No. 9/10 UCF at Memphis |
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – After four straight home games, the No. 9/10 UCF football team will open up a two-game road swing this Saturday at Memphis. The rematch of last season’s American Athletic Conference Championship Game is set for a 3:30 p.m. (EST) kickoff on ABC/ESPN2.
Marc Daniels, Gary Parris and Jerry O’Neill will have the call on FM96.9/AM740 The Game and on the iHeart Radio app, starting with the Florida Hospital Tailgate Show at 12:30 p.m.
Here are five things to know heading into Week 7:
1. BACK ON THE ROAD
The Knights take the longest active winning streak in the nation on the road for the first time since the opening week of the regular season, a 56-17 win at UConn. UCF was set to travel to North Carolina for Week 3, but Hurricane Florence forced the game to be cancelled. The Black and Gold has won its last seven contests away from home dating back to last season, including the 34-27 win in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl against No. 8/7 Auburn.
2. THE REMATCH
Saturday’s game will be the rematch of the 2017 American Athletic Conference Championship Game at Spectrum Stadium. In ESPNU’s No. 7 ranked game of 2017, the then-No. 11 Knights outlasted the No. 14 Tigers, 62-55, in a shootout that needed two overtimes to decide the league champion. Quarterback McKenzie Milton threw for 494 yards, the second most in a game by UCF, and five touchdowns, with another score on the ground. Both clubs combined for nearly 1,500 yards of offense, including 965 through the air. If Saturday follows last year’s pattern, be ready for some offensive fireworks.
3. RUNNING ATTACK
For the second time this season, UCF will face one of the top running backs in the country. Darrell Henderson leads the nation with 11.82 yards per carry and is second with 12 rushing touchdowns. The junior posed problems for the Knights defense in The American title game last year with 109 yards on the ground and touchdown. Henderson will go up against a UCF defense ranks fifth nationally with 9.4 tackles for loss per game, led by reigning American Defensive Player of the Week Titus Davis’ 6.5 stops behind the line this year.
4. SETTING THE PACE
The Black and Gold returned to league action last weekend at home against SMU, a 48-20 win. With the victory, the Knights continued to set the pace in the stacked American Athletic Conference East Division. UCF is one of three undefeated teams remaining in the league, along with 6-0 Cincinnati and 5-0 South Florida, both of whom are on the verge of breaking in to the AP and Coaches Top-25 Poll. After cracking into the top-10 in both polls for the first time in the regular season in program history, the Knights will look to keep the pace in The American this weekend at Memphis.
5. MILTON’S MILESTONES
Quarterback McKenzie Milton is poised to move up the career charts this week. The Kapolei, Hawaii, native needs 78 passing yards to pass Blake Bortles (7,598) for fourth all-time in career passing yards. He also needs 14 rushing yards to hit 1,000 career rushing yards and 35 to pass Daunte Culpepper (1,020) for the most rushing yards ever by a UCF QB. The junior has flown out of the gates to start the 2018 campaign, averaging 300.2 yards passing per game with 43 yards rushing per game. He already moved into fourth for career touchdowns responsible for earlier this season.
Hear from UCF head coach Josh Heupel during his Thursday press conference after practice.
Video
Check out what the Knights had to say during the weekly press conference on Monday morning.