TAMPA, Fla. – Longtime SEC rivals of yore, Florida and Tulane, meet on the gridiron for the first time in 40 years this afternoon when the Gasparilla Bowl begins in Tampa.

On paper, the Green Wave (9-4) and Gators (7-5) enter the contest with similar records, but the two took very different paths en route to the Gasparilla Bowl.

The Gators have run the gauntlet with arguably the toughest schedule in college football this year. Eleven of twelve of their games were Power Four opponents, and in the end Florida made it through its tough schedule against five programs that made the College Football Playoff rankings and two more, LSU and Texas A&M, that made it to the College Football Playoff rankings most invested in the top 25 during the season.

The Gators got off to a shaky start but finished the game strong with three straight wins. Much of Florida’s turnaround was attributed to freshman phenom DJ Lagway, who took over the starting role after senior Graham Mertz suffered a torn ACL in October.

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Lagway threw for 1,610 yards and 11 touchdowns and posted a 5-0 record in games he started and finished.

Meanwhile, the Green Wave’s season was very different.

Tulane was in the running to make the College Football Playoff before suffering two 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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The oddsmakers have Florida as the big favorite in this game, which should be played in front of a predominantly blue and orange “home crowd.”

“We know Tampa is Gator Nation at its best, so we expect a great crowd,” Gators head coach Billy Napier said. “For us, whether it’s home or away, it’s all about the performance and we’ll be grateful for the fans who turned up.”

For Gators fans, this should be a glimpse of what’s to come for this program as it struggles to regain dominance in the mighty SEC.

Kick-off is at 3:30 p.m. Tickets are still available starting at $40. You can also watch the game on ESPN2.

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