UCF had been waiting for well over a decade for a shot to face Florida, and they made the most of the opportunity on Thursday night. While the two schools hardly ever face one another, they certainly looked like in-state rivals after the final whistle blew.
Things got heated on the field between some UCF and Florida players following the Knights’ 29-17 upset victory in the Gasparilla Bowl. Jason Beede of the Orlando Sentinel shared a video of the scrum.
Things got heated on the field between #UCF and Florida after the Gasparilla Bowl… pic.twitter.com/mNMn7SP5aB
— Jason Beede (@therealBeede) December 24, 2021
There were some tense moments during the game, as well. Florida linebacker Ty’Ronn Hopper was ejected in the second half for throwing a swing at a UCF player. Hopper’s father said the punch was a response to a UCF player spitting in Ty’Ronn’s face.
I spoke with the father of Ty'Ron Hopper tonight.
According to Ty'Ron, the UCF player spit in his face as he was about to walk away, which resulted in him shoving the player and then getting ejected.
— Corey Bender (@Corey_Bender) December 24, 2021
The meeting between Florida and UCF was the first since 2006. The Knights have badly wanted a shot at the Gators since at least 2018, when both teams qualified for the New Year’s Six bowl games but were given different opponents.
Between the fiery incidents and the funny equipment malfunction, the Gasparilla Bowl certainly was not lacking in entertainment.
