Tulane squandered its slim College Football Playoff hopes down the stretch with back-to-back losses, while Florida played playoff spoiler during a three-game winning streak to end the season. Two teams trending in opposite directions, the Green Wave and Gators will revive a long-dormant, old-school SEC series in the Gasparilla Bowl on Friday.
Florida (7-5) is one of the heaviest favorites of bowl season, largely due to its advantage under center. Freshman All-America quarterback DJ Lagway led the Gators to upset wins over LSU and Ole Miss in November, and he’s staying put in Gainesville. Darian Mensah, the redshirt freshman quarterback who propelled Tulane (9-4) to a top-20 national ranking last month, entered the transfer portal and committed to Duke. Former Oregon quarterback Ty Thompson, who is also in the portal, will start under center for Tulane at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.
Green Wave head coach Jon Sumrall is sticking around in the Big Easy with a fresh contract extension after reported interest from North Carolina and West Virginia. UF’s Billy Napier coached his way off the hot seat after a slow start and ended the program’s run of three consecutive losing seasons. He’ll try to halt the Gators’ three-game bowl losing streak as well.