Dr. Blackwell's BLOG

The #22 UCF Knights (4-1; 1-0 AAC) took out their frustrations from last week’s loss to Pitt by trouncing the Huskies of UCONN (1-3; 0-1 AAC). As reported by the AAC:

Dillon Gabriel threw for 281 yards and three touchdowns to help No. 22 UCF rebound from its first regular-season loss in nearly three years with a 56-21 rout of Connecticut to begin American Athletic Conference play Saturday night.

The two-time defending AAC champions improved to 29-2 since the start of 2017, bouncing back from a 35-34 loss at Pittsburgh that stopped a league- and school-record 25-game regular-season win streak.

Gabriel completed 11 of 16 passes without an interception for UCF, and he threw TD passes of 73, 16 and 13 yards to Gabriel Davis while UCF (4-1, 1-0) built a 42-0 halftime lead.

Darriel Mack Jr. replaced the true freshman at the start of the third quarter. It was his first action of the season after sitting out the first four games with a broken ankle, which had opened the door for Gabriel and Notre Dame transfer Brandon Wimbush to play early.

UConn (1-3, 0-1) fell to 0-7 in ACC openers and has lost 12 consecutive conference games.

Steven Krajewski came off the bench to throw for 273 yards, including second-half TD passes of 16 yards to Cameron Ross, 12 yards to Ardell Brown and 15 yards to Matt Drayton.

Mack, who was 9 of 13 for 97 yards and one TD, led the Knights in the AAC title game and Fiesta Bowl after two-time AAC offensive player of the year McKenzie Milton sustained a serious knee and leg injury in last year’s regular-season finale.

UConn began the game with pair of runs that were stopped for no gain, and it was pretty much downhill from there. Starting quarterback Jack Zergiotis was intercepted on third down. Krajewski’s first pass was intercepted, too, and returned 48 yards by UCF’s Nevelle Clarke for a touchdown.

Zergiotis lost a fumble on the Huskies’ second possession, and Krajewski lost one in the first half as well, when the redshirt freshman lost his grip on the ball trying to throw a pass. UCF was up 42-0 by the time UConn drove into field-goal range twice in the closing minutes of the first half, only to watch kick Clayton Harris miss from 40 and 52 yards.

UConn returns home to host USF on Saturday. UCF visits Cincinnati on Friday night. That game will be broadcasted nationwide on ESPN. Kickoff is set for 8pm. Check out highlights from UCF’s defeat of UCONN below:

The UCF Knights (3-0; 0-0 AAC) dominated the Stanford Cardinal (1-2; 0-1 PAC12) in front of a sold-out and energized crowd at Spectrum Stadium on Saturday. As reported by the American Athletic Conference:

Freshman Dillon Gabriel threw for 347 yards and four touchdowns in his second college start, leading No. 17 UCF to a 45-27 rout of Stanford on Saturday.

The Knights (3-0) scored on six of seven possessions, building a 31-point halftime lead in what was expected to be a much tougher test for the two-time defending American Athletic Conference champions, who won their first two games of the season by a combined score of 110-14 against Florida A&M and Florida Atlantic.

Gabriel completed 22 of 30 passes, including TD throws of 28 yards to Marlon Williams, 38 yards to Tre Nixon, 38 yards to Gabriel Davis and 1-yard to Jake Hescook. Greg McCrae rushed for109 yards and one touchdown for UCF, which has won 25 consecutive regular-season games and 28 of 29 overall since the start of 2017.

Stanford (1-2), which tumbled out of the Top 25 after losing 45-20 at Southern California the previous week, yielded four touchdowns in the opening quarter and 413 yards total offense in the first half alone.

K.J. Costello returned to Stanford’s lineup after sitting out against USC with a head injury and completed 21 of44 passes for 199 yards, one touchdown and an interception that led to one UCF score. Austin Jones had a 35-yard TD run and finished with 65 rushing for the Cardinal, while Costello’s 24-yard TD pass to Michael Wilson’s 24-yard TD reception trimmed the Cardinal’s big halftime deficit to 38-17 early in the fourth quarter.

Gabriel started for the second straight week for UCF, which entered the game with an unsettled quarterback situation, even though the Knights beat FAMU 62-0 and FAU 48-14 the previous two weeks.

