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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The fear was real. Midnight approaching. We Are The Boys of Old Florida and I Won’t Back Down played. Then, nothing. UCF fans partying in a near-empty Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. That was the nightmare scenario, and it seemed utterly possible after Texas A&M pounded Florida in this stadium three weeks earlier. The reality on Saturday night? As Tom Petty’s anthem cranked a few days past the seventh anniversary of his passing, a full house clicked the lights on their phones and held them aloft. They sang at the top of their lungs, and then they stayed to help the defense sack U…

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