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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.

The UCF Knights (4-3; 2-1 AAC) defeated the Huskies of UCONN (3-4; 1-3 AAC) 24-16  in-front of a national audience on ESPN News Network today after getting out of a 13-0 slump that saw the Knights scoreless in the first quarter. The win comes after last week’s heartbreaking 26-25  homecoming loss to the Temple Owls (5-3; 3-1 AAC), a team that soundly defeated the Bulls of USF last night. UCF struggled mightily against the Owls in the second half of last week’s game. UCF”s anemic offense didn’t put a single point on the board in the final 2 quarters; and with just :41 left on the clock and no time outs, Temple drove 70-yards to seal the game. But the Knights made adjustments today when UCONN decided to execute Temple’s game plan. Although they first succeeded, UCF’s offense started making gains, including a 91-yard touchdown drive that lasted less than 90 seconds and ended the first half with the Knights down 16-14. The defense also showed they could end the success UCONN had with the run during the first half by making adjustments to all but shut down UCONN’s running game in the second half. And an incredible third-and long pass kept UCF’s scoring drive alive in the first possession of the third quarter, allowing the Knights to score. UCF’s stout defense also stopped UCONN on the majority of their second half 3-1 and 4-1 situations, allowing UCF to run the clock and outscore the Huskies. UCF now moves on to #11 Houston (6-1; 2-1 AAC) next week in a game that sees the Knights playing their toughest opponent since their play in the Big House against Michigan in week 2. That game will be nationally televised on ESPNU with kickoff at Noon. Below are highlights from the game courtesy of the American Athletic Conference:

After soundly defeating the ECU Pirates (2-4; 0-2 AAC) on 10/1 on the road in Greenville, the UCF Knights (3-2; 1-0 AAC) had to take a bye week on 10/7 and postpone their matchup against the Tulane Green Wave (3-2; 0-1 AAC) to November 5th (times, television TBD) as a consequence of Hurricane Matthew, which pounded the Sunshine State last week. The Knights will now face the Owls of Temple (3-3; 1-1 AAC)  Saturday (10/15) for their homecoming game. Temple is coming off of a 34-27 loss to the Memphis Tigers and will be looking for redemption against UCF. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30pm and the game will be nationally televised on ESPNU. Below, watch highlights of UCF’s 10/1 47-29 win against the Pirates of ECU, with video highlights courtesy of the American Athletic Conference:

Photo Courtesy Orlando Sentinel

The UCF Knights (2-2; 0-0 AAC) routed the Panthers of Florida International (0-4; 0-0 C-USA) 52-14 on Saturday in-front of a stadium that was filled with mostly Knights fans. Dontravious Wilson had a career-high three touchdowns and McKenzie Milton earned his first career victory after becoming UCF’s starting quarterback in their heartbreaking loss to Maryland two weeks ago. Matt Murschel from the Orlando Sentinel reports:

UCF took the opening kickoff and started a 59-yard, 11-play drive. The run was capped by Wilson’s first touchdown of the evening, a one-yard run. The Knights averaged 8.8 yards per play on that opening drive but still suffered through mental lapses and unnecessary penalties. FIU (1-3) struggled to do much on offense against UCF’s stout defense, with the Panthers managing just five first downs and 76 yards in the first half. The team’s only score came after a poor punt by Caleb Houston was returned to FIU’s six-yard line. Anthony Jones squirted into the end zone on the next play to cut the early lead to 8-7. UCF later drove the ball down to FIU’s 21-yard line before Milton scrambled out of a sure sack and heaved the ball downfield. Senior tight end Jordan Akins out-jumped several Panthers defenders to secure the Knights’ second touchdown of the game. Later in the first half, UCF’s Drico Johnson stepped up and intercepted Maurice Alexander and returned the ball 25 yards to the Knight’s 15-yard line. On the next play, Milton pitched the ball to Wilson, who rushed up the middle virtually untouched for his second touchdown. It extended the lead to 25-7 with 8:50 left in the first half.

Milton kept UCF rolling, connecting with Adrian Killins on a screen pass and the dynamic freshman ducked and weaved his way through the FIU defense in a Madden-esque play for a 60-yard gain to the FIU 30-yard line. Two plays later, Wilson ran into the end zone to put UCF up 32-7. Killins finished the night with 209 all-purpose yards, including a 61-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. It was the first time UCF scored at least 30 points in a half since Nov. 22, 2014, against SMU. Redshirt junior linebacker Shaquem Griffin led the Knights with five tackles and two sacks. The team finished with five sacks for the second consecutive game and held FIU to under 200 total yards. The win did come at a cost for UCF. Freshman running back Jawon Hamilton left the game in the first half after suffering what appeared to be a left knee injury. He was seen on the sidelines with the knee wrapped in ice and was on crutches later on in the game.

The Knights now journey to Greenville, North Carolina, where they will face the Pirates of East Carolina (2-2; 0-0 AAC). The Pirates have a win against NC State and Western Carolina and losses against South Carolina and Virginia Tech. They should be quite the foe for UCF to take on this Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for Noon and the game will be nationally televised on CBS Sports Network. Below, watch highlights of UCF’s blowout win over FIU, courtesy of the American Athletic Conference:

Photo and article excerpts courtesy Orlando Sentinel.

The UCF Knights (1-2; 0-0 AAC) took the Terrapins of Maryland (3-0; 0-0 B10) into double overtime on Saturday in front of a near-capacity Bright House Networks Stadium crowd of over 43,000. A game that lasted over four hours and saw Freshman quarterback McKenzie Milton take the field for the very first time (burning his red shirt), ended when Milton fumbled the ball as UCF stood just three yards away from winning the game. It was the final blow during a 30-24 loss punctuated by six fumbles and three turnovers by the Knights. Below are more highlights of the game courtesy of the Orlando Sentinel:

After dropping a hard-fought 51-14 contest against No. 5 Michigan in Week 2, players were eager to show improvement and upset Maryland. Even outside of the home fan base, some people believed UCF could pull off the victory. ESPN personality Lee Corso even picked the Knights to beat the Terrapins before the game.

UCF’s defense jumped all over Maryland, forcing the team into punts on all four of its first quarter drives. Milton suffered through some costly freshman mistakes, but he bounced back with big-time plays, including his 31-yard overtime touchdown pass to receiver Tre’Quan Smith as UCF trailed Maryland 24-17 in a third-and-16 situation. He scrambled right to hit Smith on the run helped by strong blocking from right tackle Wyatt Miller.

Despite the uneven performance, Milton still helped UCF run 91 plays for a total of 455 offensive yards. He passed for 260 yards and was intercepted once on a tipped pass to freshman receiver Dredrick Snelson.

“I’m broken-hearted for our kids. They worked their tails off,” UCF coach Scott Frost said. “I told them before the game they were poised and ready to knock off a team that nobody, or very few people, thought they could beat. We had our chances in this one.

“[I] give a ton of credit to Maryland, they’re kind of trying to do the same thing we are in rebuilding a program. I think [D.J. Durkin has] done a great job, but we had a lot of chances to finish it, to score early, to make it a different game and I’m hurting for our kids that we didn’t get it done.”

Below, watch video highlights of the game, courtesy of the American Athletic Conference:

The UCF Knights (1-1; 0-0 AAC) went into The Big House at the University of Michigan Stadium on Saturday and battled hard against the #5-ranked Wolverines (2-0; 0-0 B10). And despite suffering what would appear to be a crushing 51-14 defeat, the Knights had some bright spots that indicate that score doesn’t fully represent the success UCF had on the field. The Knights amassed a total of 331 yards of total offense (more than any other team that visited the Big House in 2015) and put up more scoring points than the Florida Gators did playing Michigan in the Citrus Bowl last post-season. On his first and only carry, Freshman Adrian Killins tied a school record for the longest rushing touchdown in school history when he blazed down the field for a 87-yard touchdown. Punctuating quite an improvement on the field this season, UCF collected 472 yards against South Carolina State and Michigan, which is almost half of the 975 yards the team earned during the entire 2015 season. If the Knights rush for just 16 yards against Maryland Saturday, they will reach half of last season’s rushing total with nine games remaining in the regular season. “Jim Harbaugh’s teams are physical, that’s what they’re known for. We came in here and rushed for six yards a carry against them. I think they had 2.9 yards rushing [a carry,]” said UCF coach Scott Frost. “That tells me our guys are playing hard and fighting and that’s what I really wanted to see [Saturday].” The Knights will take on the Terrapins of Maryland (2-0; 0-0 B10) at home on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 7:00pm and the game will be broadcasted nationwide on CBS Sports Network. Below, watch highlights of UCF at Michigan courtesy of ESPN:

Excerpts Courtesy Orlando Sentinel.

The UCF Knights (1-0; 0-0 American) ushered in a new era of football under the helm of Coach Scott Frost Saturday night at Bright House Networks Stadium in Orlando. The game, attended by close to 37,000 fans who were eager to see a win, was televised nationally on ESPN3. And a win is what UCF fans saw! UCF shut down South Carolina State (0-1; 0-0 MEAC) 38-0, stopping the Bulldogs in essentially every aspect of play. The UCF offense struggled to put some touchdowns on the board the first quarter despite starting drives from South Carolina State’s territory twice in the first half — one of those set up by a 37-yard punt return from Chris Johnson and the other triggered by a fumble Jamiyus Pittman recovered. Their first 12 points came from field goals– Redshirt sophomore kicker Matt Wright tied a UCF single-game record four field goals before halftime); but they started to gel towards the end of the second quarter.

New head football coach Scott Frost agreed the Knights’ struggled in the first half, remarking, “I thought we played well, [but] we could play a lot better,” Frost said. “Particularly the first half offensively, we missed a lot of opportunities but played better in the second half. It took a little while for UCF’s offense to hit the gas, but once players found a rhythm in the second half, they never looked back. In all, UCF amassed 462 total yards of offense. After 639 days since their last win, the Knight Nation was looking for this game to set the tone for a new era in UCF Football. The 38-0 victory snapped a 13-game losing streak dating back to UCF’s loss against NC State in the 2014 Bitcoin Bowl. The Knights (1-0) shut out the Bulldogs (0-1) 17-0 in the teams’ only previous meeting in 2008. And while the win is sweet for UCF, the Knights must now face what’s sure to be one of the toughest tasks of the season as they head to Ann Arbor to face #7 Michigan (1-0; 0-0 B10), a team that knocked off the Rainbow Warriors of Hawaii (0-2; 0-0 MWC) 63-3 on Saturday. That game will be televised nationally on ABC. Kickoff is set for Noon from Michigan Stadium. Below, watch UCF’s final touchdown score in their 38-0 win over South Carolina, courtesy of ESPN:

Picture and Article Excerpts Courtesy Orlando Sentinel.