Brandon Wimbush, a senior transfer from Notre Dame, started the opener before sitting out last week with an undisclosed injury. He was inserted into Saturday’s game for one play in the second quarter, losing 2 yards on a run on second-and-goal from the Stanford 2. Two plays later, the Knights settled for a field goal.

UCF’s quarterback situation was unsettled before Saturday only because Gabriel, Wimbush and Darriel Mack, Jr., who is practicing again after recovering from a broken ankle, have all demonstrated they are capable of thriving in the Knights’ high-powered offense. Mack took over last season when McKenzie Milton was injured and led the team in the AAC championship game and Fiesta Bowl, where UCF’s school-record 25-game winning streak was ended by LSU.

Stanford played a regular season game in Florida for the first time. It was the fourth appearance in the Sunshine State all-time. The Cardinal played Clemson in the 1986 Gator Bowl, Penn State in the 1993 Blockbuster Bowl and Virginia Tech in the 2011 Orange Bowl.

UCF is at Pitt next Saturday. Kickoff is set for 3:30pm and the game will be nationally-televised on ABC, ESPN, or ESPN2. Watch video highlights of UCF’s victory over Stanford below, courtesy of the American Athletic Conference:

The UCF Knights (2-0; 0-0 AAC) absolutely manhandled the Owls of FAU (0-2; 0-0 C-USA) on Saturday night in front of the largest crowd to see a game in FAU’s history. That record came as a result of the thousands of Knights fans who made the trip to Boca Raton to watch UCF take on FAU. As reported by the American Athletic Association:

BOCA RATON, Fla. — UCF’s Dillon Gabriel made his completions count.

The freshman went 7 for 19 in his first start but threw touchdown throws of 57 and 74 yards, and No. 18 UCF extended its regular-season winning streak to 24 games by easing past Florida Atlantic 48-14 Saturday night.

Gabriel also connected on passes of 45 and 32 yards, which more than made up for his frequent misfires. The left-hander totaled 245 yards passing — 35 per completion — and ran four times for 19 yards and a score.

The Knights (2-0) totaled 574 yards and reached the 30-point mark for the 28th game in a row, the longest such streak since at least 1936.

Florida Atlantic (0-2) disappointed a home crowd of 30,811, largest in the program’s history. The Owls have never beaten a Top 25 team in 15 tries.

The game was called because of lightning in the area with 4:20 to play.

Running back Adrian Killins Jr. scored one touchdown rushing and another receiving. Otis Anderson had the Knights’ longest run when he juked past a safety for a 39-yard score.

UCF needed less than six minutes to take a 14-0 lead, and by halftime the margin was 28-6, even though Gabriel had completed just three passes.

He sealed the outcome midway through the third quarter with a completion to Killins, who was open by 10 yards at midfield and weaved past four defenders to the end zone for a 74-yard score.

UCF sacked Chris Robison four times and stopped the Owls on third down 14 times. The Knights led 48-6 before allowing a touchdown for the first time this season.

Gabriel started after coming off the bench to throw three touchdown passes last week against Florida A&M. Notre Dame transfer Brandon Wimbush, who started the opener, did not play.

The Knights gained 120 yards in the first 5 1/2 minutes to take a 14-0 lead. They drove 75 yards in seven plays for their first score, and after a blocked punt, Gabriel hit Jacob Harris deep for a 57-yard touchdown.

After their 62-0 season-opening win last week, the Knights dropped one spot in the poll. That probably won’t happen again.

The Knights play at home next Saturday against No. 23 Stanford. Kickoff is set for 3:30pm. The game will be nationally-televised on ABC or ESPN. Check out video highlights below, courtesy of CBS Sports:

The UCF Knights (1-0; 0-0 AAC) kicked off their 2019 football season with a HUGE win over the FAMU Rattlers (0-1; 0-0 MEAC) on Thursday night in-front of a near-capacity crowd at Spectrum Stadium. As reported by the American Athletic Conference:

Former Notre Dame star Brandon Wimbush threw for 168 yards and two touchdowns in his UCF debut, helping the 17th-ranked Knights open the season with a 62-0 rout of Florida A&M on Thursday night.

