Gus Malzahn on UCF's game vs. Florida: 'That's really big for us'

This season, the UCF Knights are going to be on the road to take on the Florida Gators in early October. It’s a game that, for head coach Gus Malzahn, is going to be very important.

While speaking to Greg McElroy on Always College Football, Malzahn explained the value of UCF’s game against Florida. In particular, he spoke about how it related to helping the program in recruiting.

“It’s really big for us and you’re exactly right,” Gus Malzahn said. “We recruit this state. We’re constantly competing with Florida, Florida State, and Miami in this state for recruiting. We’re chipping away. I mean, we’re doing really well, but a game like that is going to be very important.”

When Gus Malzahn first got to UCF, he said he was going to recruit with his ‘hair on fire.’ To this point, he has, putting together the best recruiting success UCF has had as an FBS school. UCF’s 2024 class was 33rd in the country, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. Now, in the 2025 cycle, UCF is working on what is currently ranked as the 15th best class. Competing with and beating in-state opponents goes a long way to having success in recruiting locally and Florida is one of the premier states for high school recruiting.

UCF and Florida have met three times before. In 1999 and 2006, Florida got big wins over UCF. However, more recently and while Gus Malzahn was at UCF, the Knights did beat the Gators in the 2021 Gasparilla Bowl.

“It’s a non-conference game. We schedule them. We’re Power Five now that we’re in the Big 12, but that’s a big one. There’s no doubt. We fared pretty well last time we played them. That was on a neutral site. We have to go there. I think everybody knows how hard a place that is to play. So, we’re looking forward to it. That’s a big one not just game-wise but that’s a big one for us recruiting in this state,” Malzahn said.

“I wish we played a round robin. I wish we were able to play Florida State, Miami, and Florida. Let’s see who the best is when you put the ball down, but we’re excited to go to see the Gators.”

This game is part of a series scheduled between UCF and Florida that includes another game in The Swamp and a game in the Bounce House.