Dr. Blackwell's BLOG

After going winless in 2015, the UCF Knights (6-4; 4-2 AAC) are BOWL BOUND! The Knights resoundingly defeated the Bearcats of Cincinnati (4-6; 1-5 AAC) 24-3 on Saturday in-front of 30,346 fans at Bright House Networks Stadium. Terrance Harris of the Associated Press reports:

McKenzie Milton threw a touchdown pass and UCF cashed in on turnovers to beat Cincinnati 24-3 on Saturday to become bowl eligible for the fourth time in five years. Justin McDonald returned a punt blocked by Tre Neal 23 yards for a score in the third quarter and Seyvon Lawrey’s interception of a Hayden Moore pass led to a 25-yard TD run by Jawon Hamilton in the fourth quarter. Milton was 22 of 34 for 150 yards passing for UCF (6-4, 4-2 American Athletic) and hit Dredrick Snelson on a 1-yard TD pass in the first quarter. Matthew Wright kicked a 22-yard field goal. Hamilton gained 81 yards on 17 carries. The Bearcats (4-6, 1-5) outgained the Knights 327-305 in total yards, but saw one drive end with a fumble by Moore after he was sacked. Moore was 13 of 25 for 129 yards passing. Josh Pasley kicked a 38-yard field goal in the second quarter.

The Knights take on the Golden Hurricane of Tulsa (7-3; 4-2 AAC) next Saturday (time and broadcast cannel TBD) to start the final two challenging games of the season. The Knights travel to Tampa to take on rival USF (8-2; 5-1 AAC) on 11/26. That game will be nationally-televised with a time that’s currently TBD. The Knights will be selected to appear in one of the American Athletic Conference’s post-season bowl games in 2016. Options include:

– Armed Forces Bowl (Navy) vs. Big 12
– AutoNation Cure Bowl vs. Sun Belt
– Birmingham Bowl vs. SEC
– Marmot Boca Raton Bowl vs. Conference USA
– Miami Beach Bowl vs. MAC
– Military Bowl vs. ACC
– Popeyes Bahamas Bowl vs. MAC
– St. Petersburg Bowl vs. ACC

Below, watch highlights of UCF’s 24-3 win over the Cincinatti Bearcats, courtesy of ESPN:

Photo courtesy, Orlando Sentinel.

The UCF Knights (5-4; 3-2 AAC) crushed the Green Wave of Tulane (3-6; 0-5 AAC) 37-6 on Saturday night in-front of an energetic crowd at Bright House Networks Stadium and a nationwide audience on ESPN3. The Knights started the game with a fumble that Tulane returned for 6-points, missing the extra point. But those were the only points the Green Wave would score for the remainder of the game. As Shannon Green from the Orlando Sentinel reported:

UCF’s offense needed to get back on track after struggling to find a rhythm in the past three games. During nonconference games, the Knights established themselves as a stout running team, running for 275 yards against No. 5 Michigan. But UCF saw a steady decline against Temple, UConn and Houston, registering a season-low 40 yards on the road against the Cougars [the Knights blew a 21-0 halftime lead and lost to Houston last week]. One major contributing factor was the loss of the steady left guard Tyler Hudanick. He suffered a season-ending knee injury against Temple on Oct. 15.

Led by freshmen Jawon Hamilton and Adrian Killins, the Knights were able to rush for more than 100 yards for the first time in three games. The two combined for 82 yards on 11 carries and Killins averaged 9.4 yards per carry. Senior running back Dontravious Wilson also added 35 rushing yards. Killins contributed to a shaky start for UCF. He fumbled the ball on the first play of the game for the Knights. That was followed up by an interception tossed by McKenzie Milton.

The Knights struggled to punch the ball in the end zone despite taking the ball into Tulane’s territory on four of their six drives in the first half. But the speedy rookie tailback, Killins, helped break the offense out of its slump with 44 yards rushing and receiving during UCF’s solo scoring drive in the first half. Milton faked a handoff and ran in a one-yard rushing touchdown to give the Knights a 7-6 lead. It was the third rushing touchdown of the season for the rookie quarterback.

“That’s not how we want to start a football game, particularly when you are playing a team that has a different type of offense than you are used to seeing,” Frost said of the turnovers. “It takes a little bit, maybe a series or two for guys to get the feel for what the speed of how they do it is like.” UCF’s offense stalled for much of the game, but Johnson’s fumble recovery in the third quarter marked a turning point for the Knights. Johnson and Griffin scored two defensive touchdowns in the third quarter to shut down the Green Wave’s chance for a rally.

The Knights’ next offensive touchdown didn’t come until the fourth quarter. With a 30-6 lead, coaches brought senior quarterback Justin Holman in to relieve Milton. Holman threw a 50-yard bomb to senior receiver Hayden Jones on his first play and capped the drive with a 1-yard rushing touchdown.

UCF needs only one more win to become bowl eligible, which would be an incredibly amazing feat just one year after the team went winless in 2015. The Knights return home on Saturday to take on the Bearcats of Cincinnati (4-5; 1-4 AAC) at Noon. The game will be nationally televised on either ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN News, or CBS Sports Network. Below, watch highlights of UCF’s 37-6 win over the Tulane Green Wave courtesy of the American Athletic Conference.

Content and Photo Courtesy Orlando Sentinel.