The Florida Gators officially have its first back-to-back wins in nearly a year with a dominating defensive performance against the UCF Knights.
Behind a stout defense and efficient first-half offense, the Gators on Saturday night downed the visiting UCF Knights, 24-13, in front of over 90,000 fans inside The Swamp. It's also Florida's first win over an in-state opponent in two seasons, which came against USF on Sept. 17, 2022.
UCF out-scored Florida 10-0 in the second half, but a lack of urgency and over-reliance on the run cost the Knights, whose hopes for a comeback were ended by a Bryce Thornton interception with 1:48 left in the game. Florida wouldn't relinquish its early lead for the entire game, despite UCF answering with a 12-play, 65-yard drive, which ended in a 27-yard field goal by Grant Reddick. From there, what's been a lackluster, ineffective UF defense for most of the season completely stifled the Knights' offense.
Two drives later, Mertz led Florida on a seven-play, 58-yard drive capped off by a three-yard Johnson Jr. touchdown. The Gators' sixth-year quarterback threw for 51 yards on two completions and drew a roughing-the-passer call to set up the score. UCF's three points was the least-allowed by the Gators through one half of football since holding Eastern Washington to three on Oct. 2, 2022.
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