Gators Eager to Show Off Bye-Week Work When UCF Comes to Town

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The panorama is as familiar as a well-worn T-shirt for Gators fans.

Whether captured above by the Goodyear blimp or by someone’s iPhone, seeing a swollen Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on game day is part of the fabric that makes the Gators a brand name in college football. The scene will be on full display again Saturday when Florida (2-2) hosts UCF (3-1), marking the ninth-consecutive sellout at “The Swamp.”

The Gators strive to attack the Knights quicker than they have shown recently. In the most-anticipated home games this season — Florida’s season opener against Miami and its Southeastern Conference opener against Texas A&M — the Gators rolled over in the first half, getting outscored 44-10 before halftime in the pair of losses.

Can the Gators strike fast on Saturday to keep their hungry fans engaged after the first quarter?

“It’s a big piece of the puzzle,” UF coach Billy Napier said.

UCF’s first visit to campus in 18 years is reminiscent of the Miami matchup. The Hurricanes had not played at UF in 16 years before their 41-17 win on Aug. 31. And like Miami, UCF is an in-state rival the Gators prefer to beat down to keep down in the eyes of recruits.

But that has been difficult of late. Starting with a loss to UCF for the first time in school history in the 2021 Gasparilla Bowl, Florida is 1-4 in its last five games against in-state opponents, its only victory coming at home against USF in Napier’s third game as UF’s coach in 2022.

There is renewed hope of a turnaround, with Florida coming off a 45-28 win at Mississippi State. According to Napier, quarterback Graham Mertz, and cornerback Jason Marshall Jr., the Gators spent their bye week with some of their most intense practices of the season.

“It felt great to win,” said Mertz, who was 19 of 21 for 203 yards and three touchdown passes in the win over the Bulldogs. “I know that guys in the locker room were fired up. It actually fueled our bye week. We had three really competitive, really good days of practice. We got better as a team coming off of that.”

While the win at Mississippi State helped fuel the Gators’ revival during the bye week, it also (at least temporarily) helped douse the flames that flickered after the losses to Miami and Texas A&M. The Gators know the only way to keep them extinguished is to win, win and win.

Napier enters his 30th…