Who would have thought when this season began, we would see Florida limping into a bowl game and made it to one in part because a Florida State kicker whiffed on an onside kick attempt?
Who knew before the Gators were showing up with Tampa as a possible destiny that there was such a thing as the Gasparilla Bowl?
Who had any idea that this season would look like this and that Gator fans would be raving about a coach they barely know yet?
But this is football in all its unpredictability and pathos. America’s sport is not only unscripted it is sometimes unthinkable. What just happened?
Well, Florida beat FSU to qualify for a bowl, and nobody knows who will show up and what the mindset will be for a team in transition.
Coaches will tell you how important it is and certainly the fact that the Gasparilla Bowl is a sellout already tells us that the fans on both sides are excited. And we know UCF will be amped to get a game with the mighty Gators before the 2-for-1 kicks in during the 2024 season.
How excited are the Gators? We’ll know on Dec. 23.
But is it really all that beneficial to be playing in a lower-tier bowl game in a stadium you have already played in this season?
Maybe.
Here are five reasons it is a big deal for Florida football: