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WATCH: Florida linebacker Ty'Ron Hopper ejected over controversial call

Wade-Peeryby:Wade Peery•12/23/21
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(Photo by Mark LoMoglio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

The Gasparilla Bowl between Florida and Central Florida is starting to get a little heated on Thursday night. Florida linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper was ejected during the third quarter of the game. On3’s Nick de la Torre tweeted about it once the incident happened.

Hopper had a huge sack on third and goal earlier in the game.

The push or punch occurred after an extra point attempt by UCF. It looks like some words were exchanged between Hopper and Central Florida’s Brett Bell. Then Hopper decided to punch/mush Bell. It was right in front of the refs and he was ejected shortly thereafter.

For the 2021 season, Hopper racked up 61 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, two pass breakups, and one forced fumble. Hopper is a redshirt sophomore for the Gators.

The 6-foot-2, 228-pound linebacker figures to be one of their top returning players for the 2022 college football season.

Florida in the Gasparilla Bowl

The bowl game has been a back-and-forth matchup full of punts from both teams.

If quarterback Emory Jones is auditioning for another team, they’re not going to be inspired by the film he’s posted thus far in the Gasparilla Bowl.

Jones has missed a number of wide-open receivers that would have been touchdowns for the Gators. Through three quarters, he connected on just 12 of his 27 attempts for 121 passing yards, while tossing no touchdowns and no interceptions.

He’s gashed UCF on the ground and made some pretty nice runs, but that hasn’t been enough. Through the first three quarters, he’s rushed for 64 yards on just nine carries. Jones has misfired too many times through the air tonight.

The UCF Knights have gashed the Florida defense on the ground, running for over 220 yards and two rushing touchdowns thus far. UCF has never beaten Florida. UCF receiver Ryan O’Keefe has racked up over 190 all-purpose yards and one receiving touchdown for the Golden Knights thus far.

In the third quarter, O’Keefe etched his name into Gasparilla Bowl history when he ripped off a 74-yard run — the longest run in the bowl game’s history.