The UCF Knights continued the nation’s longest wing streak (to 19 straight wins!) Saturday at Liberty Bowl Stadium in Memphis, TN by beating the Memphis Tigers 31-30 in an ABC nationally-televised contest. McKenzie Milton threw for 296 yards and ran for the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter as No. 10/9 UCF weathered its first significant test of the season before escaping with a 31-30 victory over Memphis on Saturday.
Milton’s 7-yard touchdown with 12:14 left completed a comeback for the Knights (6-0, 3-0 American Athletic Conference), who trailed 30-14 with 2:04 left in the first half. The victory was UCF’s 19th straight — the nation’s longest winning streak — but it was by far the toughest game of the season for the Knights, who defeated their first five opponents by double-digits. Even in the closing seconds,
Memphis (4-3, 1-3) seemed on the way to at least have a chance for a game-winning field goal as the Tigers moved to the UCF 31. But Memphis was hit with a penalty that required a clock runoff, and then Brady White completed a 9-yard pass to Tony Pollard and the seconds slipped away. Darrell Henderson, who leads the nation in rushing, had 199 yards and a touchdown on the ground on a career-best 31 carries for Memphis. It was the first meeting since last year’s American Athletic Conference championship game, which UCF won 62-55 in double overtime.
Saturday’s momentum swing for the Knights, who struggled to contain Memphis in the early stages, came in the third quarter. With UCF facing fourth-and-1 at their 29, the Tigers bunched at the line of scrimmage and quickly ran a play. Taj McGowan burst through the initial defense and went 71 yards for a touchdown to cut the Memphis lead to 30-24. That set the stage for Milton’s winning score, capping a 74-yard drive. Milton, a Heisman Trophy candidate, led the Knights in a game where they struggled at times defensively. The go-ahead touchdown came as he was hit hurtling toward the goal line, barely making it to the end zone.
The Tigers looked like the team that many thought would return to The American championship game most of the way, but now have three conferences losses. Henderson, though, showed why he should be getting some Heisman hype. The Knights take on the Pirates of East Carolina (2-4; 0-3 AAC) on Saturday at 7:00pm on ESPN2. Check out video highlights of the Knights’ win against Memphis, courtesy of the American Athletic Conference Digital Network, below:
The UCF Knights (5-0; 2-0 AAC) dismantled the Mustangs of SMU (2-4; 1-1 AAC) 48-20 Saturday in-front of a energetic and loud crowd filling Spectrum Stadium:
McKenzie Milton threw for 278 yards and two touchdowns to help No. 12 UCF extend the nation’s longest winning streak to 18 games with a 48-20 victory over SMU on Saturday night. Adrian Killins rushed for 113 yards and a TD for the Knights (5-0, 2-0), one of three unbeaten teams remaining in the American Athletic Conference, along with Cincinnati and USF. Milton completed 18 of 34 passes with one interception after accounting for 12 touchdowns — seven passing and five rushing — in nonconference victories over Florida Atlantic and Pittsburgh the previous two weeks.
The junior from Kapolei, Hawaii, tossed TD passes of 14 yards to Dredrick Snelson in the first quarter and 30 yards to Tre Nixon on the first play of the fourth quarter. The Knights also got two TD runs from Otis Anderson and one from Trysten Hill, a 315-pound defensive tackle who lined up as a fullback before plowing into the end zone on fourth-and-1. Ben Hicks came off the bench to replace freshman quarterback William Brown for SMU (2-4, 1-1). He threw a 5-yard TD pass to James Proche and finished 15 of 23 passing for 153 yards and zero interceptions. Proche had 12 receptions for 100 yards and two touchdowns.
The Mustangs lost for the first time with Brown as their starting quarterback. The freshman, who led them to victories over Navy and Houston Baptist in his first two starts, completed 4 of 6 passes for 44 yards on the opening drive, setting up a 31-yard field goal. He attempted three more passes, all incompletions, before being replaced by Hicks in the second quarter with UCF leading 21-3. Brown returned in the fourth quarter and tossed a 19-yard TD pass to Proche with 36 seconds left to wind up 9 of 19 for 84 yards. Milton, eighth in Heisman Trophy balloting last season, has an abundance of playmakers around him. Nixon and Snelson both had six receptions and eight ball carriers, including Hill, contributed to the Knights rushing for 256 yards.