The redshirt senior transfer completed 12 of 23 passes without an interception while sharing playing time with true freshman Dillon Gabriel, who finished second in the competition for the starting quarterback job that opened because of an injury sidelining two-time American Athletic Conference offensive player of the year McKenzie Milton.

Wimbush, who tossed TD passes of 37 and 12 yards to Gabriel Davis, was 13-2 as a starter over the past two years at Notre Dame. He lost his job there to Ian Book despite helping the Fighting Irish begin last season with three consecutive wins.

Gabriel arrived at UCF from the same high school where Milton played in Hawaii. He performed well enough in fall camp that coach Josh Heupel felt he deserved some playing time in the opener and showed why, going 9 of 13 for 127 yards with TD passes to three different receivers.

The Knights improved to 26-1 since the start of 2017.

It was business as usual for UCF, which has scored at least 30 points in 27 consecutive games, the longest such streak for a FBS team since 1936. Wimbush looked comfortable running the offense, making plays with his feet and arm. In the first quarter alone, he ran the ball five times for 42 yards, with each of the runs resulting in a first down.

Check out highlights of the game, courtesy of the AAC and CBS Sports Network, below:

Per UCF Athletics–The UCF Knights have officially sold-out all season tickets for the upcoming 2019 season, which kicks off two weeks from Thursday against the FAMU Rattlers:

These are heady times for the UCF football program – and the end result is that tickets for Knights’ home games in 2019 are going to be difficult to come by, with only minimal quantities of single-game tickets remaining.

On the field, the Knights’ football squad has won 25 of its last 26 games, including New Year’s Six bowl appearances and American Athletic Conference titles each of the last two seasons. UCF stands 17th in the 2019 preseason poll of coaches after the Knights finished 12th in last year’s final USA Today poll of coaches. Josh Heupel’s initial season as Knights’ head coach in 2018 produced a 12-1 mark and a Fiesta Bowl appearance.

That sort of high-level success now has translated handsomely off the field.

For the first time in school history, UCF has sold its entire season-ticket allotment. Minimal inventory remains based on extremely limited single-game tickets and some flexibility given the uncertainty of visiting team allotment use. 

A year ago, UCF’s eight home contests averaged 44,018 spectators each in a facility that officially seats 44,206. That 44,018 figure ties the previous single-season average high from the inaugural 2007 campaign at Spectrum Stadium. 

The high-water mark in 2018 came when 47,795 fans viewed UCF’s Nov. 17 victory over 19th-ranked Cincinnati on a weekend when ESPN Game Day came to UCF for the first time. That number is the second-highest single-game figure for Spectrum Stadium (48,453 fans watched the 2009 home game against Miami).

Unprecedented demand for UCF football tickets has prompted the Knights’ athletic department for the first time to create a formal waiting list for future season tickets. Call 407-823-1000 (option 1) or log onto https://ucfknights.co/2020waitlist to register your interest. All those individuals will be provided first access, in order of registration, at any future point that additional seating inventory comes available (either general admission or premium seat options).

That demand also has UCF vice president and athletics director Danny White looking to the future and anticipating that Spectrum Stadium expansion may be on the docket for exploration sooner than later. 

“The fact that our season-ticket allotment is gone before the start of a season is a first for UCF, and it absolutely speaks to both the success of the football program and how our alumni and community have embraced Orlando’s Hometown Team,” says White.

“We’re confident that capacity crowds will become routine at Spectrum Stadium, and that suggests we need to be forward-thinking in terms of assessing what the options are to expand,” says White. “The topic of expansion isn’t new, but we feel some urgency to figure this out because of the growing demand in the community and, most importantly, with our students. We unfortunately had to turn away thousands of students at the majority of our games last year and we expect that number to grow this season. A 12,000-seat student section is just not big enough for the largest undergraduate enrollment in America.”

Since it opened in 2007 the Knights’ home stadium has added a premium chair-back seating and club area, the Carl Black and Gold Cabana, on the east side of the field and a similar Stadium Club on the west side, also including chair-back seats and premium amenities. The Carl Black and Gold Cabana area will expand for 2019 with the addition of approximately 900 more gold chair-back seats. Other major premium additions were field cabanas in the south end zone in 2017 and then in the north end zone in 2018—and loge cabanas on the south side in 2018 and north side for the upcoming 2019 season.

In addition to being able to address the upsized demand from UCF fans and students for tickets, increased capacity would enable Spectrum Stadium to provide additional seats for visiting team allotments and other larger groups.

 

After crushing rival USF and losing their powerful leader in quarterback McKenzie Milton to a horrendous injury, the UCF Knights (12-0; 8-0 AAC) came back from a 17-point deficit at the half to defeat the AAC West Division Champion Memphis Tigers (8-5; 5-3 AAC) under the gun of quarterback Darrial Mack. Mack shrugged off two early turnovers to rush for three second-half touchdowns and rally No. 7 UCF to a 56-41 victory over Memphis in the American Athletic Conference championship game Saturday. With the red-shirt freshman filling in for injured quarterback McKenzie Milton, the Knights (12-0, No. 8 CFP) won their second-straight league title and extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 25 games. Mack also threw for 348 yards and two TDs without an interceptions to keep UCF, the only FBS team to finish undefeated a year ago, in the conversation about who’s deserving of consideration for berths in the College Football Playoff.

Greg McCrae rushed for 206 yards and one TD for the Knights, who beat the Tigers 62-55 in the 2017 AAC title game and rallied from a 16-point second-half deficit to win 31-30 at Memphis during the regular season. This time, UCF trailed 38-21 at halftime before scoring touchdowns on five-straight possessions in the second half. Darrell Henderson scored on runs of 62, 12 and 82 yards and also throw a 4-yard TD pass to help Memphis (8-5) build its big halftime lead. But the nation’s second-leading rusher only gained 3 yards on six carries in the second half, finishing with 210 yards on 16 carries. Mack lost two first-quarter fumbles, setting up Henderson’s second touchdown and a field goal. The red-shirt freshman also fumbled into the end zone from inside the Memphis 1, however teammate Michael Colubiale recovered for a UCF touchdown in the second quarter.

Brady White was effective throwing the ball for Memphis until UCF finally stopped Henderson and Patrick Taylor, who scored on a 70-yard run and finished with 118 rushing, from running wild. The Tigers are winners of four of last five games and will face Wake Forrest in the Birmingham Bowl while the Knights will take a spot in the Playstation Fiesta Bowl, a coveted New Year’s Six Bowl. UCF enters the postseason unbeaten for the second straight year, and as the winners of their second straight American Athletic Conference Championship and were chosen by the College Football Playoff Selection Committee to face LSU on New Year’s Day in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl.

UCF’s selection to a New Year’s Six bowl highlights a group of seven American Athletic Conference schools that will play in bowl games. UCF’s appearance in the Fiesta Bowl marks the Knights’ third appearance in the top New Year’s bowls since 2013 and the American Athletic Conference’s fourth New Year’s bowl bid since the formation of the conference. Teams from The American are 3-0 in previous New Year’s Bowls. UCF was a 52-42 winner against Baylor in the Fiesta Bowl to cap the 2013 season, while Houston defeated Florida State 38-24 in the 2015 Peach Bowl before UCF took a 34-27 win against Auburn in last year’s Peach Bowl.

UCF was ranked No. 8 in the final College Football Playoff rankings of the season, the highest final ranking for an American Athletic Conference team in the five-year history of the CFP. The Knights are ranked No. 7 in the Associated Press and Amway Coaches’ polls and will face an LSU team that is 9-3 and ranked No. 11 across the board. It will be the first meeting between the schools. Watch highlights of UCF’s victory in the AAC Conference Championship Game, courtesy of the American Athletic Association Digital Network, below:

 McKenzie Milton threw for 268 yards and accounted for four touchdowns to help No. 11 UCF remain unbeaten and extend the nation’s longest winning streak to 23 games with a 38-13 win against No. 19 Cincinnati on Saturday night. The junior from Kapolei, Hawaii, passed for three TDs without an interception and scored on a 3-yard run as the Knights (10-0, 7-0) clinched the American Athletic Conference East Division title and a spot in the league’s championship game. Milton rebounded from losing a fumble Cincinnati recovered in the end zone for a touchdown on UCF’s first offensive play to complete 13 of 25 passes, including TDs of 17 yards and 42 yards to Adrian Killins and 36 yards to Tre Nixon.

