It has been over three weeks since the dust settled inside Raymond James Stadium, where the Florida Gators trounced the undermanned Tulane Green Wave in the 2024 Gasparilla Bowl, 33-8.
It was a matchup that was generally overlooked at the time — and for good reason. Tulane had lost to the Memphis Tigers on the final weekend of the regular season and the Army Black Knights in the American Athletic Confernece championship game coming in while Florida had won three in a row — two over ranked teams.
Before the game was played in Tampa, CBS Sports writer Brad Crawford ranked the Gasparilla Bowl at No. 28 in his list of bowl games. He returned on Monday to revise his ranking, dropping the matchup six spots to No. 34
“Torched by the transfer portal, the Green Wave’s best players were absent and it showed,” Crawford begins. “The AAC’s runner-up was smashed by a streaking Gators team under Billy Napier and freshman quarterback DJ Lagway, who overcame a couple turnovers to win the game’s MVP honors inside Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.”
The highest-ranked game on the 41-game list was the double-overtime Peach Bowl matchup between the Texas Longhorns and Arizona State Sun Devils in the College Football Playoff Quarterfinals. The lowest was the New Mexico Bowl between the TCU Horned Frogs and Napier’s previous program, the Lousiana Ragin’ Cajuns.
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