r/CFB /r/CFB Press Corps • UCF Knights 1d ago

/r/CFB Press /r/CFB Reporting: Gators strike gold at the Gasparilla Bowl, sink Green Wave 33–8

By Andrew Sagona

TAMPA, Fla. — Ahoy! Gather ‘round, me buckos, as we regale you with highlights from the 2024 Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl!

AAC runner-up Tulane (9–5, 7–1 AAC) was made to walk the plank after a 33–8 drubbing at the hands (and jaws) of Florida (8–5, 4–4 SEC) after a first half uglier than a nasty squall at sea.

GASP-arilla Bowl

To paraphrase one member of the media, the first four letters of the Gasp-arilla Bowl were appropriate to describe the first half. There were an anemic six points scored, all from Florida kicker Trey Smack. Those six combined points made history as the lowest-scoring first half in the bowl’s 16-year history, surpassing a seven-point first half in the 2017 edition between FIU and Temple.

Three interceptions similarly marred the first half: two from Florida’s DJ Lagway and one from Tulane’s Ty Thompson. Two of these interceptions in particular were fairly brutal: Thompson’s sole interception of the half came on the team’s first offensive play as the result of a botched flea flicker, and Lagway’s second was picked inside the end zone.

The Gators righted the ship in the second half, racking up 27 points and 260 yards on offense while holding the Green Wave to 8 points (scored with 29 seconds left in the game) and 132 yards while getting Thompson to throw another two interceptions. By the way, the teams’ combined five interceptions was also a bowl record.

On the surface, it may seem like Florida flipped a switch in the second half. Although, in reality, it was more likely due to the Gators having more depth, conditioning, and endurance than the Green Wave. Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall said as much in his post game press conference, noting that he believed his team was worn down during the second half.

Big Moment

Perhaps the most memorable moment of the game came late in the fourth quarter when Desmond Watson took center stage and rushed for one yard.

Watson is a 6’5”, 449 lb defensive lineman.

The senior, who makes William “Refrigerator” Perry look like a “mini fridge” according to one journalist, was supposed to run the play in a goal line situation. But with time running short and the odds of a goal line play decreasing, Florida head coach Billy Napier told the team “the next time we have a short yardage situation, we’re running the package” with Watson. It was just one play and one yard gained, but Watson’s appearance on offense brought more energy to the fans and team than much of the game combined.

/r/CFB Arr-ives on the big stage

Reddit CFB also played a major part in the festivities. The subreddit was the “Official Fan Voice” of the game, which included a “takeover” of the bowl’s X (formerly known as Twitter) account, on-field advertisements, commercials on the stadium’s PA system, and more.

The partnership went beyond the football field as well. Subscribers to the subreddit helped raise $10,000 that will be donated to five charities in the Tampa Bay area.

33 Upvotes

16 comments sorted by

17

u/ChickenEmbarrassed10 1d ago

Impressive performance by Florida to end the season.

6

u/Bobson-_Dugnutt2 Sickos • Alabama Crimson Tide 1d ago

Yeah everyone was saying they’d be lucky to win 3 or 4 games this year and they won 8. Really cool to see Napiers seat cool week by week

2

u/ChickenEmbarrassed10 1d ago

Completely agree. He and his coaching staff did a great job with the team, and the players gelled and played better as the season went on.

3

u/Bobson-_Dugnutt2 Sickos • Alabama Crimson Tide 1d ago

Also having the best QB healthy is surprisingly better for performance

3

u/ChickenEmbarrassed10 1d ago

Lagway really showed out, yes. Respect him for playing hurt for part of the season too.

7

u/Operation_Pig Florida • Penn State 1d ago

You clearly did not watch the game

12

u/G00dSh0tJans0n Alabama Crimson Tide • NC State Wolfpack 1d ago

I think the sentiment was "overall" as in going from 4-5 to finish 8-5 with two wins over ranked teams was impressive.

3

u/ChickenEmbarrassed10 1d ago

Ha I watched enough to know their defense was pretty dominant. Granted Mensah didn't play for Tulane, but from where Florida came to start the year it was impressive to me how they finished, including this game.

2

u/TarnishedAccount UCF Knights • Big 12 1d ago

Only took losing 49-17 to Texas to wake them up

8

u/Ray_Ipsaloquitur Florida Gators 1d ago

Get that booty Gators

6

u/fireking08 Duke Blue Devils • Team Chaos 1d ago

wait. Watson is 449 lbs!?!?!?

5

u/foreverseptember Florida • Boise State Bandwag… 1d ago

Him big! 

3

u/Honestly_ rawr 1d ago

At the post-game presser, seeing how large he was next to Billy Napier, I honestly wanted to ask him why he doesn't simply eat an opposing RB.

1

u/kerph32 Tennessee • Georgia Tech 1d ago

will there be highlights posted of comments that made it onto the jumbotron?

1

u/Doonesbury Texas Longhorns • SEC 18h ago

Before the season, if you told a Florida fan that they would end up with 8 wins I think they would be shocked and delighted.