Archival video and still images from the 2021 Gasparilla Bowl will show UCF's football team wearing white jerseys and black pants and black helmets.
That was simply a mirage. Knight fans may well recall a different color scheme.
In reality, there were multidimensional junior Ryan O'Keefe (the game MVP with his 245 all-purpose yards) and bulldog senior running back Isaiah Bowser (doing his best Jerome Bettis impression with 35 carries for 155 yards) running around Raymond James Stadium like a couple of Santa's elves—gifting first-year head coach Gus Malzahn, the UCF program and Knight fans everywhere with their holiday presents.
There a bit of irony in the fact O'Keefe is a Texan and Bowser comes from Ohio. They've had to learn from their teammates what all this in-state football pride is about. They may not have understood how Knight fans feel about their place in this ultra-competitive Florida football state where supporters of UCF, the Gators, the 'Noles and the 'Canes to one-up each other at every turn.
On Thursday night with a raucous crowd of UCF fans sitting (and often standing) behind them in the sold-out home of the defending Super Bowl champions, they had to have been convinced.
Even O'Keefe (after leaving behind his red elf disguise) was quick to point out in the postgame interview room that the end result meant the Knights could declare themselves state champions—no small achievement as UCF fans count the chips.
That's after UCF (9-4) scored 20 second-half points, twice coming from behind to post a 29-17 victory over Florida in a game that provides a significant lift to Malzahn and the dreams and goals for his program in so many ways.
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He never actually said it, but this one just had to mean more to Malzahn, a veteran of plenty of Southeastern Conference battles.
"We're going to be very aggressive tonight," the UCF head coach told his team before it started.
"Let's get ready to roll. This is the perfect opportunity. Squeeze the ball, let's be good on third down and we'll score some points.
"We're going to have to earn it. We need juice on the sidelines and we're going to make plays and it's going to be a great night."
It didn't quite start that way.
UCF's first three drives encompassed 10 plays and 18 total yards.
After a couple of early three and outs, Florida drove 58 yards for a 7-0 lead.
The Knights answered right back. After a nine-yard fourth-down conversion pass from Mikey Keene to Nate Craig-Myers (he played at Tampa Catholic where the Knights practiced this week), Bowser ran it in from the three—carrying the ball six times on the 10-play, 74-yard drive.
A 34-yard gain on a reverse for O'Keefe set up a Daniel Obarski field goal from 34 yards for a 9-7 UCF advantage—before the Gators replied with a three-pointer of their own at the 1:36 mark.
The Knights had only 140 total yards at halftime—but they had carved out chunk plays by Bowser (a 29-yard run), O'Keefe (that 34-yarder) and Johnny Richardson (a 38-yard rushing gain).
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"If we make plays, we're gonna win." Malzahn offered at halftime.
Bowser apparently listed attentively. He ran 36 yards down the Florida sideline on the first play of the second half.
Obarski barely missed a 51-yard field-goal try—but the Knights were just getting started.
The UCF defense set the stage with a three and out after a Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste sack on third down.
Two plays later O'Keefe went flying down the UCF sideline on another reverse, this one gaining 74 yards to the Florida four. Bowser carried it the rest of the way, and the Knights led 16-10. At that stage the Knights already had passed the 200-yard mark in rushing.
The Gators came right back with their own 82-yard march (starting with their longest rush of the night to that point of 20 yards followed by their longest pass completion of 32) to regain a one-point advantage.
It was all Knights after that.
Two 15-yard Florida penalties jump-started the next possession for UCF—and Keene threw to tight end Alec Holler to convert once on third down and Bowser did the same three plays later. Obarski's field goal from 21 yards gave the Knights the lead for good at 19-17.
An offensive interference call against Florida thwarted the Gators' next attempt—so UCF took over for the first time holding the lead.
Keene knew exactly what to do. O'Keefe deftly found his way wide open into the secondary, and Keene's throw made it a one-play, 54-yard TD drive and a 26-17 lead on the longest UCF pass play of the season.
Malzahn said later the idea was to get O'Keefe 15 touches—and by that point (and at game's end) he had exactly that for 246 all-purpose yards (a Gasparilla Bowl record).
The fourth quarter was mostly Bowser.
He carried 15 times in that final period alone for 70 yards and that enabled the Knights to build a time-of-possession advantage of 12:18 to 2:42—and UCF fans know that doesn't happen often.
Bowser and the Knight run game produced 288 yards, two short of their season high.
Meanwhile, Florida in the final period ran the ball two times for three net yards.
The UCF defense produced eight quarterback hurries, six passes broken up (three by Davonte Brown), four tackles for loss and two sacks while generally harassing Gator quarterback Emery Jones most of the night.
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"I couldn't be prouder of you, you seized the moment," a jubilant Malzahn told his team.
"That is an unbelievable moment, not just this year but for our future.
"Our coaching staff appreciates the trust you put in them. We did some things different and you never flinched.
"At times we could have turned on each other, but we didn't do it.
"And you end with a moment you can enjoy for the rest of your life.
"What we did tonight? We established we're the best team in Florida. And we're just getting started."
The victory marked UCF's 50th over the past five seasons.
And that's the best present under the tree Knight fans could ever expect.
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