NEW ORLEANS - JANUARY 01: A detailed picture of a Florida Gators helmet before the Gators take on the Cincinnati Bearcats in the Allstate Sugar Bowl at the Louisana Superdome on January 1, 2010 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)You would think that in a bowl game that effectively amounts to a college football exhibition match that tensions couldn’t get high. But Florida and UCF just showed last night that isn’t the case.
UCF claimed victory in the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl yesterday, beating in-state rival Florida 29-17. But after the game, things got a little heated to say the least.
As the teams were exiting the field though, a UCF player got into a shoving match with a Florida player. Things escalated quickly as the two latched on and needed to be separated.
Dozens of players and coaches from both teams got into the scrum, tearing the two players off each other and trying to keep other players from getting into more scuffles. Eventually, the two teams were separated.
Things got heated on the field between #UCF and Florida after the Gasparilla Bowl… pic.twitter.com/mNMn7SP5aB
— Jason Beede (@therealBeede) December 24, 2021
Oddly enough, the scuffles weren’t reserved for the players and coaches either. There was apparently a brawl between fans at Raymond James Stadium too.
The Gasparilla Bowl capped off a solid first year for UCF with new head coach Gus Malzahn. But it also marked the end to one of the most frustrating seasons for the Florida Gators in over a decade.
The game was close all the way into the middle of the third quarter. But after a 54-yard touchdown reception from game MVP Ryan O’Keefe, the Knights took a commanding lead and never gave it up.
Let’s hope that both teams bring that same energy to the field next year, rather than after the games.
