell Johnson Jr. and 28-yard Trey Smack field goal.
UCF scored its lone TD in the fourth quarter on a 13-yard TD run by RJ Harvey. UF’s defense finished off the game in later in the fourth quarter, with safety Bryce Thornton recording his first career interception on a KJ Jefferson with 1:48 remaining.
UCF scores its first TD of the game as the Knights drive 82 yards in seven plays, capped by a 13-yard TD run by RJ Harvey, cutting Florida’s lead to 24-13.
Florida has outgained UCF 301-198. The Gators had a chance to pad their lead late in the third quarter, but kicker Trey Smack hooked a 53-yard field goal attempt wide left.
UCF put together a 14-play, 56-yard drive to start the third quarter, but it ended with a Grant Reddick 37-yard field goal, cutting the Florida lead to 24-6 with 6:32 left in the third quarter. Florida sophomore linebacker Grayson Howard came up with a big sack on third down with UCF in the red zone, forcing the field goal time. It was UF’s third sack of the game.
A 28-yard field goal by Trey Smack puts Florida up 24-3 with 3 seconds left in the first half. Lagway leads Florida on the 6-play, 46-yard scoring drive, sparked by a 34-yard run from Johnson.
Senior running back Montrell Johnson Jr. caps a 7-play, 58-yard TD drive with a 3-yard TD run, putting Florida up 21-3 on UCF with 1:50 left in the second quarter. It’s the fourth TD run of the season for Johnson and first since Sept. 7 against Samford.
After Florida’s defense recorded a fourth down stop at UCF’s 43-yard line, the Gators capitalized. Freshman quarterback DJ Lagway connected with Chimere Dike on a 37-yard strike down to UCF’s 1-yard line, which set up a 1-yard TD run by Ja’Kobi Jackson. Florida 14, UCF 3, 12:50 left in second quarter.
UCF answers with a field goal drive, as the Knights go 65 yards on 12 plays and come away with a Grant Reddick 27-yard field goal. Florida 7, UCF 3. 2:27 left in first quarter.
Florida caps a 15-play, 75-yard TD drive with a 13-yard TD pass from quarterback Graham Mertz to wide receiver Elijhah Badger. Gators 7, UCF 0, 7:02 left in first quarter.
Wide receivers Eugene Wilson III and Aiden Mizell are both out for Florida football tonight vs UCF.
Between Florida’s suspect run defense and UCF’s suspect pass defense, stops will be hard to come by. Quarterback Graham Mertz will lead the Gators on a scoring drive on their last possession, setting up Trey Smack for a game-winning field goal.
Final Score prediction: Florida 41, UCF 38
Odds courtesy of BetMGM as of Friday, Oct 4
Betting line: UCF -1.5
O/U: 61.5 points
Per Weather.com, the forecast for the Florida-UCF game at kickoff in Gainesville, Fla., is a temperature of 75 degrees and cloudy with winds from the northeast at 7 miles per hour. There is an 18% chance for rain.
The Florida football-UCF game is sold out, but tickets remain available for purchase on secondary markets such as StubHub, Vivid Seats and SeatGeek.
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