UCF heads to Memphis next Saturday to take on the Tigers (4-2; 1-2 AAC). Kickoff is set for 3:30pm and the game will be nationally-televised on ESPNU. Check out video highlights of UCF’s win over the SMU Mustangs, courtesy of the American Athletic Conference Digital Network below:
The UCF Knights (4-0; 1-0 AAC) dismantled the Panthers of Pittsburgh (2-3; 1-1 ACC) 45-14 in front of a sold out crowd at UCF’s Spectrum Stadium on Saturday, extending the nation’s longest win streak to 17!
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — McKenzie Milton threw for 328 yards and four touchdowns and No. 13 UCF extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 17 games with a 45-14 rout of Pittsburgh on Saturday. A week after accounting for six TDs in a lopsided victory over Florida Atlantic, Milton also ran for two scores to give the junior from Kapolei, Hawaii, seven TDs passing and five rushing in his past two games.
UCF (4-0) now moves into the heart of its American Athletic Conference schedule, hoping to go undefeated for the second straight year to play its way into consideration for a spot in the College Football Playoff. Pitt (2-3) has had a knack for stunning teams with national title aspirations in recent seasons, however the Panthers were no match for a Milton-led offense that’s scored at least 30 points in every game during its school- and AAC-record winning streak.
Running back Adrian Killins, Jr., scored on a 71-yard reception, and Milton tossed TD passes of 24 yards to Gabriel Davis, 2 yards to Michael Colubiale and 13 yards to Otis Anderson. Pitt surprised eventual national champion Clemson on the road two years ago. The Panthers ended a disappointing 2017 season by defeating unbeaten Miami, which at the time had the longest winning streak in the country and was in contention for a CFP berth.
The Panthers scored on Maurice Ffrench’s 58-yard catch-and-run and Rafael Araujo-Lopes’ 86-yard punt return. Milton was 18 of 34 passing with no interceptions. Kenny Pickett was 16 of 26 for 163 yards, one touchdown and one interception for Pitt, which was limited to 109 yards rushing.
One of the ways the Panthers had hoped to slow Milton was with an effective running game that helped them kept the UCF quarterback off the field for long stretches. That never materialized. The Knights ran 47 plays to Pitt’s 28 in the opening half, outgaining the Panthers 316 yards to 114, including 119-36 rushing.
Check out highlights from the game, courtesy of the American Athletic Conference Digital Network, below:
The UCF Knights (3-0; 1-0 AAC) soundly defeated the Owls of FAU (2-2; 0-0 C-USA) Friday night in front of a near-capacity and rowdy Spectrum Stadium and national audience:
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — McKenzie Milton ran for a career-best three touchdowns while throwing for three more, helping No. 16 UCF extend the nation’s longest winning streak with a 56-36 rout of Florida Atlantic on Friday night.
The junior from Kapolei, Hawaii, completed 21 of 32 passes for 306 yards without an interception, and the Knights (3-0) won for the 16th straight time to set a record for consecutive victories by an American Athletic Conference team.
Milton scored on runs of 12, 9 and 13 yards, using a nifty jump cut to avoid a defender and get into the end zone on the last one.
Touchdown passes of 12 yards to Dredrick Snelson, 21 yards to Marlon Williams and 19 yards to Gabriel Davis hiked Milton’s career total to 56 — tied with Blake Bortles for fourth-most in school history.
FAU (2-2) stayed close for a half, but ultimately couldn’t keep pace with the prolific UCF offense. Devin Singletary rushed for 131 yards and three TDs for the Owls, who finished with 320 yards on the ground.
UCF led 21-17 at the half, letting a two-touchdown lead slip away and falling behind on a second-quarter field goal before regaining control on Milton’s TD pass to Williams.
The Knights used an early interception to set up Milton’s first TD run and then drove 92 yards in 10 plays to go up 14-0 on Snelson’s TD reception midway through the first quarter.
But FAU, which won the Conference USA title in its first season under coach Lane Kiffin, was unfazed.
Chris Robison settled down after throwing the interception that led to UCF’s first touchdown and fed the UCF defense a steady diet of Singletary. The Owls battled back by putting together a couple of time-consuming scoring drives that kept Milton off the field.
Singletary’s first touchdown finished an 11-play, 71-yard march. The Owls also held the ball for six minutes, driving 54 yards to position Vladimir Rivas to kick a 32-yard field goal for a short-lived 17-14 lead.