Malik Clements’ goal-line sack and Kimoni Fitz’s fumble recovery gave the Bearcats (9-2, 5-2) the early lead, but Cincinnati didn’t get in the end zone offensively until Tavion Thomas scored on a 1-yard run nearly six minutes into the fourth quarter. The first sign it might not be Cincinnati’s night came when Cole Smith the missed the extra point after Fitz’s TD. Even though the Bearcats eventually finished with 379 yards total offense to UCF’s 402, the team’s struggles were compounded when Smith missed a 38-yard field goal and then had 41-yarder blocked and returned 53 yards to set up the first of Milton’s two TD passes to Killins.

The Bearcats also wasted an opportunity to trim a 21-6 deficit when UCF’s Titus Davis sacked Desmond Ridder, forcing a fumble after Cincinnati drove inside the Knights 20 in the final minute of the opening half. The primetime matchup capped a day in which Orlando became the epicenter of college football, with ESPN’s “College GameDay” broadcasting from the UCF campus for the first time and giving the Knights the type of national exposure they’ve craved for much of their winning streak.

The Bearcats are back in the national spotlight after only winning four games a year ago in their first season under coach Luke Fickell. They were beaten  Saturday night. Still, the future appears bright, considering they have an underclassman-laden roster that includes 35 true freshmen. Milton has thrown for at least one touchdown in 23 consecutive games. The Knights have also scored at least 30 points in every game throughout their school- and conference-record winning streak. UCF also learned Tuesday they’ve earned the #9 ranking in the College Football Playoff rankings, the highest ever for a G5 conference team.  They’ll go for their second straight undefeated regular season next week against intrastate rival USF. The Black Friday kickoff for the UCF vs USF game is set for 3:30pm and the game will be nationally-broadcasted on ESPN. Catch highlights of UCF’s win over Cincy below, courtesy of the American Athletics Conference Digital Network:

The UCF Knights (9-0; 6-0 AAC) defeated the Navy Shipment on Saturday in a sold-out Homecoming crowd last Saturday. McKenzie Milton threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third, helping No. 11 UCF extend the nation’s longest winning streak to 22 games with a 35-24 victory over Navy on Saturday. Milton completed 17 of 21 passes without an interception, and the Knights (9-0, 6-0 American Athletic Conference) remained one of four unbeaten teams in the Football Bowl Subdivision, along with Alabama, Clemson and Notre Dame.

Dredrick Snelson scored on receptions of 34 and 12 yards for UCF, which stayed atop the AAC East Division standings and on course to be part of the discussion about which teams are worthy of berths in the College Football Playoff. The Knights are 11th in the latest CFP rankings. The Midshipmen, coming off a 42-0 road loss to Cincinnati, have lost seven straight games, although they did rush for 374 yards Saturday after being limited to a season-low 124 on the ground the previous week.

Zach Abey scored on runs of 5 and 8 yards, finishing with a team-best 85 yards rushing on 26 carries for Navy. Tre Walker ran for 82 yards on seven attempts, and Mike Martin ran for 51 and a fourth-quarter TD for Navy, which only threw the ball twice. The Midshipmen finished a three-week stretch in which they lost to Notre Dame, Cincinnati and UCF, who were a combined 25-1 entering Saturday.

Their chances of slowing UCF’s potent offense hinged on getting its own running game going and dominating time of possession to keep Milton off the field. Milton was sharp in his second game since sitting out a road win over ECU with an undisclosed injury. The junior from Kapolei, Hawaii, hit 10 of his first 11 passes for 106 yards, completing throws to seven different receivers. He has at least one TD pass in 22 consecutive games.

After the win, it was announced  UCF would play the #20 Cincinnati Bearcats (9-1; Saturday at 8pm on ABC, earning the coveted primetime slot for the week. The Knights also learned Monday they would be hosting ESPN’s College GameDay for their first time in history on Saturday, setting the campus into a frenzied excitement. That broadcast begins at 9:00am and will give UCF an amazing opportunity to showcase its brand to a major national audience. Watch highlights from UCF’s victory over Navy below, courtesy of the American Athletics Conference Digital Network:

 

The UCF Knights (8-0; 5-0 AAC) overcame a formidable foe in the Owls of Temple (5-4; 4-1 AAC) Thursday night in-front of a loud and spirited crowd at Spectrum Stadium to clench their 21st straight victory. The game was broadcasted live on ESPN and drew the highest Thursday night rankings since the season kickoff game:

McKenzie Milton threw for 312 yards and three touchdowns to help No. 9 UCF hold off Temple 52-40 and extend the nation’s longest winning streak to 21 games Thursday night. Taj McGowan scored on runs of 1 and 10 yards, the latter finishing a long drive that put the Knights (8-0, 5-0 American Athletic Conference) up by nine points after Temple (5-4, 4-1) nearly rallied to tie it.

