Florida vs. UCF score, takeaways: Defense comes alive early as Gators trash Knights in The Swamp

Image Credit: UAA

The off week proved revitalizing for the Florida Gators defense … at least against a one-dimensional opponent. Still, Florida showed ferocity not normally seen from the program under head coach Billy Napier in a thorough and mostly dominant 24-13 win over the UCF Knights inside Ben Hill Griffin Stadium.

The Gators led 24-3 at halftime, and despite barely moving the ball in the second half, they were never under duress. In fact, the Knights’ lone touchdown of the game was heavily penalty aided by an officiating crew that was simply terrible across four quarters on Saturday night in Gainesville, Florida.

It was absolutely a tale of two halves for UF, which dominated the first 30 minutes and took advantage of an undermanned UCF team to pick up its third win of the season. Napier appeared to have answered some questions early in the game only for some of those same concerns to rise again over the latter periods of the contest.

Let’s take a look at everything that went down in Florida’s third victory of the season.

Quarterbacks deliver again

The statistics may not have been as gaudy as they were a week ago, but redshirt senior Graham Mertz and freshman DJ Lagway were once again extremely efficient and effective. Mertz completed 19 of 23 passes for 179 yards with a touchdown, while Lagway connected on all four of his passes for 50 yards.

Over their last two games, the duo has combined to complete 90% of their passes without a single turnover as the Gators outscored opponents 69-41. They were both extremely successful in the first half, as Napier appeared to have worked heavily with them over the off week, though the second half was another story altogether.

What’s important to understand is that Lagway may be a more exciting player given his dual-threat ability, but Mertz continues to play extremely strong football — just as he did in 2023 — and on most drives gives Florida the best chance to score and win games. Predetermined series were rightly questioned when Napier first announced his process — and against more talented defenses, that might prove problematic — but it’s been so far, so good through two complete games sharing the field.

Defense finally steps up

Florida entered Saturday night with one of the worst defenses among Power Four teams in the nation. It ranked 91st in scoring defense, 111th in total defense, 109th in rushing defense and 97th in passing defense. After 30 minutes, the unit looked completely revitalized. Sure, it took advantage of a UCF team with a weak offensive line and weaker passing offense, but the Knights had averaged 23 points per game against fellow Power Four opponents this season.

UCF scored just three points in the first half, and it would not have found the end zone at all if not for a penalty-aided drive that gave it every opportunity to cross the goal line. UF held a run-first team to 108 yards on the ground and 4 of 14 combined on third and fourth down.

The Gators amassed five sacks and seven tackles for loss along with a game-sealing interception from sophomore safety Bryce Thornton. And while that was the only successful turnover, it was clear that Florida made a concerted effort to swarm and swipe at the ball more aggressively than it has all season — exactly what Napier said the team was focused on achieving over the last two weeks of practice.

The more things change …

Napier was really in a groove over the first 29 minutes as a play caller. Sure, there were a couple frustrating third-down decisions, but the Gators moved the ball up and down the field with relative ease and showed some unique wrinkles that made the offense appear fresher and a dash more innovative.

And then came The end of the half. Senior running back Montrell Johnson Jr. put Florida in great position with a 34-yard run giving the Gators 22 yards to go with 21 seconds left and two timeouts. Napier called a quarterback draw, forcing the usage of a second timeout (one was utilized due to an injured player) and UF settled for a field goal despite clearly having a chance to blow the game open.

The variety of play calling and offensive success then fell off a cliff in the second half. Napier called swings or screen passes three different times on third down — all failed with Florida starting itself behind the sticks. Even aside from the repetitiveness, the tendency was plainly obvious allowing UCF to snuff the plays out with ease and get the ball back on multiple occasions.

Luckily for the Gators, they saw Knights head coach Gus Malzahn make similarly bone-headed decisions. Despite its rough passing game, UCF stuck with the run down two scores with less than 2 minutes to play as time just melted off the clock putting any chance of a comeback so far away from the realm of possibility they might as well have just kneeled the clock out.

What went right

• Johnson finished with 16 touches for 78 total yards and a touchdown, his most efficient performance of the season. Redshirt junior RB Ja’Kobi Jackson also scored on a tough inside run.
• Senior wide receiver Chimere Dike seemed to be everywhere catching four passes for 88 yards. Freshman WR Tank Hawkins got eight touches in the game after being quiet all season; he compiled 64 yards with an explosive 31-yard reception.
• Senior punter Jeremy Crawshaw was excellent throughout booting four balls for 183 yards with two of 50+ yards and an incredible boot that landed at the 1-yard line and bounced back to the 3. Tough to ask for more from a punter in a game like this.
• Napier was so fed up with the referees (see below) that he got called for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Normally, this would be a negative, but seeing that kind of fire from Napier was welcome — and it was appropriate given the circumstances.
• Ron Roberts, “head coach of the defense,” dialed up some pressures that were much needed from a unit that had not been aggressive enough this season. Whether that will work against more talented opponents remains to be seen.

What went wrong

• Not a Florida problem, but the officiating was truly atrocious. The Gators were on the wrong side of basically every 50/50 call, and a ridiculous defensive pass interference called on sophomore linebacker Shemar James — when an extremely similar play was not called a penalty earlier on the Knights — directly led to UCF’s lone touchdown of the game.
• Florida still committed some legitimate back-breaking penalties in crucial moments that would have cost it against better opponents, including a running into the kicker call on redshirt junior defensive lineman Caleb Banks that continued a UCF drive.
• Napier’s second-half play calling left a lot to be desired. The Gators had multiple opportunities to completely put the game away but failed. They were ultimately shut out in the latter 30 minutes gaining just 108 yards in the period and going 1 of 6 on third down.

Odds & ends

Florida improved to 3-1 all-time against UCF, 3-0 in The Swamp … the Gators broke a streak of allowing 24+ points to eight straight Power Four opponents … UF improved to 11-6 at home, 13-2 when leading after the third quarter and 12-3 when leading at halftime under Napier … Florida is now 40-13 against unranked opponents since 2018 … the Gators have scored in 453 consecutive games, an NCAA record

What it means

There’s no doubt Florida was underestimated entering this game as a 1.5-point underdog in The Swamp. The Gators proved that they have their flaws but are still a competitive program. It would be nice to say the defensive issues are solved, but that’s certainly not the case just just. Florida continued to show that it is capable offensively, but Napier’s play calling remains an obstacle in key situations. In that way, the Gators simultaneously exceeded expectations Saturday night yet left plenty to be desired.

What’s next?

Florida will hit the road for the second time this season when it visits Tennessee on Saturday for a 7 p.m. ET kickoff on ESPN. The Volunteers were upset 19-14 by Arkansas on Saturday taking their first loss of the season.