UCF opponent previews: Billy Napier under pressure at Florida as Knights invade the Swamp

• Nickname: Gators

• Enrollment: 60,489

• Location: Gainesville, Fla.

• Home field: Ben Hill Griffin Stadium (Capacity: 88,548)

• Conference: Southeastern Conference

• 2023 record: 5-7, 3-5 SEC

• All-time series record vs. UCF: 2-1

• Last meeting: Dec. 23, 2021 (UCF won 29-17)

Editor’s note: This is the fifth installment in a 12-part series highlighting UCF’s 2024 football opponents.

There’s no telling what the temperature might feel like inside the Swamp by the time UCF makes its long awaited journey on Oct. 5, the opener of a three-game series within the next decade. Expect it to rise several degrees around third-year head coach Billy Napier’s seat if Florida starts slow this fall, and to potentially reach a breaking point if the Knights pull off a major victory up Interstate 75.

Napier enters the fall, according to BetOnline, as the odds-on favorite to be the first coach fired in major college football. He has an 11-14 record in charge, failed to lead the Gators to a bowl game last year and faces arguably the most daunting schedule in the country.

Florida’s eight-game SEC gauntlet includes the traditional neutral-site outdoor cocktail party with national champion favorite Georgia, road trips to Tennessee and Texas and consecutive November home dates against LSU and Ole Miss. If that were not formidable enough, the Gators also square off with all three in-state, Power Four rivals out of conference: Miami out the gate, UCF in the middle and Florida State to wrap things up.

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UCF got the better of the Gators the last time these teams meet, a 29-17 triumph in the 2021 Gasparilla Bowl to conclude Gus Malzahn’s first year as Knights coach. Napier was hired less than a month earlier, replacing Dan Mullen.

Winning solves everything, and a hot start could relieve the pressure in Gainesville. Florida was predicted to finish 12th in the 16-team SEC’s preseason media poll despite returning 14 offensive and defensive starters.

Graham Mertz, healed from collarbone fracture, returns as Gators’ QB

Top Offensive Returners: OL Austin Barber, TE Arlis Boardingham, OL Damieon George Jr., TE Hayden Hansen, WR Kahleil Jackson, RB Montrell Johnson Jr., QB Graham Mertz, OL Jake Slaughter, WR Eugene Wilson III

Top Defensive Returners: DL Caleb Banks, DB Jordan Castell, EDGE Kelby Collins, LB Shemar James, DB Jason Marshall Jr., DB Devin Moore, EDGE Tyreak Sapp, EDGE T.J. Searcy, DB Bryce Thornton

Graham Mertz returns for his second season as the Gators’ starting quarterback, healed from a collarbone fracture suffered versus Missouri last November. The redshirt senior had the third-highest completion percentage (72.1%) in the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2023, throwing for 2,903 yards with 20 touchdowns and just three interceptions.

Montrell Johnson Jr., who followed Napier to Florida from Louisiana, anchors the backfield stable after gaining 817 yards and scoring five times. He’ll run behind an offensive line that returns three projected starters, though Dameion George Jr. could kick inside and play guard.

Florida was not afraid to throw its talented young players into the fire last fall. It ranked fifth in the country for snaps played by freshmen (2,661), per Pro Football Focus. Eugene Wilson III had a team-high six touchdown catches in his debut campaign and finished second in receptions (61) and receiving yards (538), while safety Jordan Castell played a team-high 660 defensive snaps, graded positively across the board and registered a team-leading 60 tackles with three pass breakups and one interception.

Cornerback Jason Marshall Jr. rebounded from a rough opener at Utah to post 10 pass breakups, and linebacker Shemar James (55 tackles, 5½ TFLs) is back after undergoing surgery to repair a dislocated kneecap.

Elijhah Badger, Joey Slackman offset significant portal departures

Transfer Portal Additions: WR Elijhah Badger (Arizona State), DB Trikweze Bridges (Oregon), OL Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson (San Diego State), WR Chimere Dike (Wisconsin), DB DJ Douglas (Tulane), DB Jameer Grimsley (Alabama), EDGE George Gumbs (Northern Illinois), LB Grayson Howard (South Carolina), OL Devon Manuel (Arkansas), DB Cormani McClain (Florida), QB Clay Millen (Colorado State), TE Caleb Rillos (Air Force), DL Joey Slackman (Penn), DB Asa Turner (Washington), QB Aidan Warner (Yale), OL Jason Zandamela (USC)

Transfer Portal Losses: QB Max Brown (Charlotte), WR Thai Chiaokhiao-Bowman (Rice), WR Caleb Douglas (Texas Tech), RB Trevor Etienne (Georgia), OL Jalen Farmer (Kentucky), OL Jordan Herman (Charlotte), DB Jaydon Hill (Texas A&M), DB Jalen Kimber (Penn State), QB Jalen Kitna (UAB), DL Keenan Landry (Louisiana Tech), OL Richie Leonard (Florida…