ECU vs. Florida: Score and Twitter Reaction for 2015 Birmingham Bowl

Despite a tumultuous year, Florida had no trouble finding motivation in its season finale. 

The fired-up Gators, playing under interim head coach D.J. Durkin, put together a gutsy effort and beat East Carolina, 28-20, in the Birmingham Bowl Saturday afternoon, finishing with a 7-5 overall record.

ESPN's Brett McMurphy noted an unexpected stat from the bowl season: 

Before the game, Florida center Max Garcia talked about the Gators' unyielding disposition, via the Associated Press:

"

We just decided we wanted to play for each other, no matter what the circumstances were. That's really what it's all about, just playing for the guy next to you and just being unselfish. Just locking arms and circling the wagon. That's what we talked about when Muschamp was here and that's what we're talking about now.

"

It wasn't a perfect outing from Florida, which was on the field for 101 defensive plays, allowed 536 total yards and turned the ball over three times. But the Gators showed their toughness. Adam Lane ran for 109 tough yards and his first career touchdown, Dante Fowler had three sacks and the defense made a number of game-changing plays at critical moments.  

Two of those plays came in the opening half. 

Late in the first quarter, Brian Poole picked off Shane Carden and returned it 29 yards to the end zone, tying the score at seven. SportsCenter's Twitter feed gave a look at the crucial play:

After the Gators added touchdowns on their next two drives, the Pirates would march 68 yards down the field to the Florida 1-yard line, only for running back Kurt Benkert to cough the ball up. Once again, it was Poole finding himself with the ball in his hands, as he recovered the fumble forced by true freshman Gerald Willis. 

Despite gaining nearly 300 yards of total offense in the opening half, East Carolina had dug itself into a 21-7 hole at the break. 

But it took barely two minutes to cut that deficit in half. After an interception from Treon Harris, Carden tossed a quick-hitter to Justin Hardy, who 66 yards down the sideline to set up a four-yard fade to Cam Worthy in the back of the end zone. 

It was an impressive exhibition of explosion from Hardy and size from Worthy, and as Bleacher Report's Jeff Risdon noted, each wideout has the talent to be playing on Sundays: 

Carden finished with 427 yards, two touchdowns and a two interceptions, while Hardy (11 catches, 160 yards, one touchdown) and Worthy (eight catches, 130 yards, one touchdown) each proved extremely difficult to cover. 

East Carolina seemed ready to take the game over, but then Ahmad Fulwood happened. The sophomore took a screen on 3rd-and-5, passed the first-down line and sped away from the entire Pirates defense for a 86-yard touchdown. 

As the Orlando Sentinel's Edgar Thompson pointed out, it was new territory for Florida's inconsistent offense:

However, when Harris, who was dealing with discomfort in his right elbow, was replaced by Jeff Driskel, the Gators became completely stagnant on that side of the ball. They went three-and-out on four consecutive drives, leaving it up to the defense. 

Florida responded with a bend-but-don't-break strategy. The Gators stopped two East Carolina drives inside their own 10-yard line, holding the Pirates to a pair of 24-yard field goals to keep an eight-point lead. 

East Carolina had several opportunities to tie the game, but Florida's stars rose to the occasion. Fowler came up with a couple of crucial sacks and Vernon Hargreaves picked off Carden in the end zone with less than two minutes remaining. 

USA Today's Dan Wolken put it simply, applauding Florida's electrifying defense, which has been terrific all season:

Florida still has work to do, and no one should be boasting about a win in the Birmingham Bowl. But for the Gators to endure such a turbulent season and still finish with eight wins is promising. 

With an intriguing core of talented young players, especially on defense, and a new coaching staff led by Jim McElwain, it shouldn't take long for the Gators to erase a run of disappointing campaigns.