Bowl by the Bay: UCF Playing In St. Petersburg Bowl

“Bowl by the Bay” is the official slogan of www.ucfathletics.com in order to advertise that UCF will be playing in the St. Petersburg Bowl December 19.

UCF accepted an invitation this morning and made it official in a press conference this afternoon. The game will be played at 8 p.m. that Saturday night at Tropicana Field.

The opponent is not yet known as USF, the likely opponent, is still fishing for more invites. ESPN.com has projected that the Bulls will not get to travel, though, and will sit tight to play the Knights.

According to the press conference earlier today, the other three possible teams that UCF can play are Rutgers, Connecticut, and Pittsburgh. While there is only a slim chance that Pitt will be playing in St. Pete, the other three are very possible.

The university and fans got what they wanted—a bowl close to home, by the beach, and a possible rematch against USF.

Since UCF became bowl-eligible after defeating Houston just over two weeks ago, the feeling across campus was that UCF wanted to play in St. Petersburg.

More specifically, they wanted to play USF at St. Pete.

Fans believe that the Knights are hot (winning five of the last six games, the only loss coming against Texas) and have a great chance to defeat the hated rivals and gain bragging rights in Central Florida.

Not only did the fans get what they wanted, but the players as well. Following the UAB win, head coach George O’Leary asked the players what bowl they would prefer to play in. O’Leary stated in the press conference that the answer was a resounding “St. Pete.”

The opponent should be known by Sunday morning, December 6, after all possible Big East teams have finished their regular season games.

The season will be wrapped up when Connecticut hosts South Florida at 8 pm, December 5, on ESPN 2.

Fans can purchase tickets at https://oss.ticketmaster.com or by contacting the UCF Athletics Ticket Office.

Photo courtesy of touthouse.com