Robison was intercepted three times and finished 13 of 26 passing for 124 yards, including a 23-yard TD throw to Kerrith Whyte late in the third quarter.
Milton finished eighth in Heisman Trophy voting last season, when he helped UCF go 13-0, including a victory over Auburn in the Peach Bowl. With UCF trailing 17-14, he took over the game by going 4 of 4 for 74 yards on the Knights’ go-ahead drive and then ran for a pair of scores in the third quarter to build the lead to 35-17.
UCF hosts Pitt next Saturday in its final nonconference game.
The #19 UCF Knights (2-0; 1-0 AAC) soundly defeated SC State (0-2; 0-0 MEAC) 38-0 on Saturday night in front of a packed Spectrum Stadium. The Knights now move on to face ACC opponent UNC (0-2; 0-0 ACC) on Saturday in Chapel Hill, Hurricane Florence allowing.
Adrian Killins Jr. ran for 89 yards and two touchdowns to help No. 19 UCF rout South Carolina State 38-0 on Saturday night for its 15th straight victory, tying the American Athletic Conference record. Killins Jr. scored on runs of 3 and 24 yards in the first quarter. Greg McCrae rushed for 62 yards and a touchdown, and Otis Anderson added 42 yards and a touchdowns as UCF (2-0) racked up 315 rushing yards.
McKenzie Milton threw three interceptions in the first half. He was 21 of 39 for 243 yards with a touchdown pass to Gabriel Davis in the third quarter. UCF held South Carolina State (0-2) to 80 yards passing and 257 total yards. South Carolina State quarterback Tyrece Nick was 5 of 12 for 54 yards and an interception. Backup Dewann Ford threw two interceptions.
Check out video highlights of the game, courtesy of the American Athletic Conference Digital Network, below:
The UCF Knights (1-0; 1-0 AAC) started the 2018 football season off with a bang, crushing the UCONN Huskies (0-1; 0-1 AAC) 56-17:
AP: McKenzie Milton threw for 346 yards and five touchdowns and No. 21 UCF topped UConn 56-17 on Thursday night to extend the longest winning streak in the nation to 14 games. The reigning American Athletic Conference offensive player of the year completed 24 of 32 passes and ran for another 50 yards. Sophomore receiver Tre Nixon, a transfer from Mississippi, caught five passes, scoring on plays of 34 and 11 yards. Backup quarterback Darriel Mack Jr. came on in the fourth quarter and broke a 70-yard touchdown run down the left sideline, making him the team’s leading rusher.
UConn quarterback David Pindell was a bright spot for the Huskies, throwing for 266 yards and a touchdown and running for another 157 yards and a score. New coach Josh Heupel’s fast-paced offense is as advertised, putting up 652 yards and scoring eight touchdowns on 11 drives, with each scoring drive taking less than 3 minutes off the clock. The Huskies seem to have found their quarterback in Pindell. In addition to completing 27 of 41 passes and running 22 times, he had another 50-yard touchdown run called back because of a holding penalty. The Knights head back to Orlando for their home opener next Saturday against South Carolina State. The Huskies face another ranked team when they travel to Idaho to take on No. 22 Boise State on the blue turf.
Check out highlights of UCF’s victory of the UCONN Huskies below, courtesy of the American Athletic Conference Digital Network:
The UCF Knights (13-0; 8-0 AAC) defeated the Auburn Tigers on January 1st in the Chick Fil-A Peach Bowl, 34-27, capping a perfect, undefeated season. In addition to the State of Florida and numerous major national publications declaring UCF as National Champions, four of the voters in the Associated Press selected the Knights as #1 in the final AP Top 25 season poll. Coverage and highlights from UCF’s victory against the Auburn Tigers in the Peach Bowl appear below, courtesy of the American Athletic Conference:
ATLANTA — McKenzie Milton threw two touchdown passes and ran for 116 yards with another touchdown, leading No. 10 UCF to a 34-27 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl win over No. 7 Auburn on Monday that capped the Knights’ perfect season. UCF led 34-20 before having to stop a late Auburn comeback. Antwan Collier’s interception in the end zone with 24 seconds remaining clinched the win.
After Auburn took a 20-13 lead in the third quarter on a 4-yard run by Kerryon Johnson, Milton threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Otis Anderson to tie the game. Milton, under pressure, zipped an 8-yard scoring pass to Dredrick Snelson early in the fourth to give the Knights the lead. Chequan Burkett’s 45-yard interception return for a touchdown pushed the lead to 14 points.