Milton, returning to the lineup after missing a game with an undisclosed injury, finished 17 of 33 with one interception. Dredrick Snelson scored on a 19-yard reception and Michael Colubiale had TD catches of 9 and 19 yards to ensure the Knights gained sole possession of first place in the AAC East Division. Anthony Russo completed 31 of 52 passes for 444 yards and four touchdowns for Temple, which had a three-game winning streak snapped despite gaining 670 yards on a night the teams combined to gain over 1,300 yards.

Ventell Bryant scored on receptions of 15 and 8 yards for the Owls. Russo also threw to Branden Mack and Randle Jones while building a 34-28 halftime that lasted less than a minute into the third quarter. UCF took a 42-34 lead into the fourth quarter and stopped a potential tying two-point conversion before pulling away for good. In addition to staying on top of the East Division standings, UCF remained on course to be part of the discussion about which teams deserve to be part of the College Football Playoff in December.

The Knights, denied a spot in the four-team playoff field a year ago despite finishing as the only undefeated team in the FBS, were 12th in the initial CFP rankings released this week. In the first half alone, the teams combined for 808 yards — 510 passing and 298 rushing — with Russo throwing for 277 and three TDs and Milton countering with 233 yards and two TDs. Both quarterbacks had a rushing TD in the second quarter, Russo scoring on a 5-yard run on a fake field goal play.

The Owls are 5-2 since Russo took over at quarterback following losses to Villanova and Buffalo to begin the season. Armstead returned from missing two games with an ankle injury, immediately making his presence felt with a 33-yard burst on the first play from scrimmage. The senior running back finished with 142 yards on 27 carries. Milton had another big night, however the Knights kept the nation’s longest winning streak alive by running for 318 yards and doing a good job defensively of keeping Temple out of the end zone in the second half.

Check out highlights of the game below, courtesy of the American Athletics Conference Digital Network:

The UCF Knights (7-0; 4-0 AAC) took a week off after their 37-10 drubbing of East Carolina (2-5; 0-4 AAC) on October 20th to get some much needed rest and relaxation. Darriel Mack Jr. stepped in for Heisman Trophy hopeful McKenzie Milton and rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown, and UCF forced five turnovers in beating ECU 37-10 for its 20th straight victory. Nate Evans returned a fumble 94 yards for a momentum-changing touchdown with 10:07 left, Greg McCrae added a 74-yard TD run and the Knights turned all those takeaways into 24 points.

UCF — which was outgained 496-427 — went up 20-3 by scoring on four consecutive possessions in the second quarter, then made it a full-fledged rout with those late big plays. Receiver Quadry Jones threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Adrian Killins on a trick play, and Matthew Wright kicked three field goals for the Knights. With Milton sitting this one out while in full uniform from the sideline, Mack was 12 of 20 for 69 yards but was more dangerous with his legs, rushing 7 yards for an early touchdown.

Freshman Holton Ahlers was 29 of 53 for 406 yards with a 29-yard touchdown pass to Trevon Brown, and added 69 yards rushing in his first start. But his fumble while attempting a jump pass inside the 5-yard line was returned by Evans for the game-sealing score. The Pirates have lost three straight and four of five. Jake Verity put ECU up 3-0 midway through the first with a 34-yard field goal. ECU was on the verge of making this a one-score game with 10 minutes left before Evans’ fumble return.

UCF also learned Tuesday they are ranked #12 in the first set of rankings released by the College Football Playoff Committee as they make final preparations for their big Thursday night home game against the Temple Owls (5-3; 4-0 AAC). Kickoff for that matchup is set for 7:30pm; and the game will be nationally-televised on ESPN. Watch highlights from UCF’s 37-10 victory over ECU, courtesy of the American Athletic Conference Digital Network below: