Bowl eligible and Central Florida. Not many thought those words would be used in the same sentence, but that accurately describes the situation with Knights football.
With their 24-3 win over Cincinnati on Saturday at Bright House Networks Field, UCF earned their sixth victory of the season, thereby assuring them an invite to a bowl game. Everyone should stop and remember this team was 0-12 just one year ago.
OH-AND-TWELVE!
First-year Coach Scott Frost clearly has something going in Orlando. Player buy-in to what he is preaching is obvious just from the results.
The Knights are showing different ways to win. On Saturday, Quarterback McKenzie Milton deployed a dink-and-dunk passing attack as he threw for only 150 yards and a touchdown.
The key was he threw no interceptions. UCF had no turnovers on the day, while they had a key interception and a fumble recovery.
Special teams also scored when Justin McDonald returned a blocked punt 23 yards for a touchdown. Jawon Hamilton’s 25-yard run early in the fourth quarter effectively put the game out of reach. Hamilton had 81 yards on the ground.
The UCF turnaround is one of the best stories in all of college football. Such an improvement is certain to gain Frost some votes for national coach of the year.
Central Florida, now 6-4 on the season and 4-2 in the American Conference, has two games remaining. Next week they host Tulsa before concluding the regular season with a trip to Tampa to take on the South Florida Bulls.
