Gators Hold Green Wave to Fewest Total Yards in Gasparilla Bowl History;
Lagway passes for a bowl record 305 yards to earn MVP Honors
Dec. 20, 2024
TAMPA, FLA. – The Florida Gators combined a record-setting defensive performance and an explosive passing game to defeat the Tulane Green Wave, 33-8, in the 16th edition of the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl on Friday evening at Raymond James Stadium.
Holding the Green Wave scoreless until the final minute of the game, the Gators also limited Tulane to a Gasparilla Bowl record low of 194 total yards. In addition, Florida set a bowl record with 38:57 in time of possession.
The tone of the game was set by the Florida defense from the start. After an exchange of punts to start the contest, UF’s Trikweze Bridges intercepted the first pass attempt of the game by Tulane’s Ty Thompson. The Gators then drove 61 yards on 9 plays with quarterback DJ Lagway completing all five of his pass attempts for 57 yards. The drive stalled at the Tulane 17-yard line and Trey Smack got the Gators on the scoreboard with a 34-yard field goal.
Conversely, Tulane was unable to convert an early opportunity. Late in the first quarter Tulane intercepted a Lagway pass and drove to the UF 17-yard line, but a 35-yard field goal attempt by Patrick Durkin was wide right. The Gators then marched into Green Wave territory reaching the 23-yard line before penalties stopped the drive. Smack converted on a 44-yard field goal to give the Gators a 6-0 advantage with 9:54 remaining in the first half.
Florida looked to be driving toward the first touchdown of the game later in the second quarter as Lagway completed passes of 21 and 31 yards to get the Gators down to the Tulane 7-yard line. However, on third down, Lagway’s pass was intercepted by Aiden Mizell in the end zone to end the threat.
The half ended with Florida leading 6-0. The six total points marked the fewest points scored in the first half in Gasparilla Bowl history. It also matched the six points scored in the second half of the 2015 game between Marshall and Connecticut for the lowest scoring half in bowl history.
A big reason for Florida’s halftime advantage was the swarming Gators defense. The Gators limited the Green Wave to 62 total yards, 34 rushing and 28 through the air over the first 30 minutes of play.
The dominating defense took its game up a notch in the third quarter. After forcing a Tulane punt on the opening drive of the half, Florida traveled 59 yards on 10 plays before Smack made the score 9-0 with his third field goal of the game.
Tulane’s second drive of the half ended with an interception by Alfonzo Allen, Jr., at the Florida 40-yard line. Jaden Baugh rushed for 30 yards and Lagway completed three passes for another 30 yards, including a 7-yard touchdown pass to Tony Livingston to make the score 16-0.
The next Tulane drive ended with a fourth down stand by the Gators defense. Dijon Johnson stopped Thompson on fourth down to turn the ball back over to the Florida offense. A touchdown run by Baugh was nullified by a penalty, but the Gators increased the margin to 19 points with Smack converting his fourth field goal of the game.
Florida scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. The first came on a 27-yard fumble recovery by KD Daniels following a fumble by Lagway. The second came with under two minutes remaining as Anthony Rubio scored on an 11-yard run.
Tulane was able to avoid becoming the first shutout victim in Gasparilla Bowl history with a 55-yard drive in the final minute.
Lagway was named the game MVP after becoming the first quarterback to pass for more than 300 yards in the 16-game history of the Gasparilla Bowl. He finished the game with 305 passing yards, completing 22 of 35 passes with one touchdown and two interceptions.
The victory by the Gators lifts their all-time bowl game record to 25-24 and they narrowly missed posting their first shutout in a bowl game. Tulane falls to 7-10 all-time in bowl games. With the win, the Gators evened their record in the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl to 1-1 as they lost to UCF in the 2021 Gasparilla Bowl.
SCORING SUMMARY
First Quarter
3-0 UF – Trey Smack 34-yard FG – 7:48 (9-61, 4:55)
Second Quarter
6-0 UF – Smack 44-yard FG – 9:12 (9-54, 5:41)
Third Quarter
9-0 UF – Smack 24-yard FG – 9:11 (10-59, 3:58)
16-0 UF – Tony Livingston 7-yd pass from DJ Lagway (Smack kick) – (7-60, 3:22)
Fourth Quarter
19-0 UF – Smack 30-yard FG – 13:03 (7-35, 3:02)
26-0 UF – KD Daniels 27-yard fumble recovery (Smack kick) – 6:29 (4-34, 1:30)
33-0 UF – Anthony Rubio 11-yard run (Smack kick) – 1:11 (9-47, 4:43)
33-8 T – Mario Williams 16-yd pass from Ty Thompson (Lewis, Jr. pass from Thompson) – 0:29 (5-55, 0:36)