TAMPA, Fla. – The Gasparilla season in Tampa kicked off on Friday with the Gasparilla Bowl. Longtime SEC rivals, Florida and Tulane, met again on the gridiron at Raymond James Stadium this afternoon for the first time in 40 years.
On paper, the Green Wave (9-4) and Gators (7-5) come into the contest with similar records, but the two took very different paths en route to the Gasparilla Bowl.
The Gators went through the gauntlet this year with arguably the toughest schedule in college football. Eleven out of 12 of their games were Power Four opponents and when all was said and done, Florida made it through its beast of a schedule against five programs that made the College Football Playoff rankings and two more, LSU and Texas A&M, that spent most of the season in the Top 25.
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The Gators started off shaky but finished strong with three straight wins. Much of Florida’s turnaround has been attributed to freshman phenom DJ Lagway, who took over starting duties after senior Graham Mertz tore his ACL in October.
Lagway threw for 1,610 yards and 11 touchdowns and went 5-0 in games he started and finished.
Meanwhile, the Green Wave’s season had a very different trajectory. Tulane was in the running to crack the College Football Playoff before a pair of disastrous late-season losses to Memphis and Army.
The Green Wave will also be without starting quarterback Darian Mensah, who recently transferred to Duke.
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While the oddsmakers have Florida as a heavy favorite in this match, this game brings a big impact to the Tampa Bay area as the Gasparilla season gets underway.
“The impact of what it brings,” Katie Kicklighter with the Tampa Bay Sports Commission said. “New people visiting our city, staying, trying our restaurants, and really, just seeing everything that Tampa has to offer.”
Krewes from around the Tampa Bay area anchored their floats at the “fan invasion” tailgate ahead of the game.
“Being from Florida, you have all the Florida teams, all of Tampa Bay, and we just love the combination of putting it all together,” said Maggie Williams with the Ye Royal Krewe of Charlotte de Berry. “Meaning, we’re trying to promote Gasparilla, get more people involved in that to come see what it’s all about. And, of course, who doesn’t love a football game…especially when the Gators are playing.”
Gator fans came from near and far on Friday, and some said they felt a sense of being on home turf at this game.
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“I actually was a USF fan, and I went to my first Florida Gators game with my dad and ever since then, I’ve just always wanted to go to UF,” one Florida fan said.
The Green Wave was well represented as well, with fans making the trip all the way from New Orleans.
“Just getting away, and college football has more of an element that the pros don’t have,” one Tulane fan said. “A little bit more spirit involved.”
The Tampa Bay Sports Commission said the Gasparilla Bowl’s impact stretched beyond the field. The game is a huge economic driver throughout the Tampa Bay area, bringing people from around the state and the country to Tampa to stay, eat and explore.
“The bowl is really the kickoff to the total season, and I know, coming out of a series of storms, the community has been hit hard. What this brings, the excitement to the area, the energy, the economic impact, all of it is going to just bring us back,” Kicklighter said.
The Gasparilla Bowl is the first of two bowl games to kick off at Raymond James Stadium. The University of Alabama will take on the University of Michigan in the ReliaQuest Bowl on December 31 at 12 p.m.
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