Knights Mow Down Marshall in Gasparilla Bowl Victory

The Knights finish the 2019 season on a high note with a 48-25 victory over Marshall in the Bad Boy Mowers Gasparilla Bowl. UCF improves to 10-3 with the win and becomes one of eight teams to finish with ten or more wins over the last three seasons. This is also the sixth time UCF has won ten or more games as well as their fifth bowl victory this decade.

It was a cold and rainy start to the game which gave the UCF defense the opportunity to shine early. Marshall coughed up five turnovers within the first 15:10 of play. Richie Grant and Tre’Mon Morris-Brash both scored defensive touchdowns while Antwan Collier had two fumble recoveries and an interception. Nate Evans also went out with a bang as he led the team in tackles with twelve. The UCF defense was without Nevelle Clarke, Brendon Hayes, Brandon Wilson, and Jordan Hayes.

The rain slowed down the UCF offense as well. The Knights only accumulated 169 yards through their first eight drives. Things clicked once the weather cleared up as the Knights offense finished with 587 yards with 310 of them being on the ground. Dillon Gabriel was the game MVP after going 14-24 for 260 yards and 3 total touchdowns. Gabe Davis, Brandon Wimbush, and Adrian Killins did not play.

With his second season in the book, Josh Heupel is 22-4 as head coach of the Knights with four losses coming by a total of 15 points while 14 wins came by at least 20 points. While the season didn’t go as many had hoped, there is definitely a bright future ahead for this program.