Where to catch your favorite Florida teams this bowl season

University of Central Florida Knights (6-6) vs Georgia Tech. Yellow Jackets (6-6)

Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl

Raymond James Stadium, December 22nd at 6:30pm on ESPN

We’ll start with UCF who is returning to the Gasparilla Bowl for the 3rd time in 4 seasons, previously beating Marshall in 2019 and Florida in 2020. UCF has had recent success playing at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa which also hosts rival USF, with the Knights having won the last 3 matchups at the stadium. Overall, this is UCF’s 8th straight season finishing bowl eligible, the longest active streak in-state, and 3rd season under head coach Gus Malzahn. In their first season in the Big 12, UCF was the only newcomer to the conference to finish bowl eligible this season.

Georgia Tech heads to Tampa after finishing 4th in the ACC in their first full season under head coach Brent Key and reach their first bowl game since 2018. I expect a competitive game with many key starters returning to play, which might not be the case as we continue with other games, with GT’s starting QB Haynes King (SO) being a matchup nightmare with his dual threat abilities, throwing for 26 TDs this season and running for another 9. Not unlike expected UCF starter John Rhys Plumlee who will be playing in his final collegiate football game.

And for some added fun, some are calling this the “George O’Leary Bowl” for the former UCF and GT head coach. He will be in attendance and honored by both schools at halftime of the game.

University of South Florida Bulls (6-6) vs Syracuse Orange (6-6)

RoofClaim Boca Raton Bowl

FAU Stadium, December 21st at 8:00pm on ESPN

USF will play in a bowl game for the first time since 2018, when they lost in the Gasparilla Bowl to Marshall, in their first season under head coach Alex Golesh. After finishing 5th in the American, the Bulls are the only one of the in-state teams to make a bowl and not play in a Power 5 conference. USF will look to build on their 6-4 all time record in bowl games.

Syracuse head to Boca looking to cap off a season that saw them fire head coach Dino Babers with 1 game remaining in his 8th season with the team. Interim coach Nunzio Campanile will look to revitalize an offense that finished 81st in the country in scoring while also containing USF starting QB Byrum Brown (SO) who threw for over 3000 yards and 23 TD’s and added another 745 yards and 11 TD’s on the ground.

Miami Hurricanes (7-5) vs Rutgers Scarlet Knights (6-6)

Bad Boy Mowers Pinstripe Bowl

Yankee Stadium, December 28th at 2:15pm on ESPN

Miami enters bowl season for the first time under 2nd year head coach Mario Cristobal and the first time since a 2020 Cheez-It Bowl (now Pop-Tarts Bowl) loss to Oklahoma State. They were selected to play in the Sun Bowl in 2021 but that game wasn’t played due to a COVID outbreak before the game on the Hurricanes roster. And while it will be the Hurricanes taking the field, it will be a very different looking team with 5 high level contributors, including starting QB Tyler Van Dyke (JR), all not playing after entering the transfer portal.

The Scarlet Knights will look to take advantage of that missing fire power on offense with a defense that ranked 29th in the country in points per game, a calling card for head coach Greg Schiano who is in his second stint with the team and 15th season overall. They’ll also look to RB Kyle Mongai (JR), who led the Big 10 in rushing with 1099 yards, to pace an offense and lead a team to watch in 2024.

#5 Florida State Seminoles (13-0) vs #6 Georgia Bulldogs (12-1)

Capital One Orange Bowl

Hard Rock Stadium, December 30th at 4:00pm on ESPN

If I had told you at the beginning of this season that Florida State would go undefeated and play Georgia in a bowl game, you probably would have assumed it was in the College Football Playoff, either for a chance at playing in or for the National Championship. Not in the Orange Bowl. Not on December 30th instead of New Years Day. After all, an undefeated conference champion has never been left out of the playoff. But here we are.

And while it looks like FSU is back, qualifying for bowl season in back-to-back seasons for the first time since Jimbo Fisher left in 2017, this one stings. And when the playoff expands to 12 teams next season, it does little for a team filled with seniors and NFL ready prospects who won’t be on the team next season. That includes WR Johnny Wilson (JR) who has opted to not play in the game as he prepares for the 2024 NFL Draft and injured QB Jordan Travis (SR). Both coaches are publicly saying they are not concerned with many opt outs, but we will continue to monitor that as we approach game day.

Georgia ended the season and watched along in shock as well as the selection committee dropped them from the #1 team in the country all the way to #6 after a loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship Game. And like Florida State, something that has never happened then happened. A #1 team that lost in the championship game had never dropped out of the top 4 after. Until now. And like FSU, they are filled with seniors and draft prospects that wanted another chance to compete. But unlike the Seminoles, the Bulldogs are back-to-back national champs and don’t want to go out on a loss. If the coaches are to be believed, and we see a full strength matchup it could get ugly for a Florida State team that will be restricted on offense with Tate Rodemaker taking over at QB.

Bonus Game:

Florida A&M Rattlers (11-1) vs Howard Bison (6-5)

Cricket Celebration Bowl

Mercedes-Benz Stadium, December 16th at Noon on ABC

Though not really a bowl game in the traditional sense, the idea that Florida A&M will be participating was too good not to share. The Celebration Bowl is a matchup of 2 HBCU league champions with FAMU representing the Southwestern Athletic Conference and Howard for the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. Because neither of these conferences qualify for the FBS and the bowl games that come with that, this game was announced in 2012 as a sort of defacto championship for HBCU’s.

This will be the Rattlers, and the Bisons, first visit to the game where the MEAC leads the series against the SWAC 6-1. Last years matchup, where North Carolina Central beat Jackson State 41-34, drew 49,000+ to Atlanta and had 2.4 million viewers on ABC setting up a great platform for these schools to showcase their talented athletes from conferences normally overlooked.