UCF (13-0) won in its final game with coach Scott Frost, who stayed with the team through the bowl game after accepting an offer to become the new coach at Nebraska, his alma mater. The Knights thought they deserved a higher ranking after winning the American Athletic Conference and leading the nation in scoring, and they made a strong statement by beating Auburn (10-4). The Knights sacked Auburn quarterback Jarrett Stidham six times. Auburn had only one sack.
UCF led 13-6 at halftime despite behind held under 14 points at the break for the first time this season. With 6:58 remaining, Auburn’s Derrick Brown blocked a 25-yard field goal by Matthew Wright that would have given UCF a 10-point lead. Auburn couldn’t take advantage of the opportunity to tie the game. After the interception return by Burkett gave UCF a 34-20 lead, Auburn’s Eli Stove had a 7-yard scoring run with about four minutes remaining. By that time, many Auburn fans in the sellout crowd of 71,109 already had left the stadium.
With 2:18 remaining, UCF’s Matthew Wright missed a 38-yard field goal, giving the Tigers an opening for their last-gasp drive, which ended with the interception. The Knights, who lead the nation with 49.4 points per game, continued their streak of scoring more than 30 points in every game this season. The Knights passed every test, including on the line of scrimmage, as they proved they could match speed and strength with the Tigers. Milton overcame a slow start after completing only 3 of 17 passes for 30 yards in the first half. He completed 16 of 35 passes for 242 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
The Tigers couldn’t maintain momentum after opening the second half with two touchdowns for a 20-13 lead. Auburn insisted motivation would not be a problem after the crushing loss in the SEC championship game, but the Tigers had no answer when the Knights regained momentum. Stidham completed 28 of 43 passes for 331 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. The Knights will begin a new era with coach Josh Heupel, the former Missouri offensive coordinator.
The UCF Knights (12-0; 8-0 AAC) ended their season undefeated on Saturday and earned the title of 2017 American Athletic Conference Champions as they beat the Memphis Tigers (10-2; 6-2 AAC) in-front of a sold-out electrically-charged Spectrum Stadium crowd of close to 46,000! The Knights learned Sunday they would end the season ranked #12 in the CFP Rankings and will earn the coveted G5 slot in the Chick Fil-A Peach Bowl in Atlanta on January 1st. As reported by the AAC:
UCF for the second straight week prevailed in a shootout on its home field. The 12th-ranked Knights captured the American Athletic Conference championship on Saturday as they defeated No. 16 Memphis 62-55 in double overtime. It is the Knights’ third American crown in the past five years. They won the East Division last Friday with a 49-42 win over USF. It was a wild game. The top two scoring teams in the country combined for 117 points and 1,479 yards. It was tied at 48 at the end of regulation.
UCF had the ball first in the second overtime and scored on a 1-yard run by Otis Anderson. Memphis got as far as the UCF 9 on their possession but Riley Ferguson’s pass on second-and-goal was intercepted by Tre Neal as the Knights (12-0, CFP No. 15) secured a spot in a New Year’s Six bowl.The teams exchanged touchdowns in the first overtime. Memphis got the ball first and scored when Ferguson connected with Anthony Miller from 15 yards. UCF answered on a 2-yard run by Adrian Killins.
The Knights led 48-34 early in the fourth quarter but the Tigers (10-2, CFP No. 20) rallied to tie with 4:13 remaining on Ferguson’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Miller. Memphis had a chance to win it in reghttps://youtu.be/8hGtlqWKDuQulation but Riley Patterson’s 51-yard field-goal attempt with 28 seconds remaining was wide left. McKenzie Milton threw for 494 yards (28 of 40) and five touchdowns as he was named the game’s most outstanding player.
Dredrick Snelson and Tre’Quan Smith caught two touchdown passes apiece.
Milton also rushed for 64 yards and a touchdown. Otis Anderson rushed for 117 yards on 16 carries.
Memphis’ Riley Ferguson was 30 of 42 for 471 yards and four touchdowns. Miller had 14 receptions for 195 yards and three touchdowns. Darrell Hanederson (15 carries, 109 yards) and Patrick Taylor (17 carries, 108 yards) each ran for over 100 yards and had a touchdown.
