Marshall faces Central Florida in Tampa's Gasparilla Bowl

Published

Central Florida (9-3, AAC) vs. Marshall (8-4,Conference USA), Dec. 23, 2:30 p.m. ET, ESPN.

LOCATION: Tampa, Florida

TOP PLAYERS:

UCF: QB Dillon Gabriel threw for 3,393 yards and 27 touchdowns. The freshman from Hawaii averaged 283 passing yards per game.

Marshall: RB Brenden Knox rushed for 1,284 yards and 11 touchdowns.

NOTABLE:

UCF: The Knights finished second to Cincinnati in the AAC East, losing in conference play to the Bearcats and Tulsa. The bowl game in Tampa should be a virtual home game for UCF, which is located in Orlando.

Marshall: The Herd finished second to FAU in the Conference USA East division after beating the Owls in the regular season. They lost a tough one to Boise State 14-7 on Sept. 6.

LAST TIME

The teams have never met.

BOWL HISTORY

UCF: A short but interesting bowl history. UCF is 4-6 in bowl games but played in high-profile New Year's Day games the past two seasons. In 2018 the Knights beat Auburn in the Peach Bowl before falling to LSU 40-32 in last year's Fiesta Bowl.

Marshall: The Herd are 12-3 in bowl games and have won in their last seven appearances. They are playing in the Gasparilla Bowl for the second straight year after beating South Florida 38-20 last Dec. 20.