UF-UCF football dream reportedly about to come true

• UCF has risen to where QB Dillon Gabriel said Knights were the best team in Florida last fall.
• The contract impasse ended with UCF AD Danny White went to Tennessee.
• The 2030 game in Orlando will be on UCF's campus, not at Camping World Stadium.

UCF coach Gus Malzahn said he’d be willing to play Florida in a parking lot. It appears the schools have come up with more traditional venues.

They are expected to finalize a three-game series in the next few days, according to the Orlando Sentinel. The contract would call for UCF to play at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in 2024 and 2033, and the Gators will play at UCF in 2030.

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Florida officials declined to comment on the report Thursday, but the schools have had sporadic talks for the past few years. Both expressed a desire to play, but they didn’t see eye-to-eye on the details.

Florida does not schedule home-and-home series against schools that aren’t in a Power 5 conference. The Gators were willing to play a two-for-one, with UCF visiting Gainesville twice.

UCF, American conference resisted two-for-one at first

UCF is a member of the American Athletic Conference, which has been pushing to be regarded on par with Power Five conferences. A two-for-one was seen as an admission of inferiority.

“Top 10 programs don’t schedule two-for-one series where the balance is not in their favor,” former UCF athletics director Danny White said.

When UCF rose to No. 11 last September, quarterback Dillon Gabriel said, “We’re the best team in Florida.

That ignited a social media battle, with many UCF fans saying Florida would only sign a two-for-one contract if the Orlando game were played at Camping World Stadium in downtown Orlando and not at UCF’s on-campus  “Bounce House.”

Florida AD Scott Stricklin said the Gators offered to play at UCF’s stadium, but the Knights insisted on an equal number of home games. That impasse was broken when White became Tennessee’s AD in January.

His replacement, Terry Mohajir, said he was willing to play a two-for-one series. Malzahn, who’d been fired by Auburn at the end of last season, was hired as UCF coach in February.

At his introductory news conference, Malzahn made his position on scheduling clear.

“I’ll play out in the parking lot,” he said. “Terry can decide if we’re playing at home or on the road or a two-for-whatever. I just want to play them and beat them.”

“To be the best, you have to play the best,” Mohajir said. “Sometimes you have to play people on their terms if you want an opportunity for that.”

The 2024 game would fill UF’s schedule that year. Besides SEC games, it would play FSU, Miami, Samford and UCF.

The Gators’ non-conference slate for 2030 would expand to FSU, Texas and UCF. The Seminoles and Knights would be the only two non-conference teams scheduled so far for 2033.

UF is 2-0 vs. UCF, winning 58-27 in 1999 and 42-0 in 2006.