The UCF Knights (11-0; 8-0 AAC) handed their rival USF Bulls (9-2; 6-2 AAC) a loss on Black Friday in front of a sold-out, loud, and raucous crowd of almost 48,000 fans at Spectrum Stadium. The contest, nationally televised on ABC, was one of dramatic highs and lows, with the lead exchanging several times. The game had major implications for both teams’ seasons–the winner would go on to host the AAC Conference Championship game; that game’s victor will then earn a coveted spot in a NY6 Bowl (the Peach Bowl in Atlanta, GA). As reported by the AAC:
Mike Hughes 95-yard kickoff return with 1:28 remaining was the difference as No. 12 UCF completed the first unbeaten regular season in program history with a wild 49-42 victory over No. 19 USF on Friday to clinch the American Athletic Conference’s East Division title. The Knights (11-0, 8-0 AAC, CFP No. 15) will host Memphis in the conference title game on Dec. 2.
Hughes’ touchdown capped a crazy 53-second span where the Knights took an eight-point lead, South Florida tied it and then the Knights took the lead for good. The Bulls (9-2, 6-2) tied it at 42 when Quinton Flowers connected with Darnel Salomon for an 83-yard touchdown, and then found D’Ernest Johnson for a 2-point play. Flowers finished with 605 yards of total offense. On the ensuing kickoff, Hughes found an opening on the right side and scored.
South Florida drove to midfield late, but Mitchell Wilcox fumbled and it was recovered by Chequan Burkett. McKenzie Milton was 29 of 44 for 373 yards and four touchdowns. UCF led 21-7 late in the first quarter but South Florida took a 34-28 lead with 3:41 remaining in the game on Flowers’ 24-yard touchdown run, which marked the first time this season that the Knights had trailed in the second half.
UCF has scored 30 points or more in every game this season, which is the longest streak in the nation. Flowers threw for a career-high 503 yards (24 of 45, four touchdowns) and ran for 102. He had 348 yards alone in the first half with five completions of 30 yards or more. Tryre McCants had already set a USF single-game receiving record with 6 minutes remaining in the first half. The junior had 227 yards on nine receptions, including a 55-yard touchdown. The previous record was 191 yards by Andre Davis in a 2012 game at Nevada. McCants previous career high was 105 yards against SMU last season.
The Knights will now host the AAC Conference Championship game on Saturday at Bright House Networks Stadium. Kickoff is set for Noon and the game will be nationally televised on ABC. Check out video highlights of UCF’s win over South Florida courtesy of the American Digital Network below:
The UCF Knights (10-0; 7-0 AAC) crushed the Owls of Temple (5-6; 3-4 AAC) on Saturday in Philadelphia, marking their 10th win in an undefeated season. The AAC recaps the win:
PHILADELPHIA — McKenzie Milton threw four touchdown passes and ran for a score as No. 14/12 UCF took care of business against Temple, winning 45-19 Saturday to stay unbeaten heading into a showdown with rival USF. The Knights (10-0, 7-0 American Athletic conference, CFP No. 15) turned three Temple turnovers inside the Owls’ 25 into 17 first-half points, taking a 31-10 lead when Gabriel Davis stretched across the goal line for a 5-yard touchdown reception with 2:36 left in the second quarter.
The American’s East Division will be decided on Black Friday in Orlando, Florida, when No. 23/20 USF (9-1, 6-1) visits UCF. Temple (5-6, 3-4) could have been easy to overlook for the Knights. The game had no bearing on whether they play for a conference title and a loss probably wouldn’t have damaged their chances to play in a New Year’s Six bowl. Shaquem Griffin, the 2016 American defensive player of the year whose left hand was amputated when he was 4, was all over the field for the UCF defense.
He forced a fumble in the first half that set up a score and made his second career interception in the second half, running step-for-step down field with a receiver and cradling the ball into his chest. Frank Nutile, who helped revive Temple’s offense when he took over at quarterback four games ago, was picked off four times. UCF now faces what could be its toughest battle of the season against rival USF, who comes to Spectrum Stadium on Black Friday to face the Knights. That game will be nationally-televised on ABC with a kickoff set for 3:30pm. If the Knights win, they’ll take on the #22 Memphis Tigers (9-1; 6-1 AAC) for the second time this season in the American Athletics Conference Championship Game on 12/2. UCF defeated Memphis earlier in the season 40-13. Check out video highlights of UCF’s win over Temple, courtesy of the American Athletics Association, below:
Photo Courtesy American Athletic Conference.
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