The Knights did exactly what they needed to do on the gridiron against UConn on Thursday evening, beating them solidly 56-17 with one of the Husky touchdowns coming late in the fourth quarter. The UCF win gives them an early 1-0 record in conference play as they are poised to win the AAC East once again this season.
23.5 points…that was the spread coming into the contest in favor of UCF, meaning that everyone expected them to win this game with relative ease. The Knights put up two touchdowns in each quarter, even when starter McKenzie Milton was pulled in the fourth quarter. UCF looked like they were playing Madden 19 on rookie mode when it came to their offense. Orlando’s hometown team picked up an incredible amount of yardage, 652 yards which surpasses the amount of days that they have been undefeated (622).
Not everything was perfect though as the defense at one point looked a bit shaky in the first half, where they missed some key tackles and ended up allowing 486 yards by the end of the game. It was the incredible wheels and jukes of UConn QB David Pindell that made the Knights look like they were on roller skates as he rushed for an insane 157 yards from the QB position and threw for an additional 266. Besides Pindell, the Knights only allowed 63 other yards, meaning they still have work to do when it comes to containing mobile quarterbacks.
Take last season for instance, UCF struggled to contain Quinton Flowers of USF, which is really the only factor that kept them in that game last Black Friday. Regardless, UCF still won that game just like they did tonight.
Am I overreacting and looking a little too deep into this? Probably, but it is worth noting that if the Knights do want to be considered for one of those precious four sports in the college football invitational tournament that they will have to lay a few QB-spies on their next mobile opponent. UCF proved a lot of people wrong last season, but if they do in fact want to get into a “power 5” biases system they are going to have to appear picture perfect.
Despite that minor dent, everything else looked like a beautiful black and gold Lamborghini for UCF. Flawless, sleek, and projecting a statement. McKenzie Milton threw for five touchdowns, the third time he has done that in his career and now moves four touchdowns behind Blake Bortles for fourth in the UCF record books. The offense scored about a touchdown every three minutes of offense and gained around eight yards per play, both outstanding numbers. Milton looked like a Heisman candidate, even better than last season. With his performance tonight, more people will start to take notice of his skill. He was called out for not being a true pocket passer, and he silenced the critics tonight going 24/32 with 346 yards through the air. Even the broadcasters realized that Milton needs to be one of the top players in the Heisman discussion.
During the preseason, I ranked UCF’s opponents from easiest to hardest, and I ranked the UConn game the fourth easiest out of the Knight’s 12 games. That stood pretty true as UCF rolled into Connecticut and handled the Huskies exactly the way they planned to. They will be back home for what may be their easiest matchup in South Carolina State before travelling to UNC to take on the Tar Heels.
The National Champions remain undefeated. Milton looks like a Heisman candidate. All is good for the hometown team in the city beautiful…Orlando, Florida.
