AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME |
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – The No. 7/7 UCF football team will go for its second straight American Athletic Conference Championship on Saturday afternoon at Spectrum Stadium against Memphis. The rematch of the 2017 conference title game is set for a 3:30 p.m. kickoff on ABC and 96.9 FM/740 AM The Game.
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.
CHAMPIONSHIP WEEKEND
UCF will play for its fourth title in The American since the league’s inception in 2013. The Knights won the conference championship in back-to-back campaigns in 2013 and 2014, before winning the 2017 edition in a shootout against Memphis. UCF joins Clemson, Oklahoma and Alabama as the only schools with three titles since 2013 and are going for a fourth title this weekend.
MEETING WITH MEMPHIS
Saturday will be the fourth matchup in the last two years for the Black and Gold against Memphis. The last two meetings have barnburners and posed the biggest threat to the Knights’ 24-game winning streak. In the 2017 title game, UCF outlasted Memphis 62-55 in double overtime to raise the conference trophy, a contest that featured nearly 1,500 yards of total offense. Earlier this season at Memphis, UCF rallied from a 16-point deficit with 17 unanswered points in the second half to win 31-30.
NEXT MAN UP
This meeting with the Tigers will take on a different look for the Knights with a new signal caller behind center. After quarterback McKenzie Milton went down through injury, Darriel Mack Jr. stepped up in his absence to lead the Knights to a resounding War On I-4 victory over USF. Though Mack was the lone change in the lineup, the entire team carried the load to help the redshirt freshman quarterback. The defense stopped the Bulls in their tracks, the offensive line kept Mack clean and running back Greg McCrae ran all over the USF defense. The Knights will need an entire team effort to win their fourth American Athletic Conference title.
AMERICAN HONORS
Speaking of hardware from The American, UCF made another record haul for the annual league honors. 17 Knights made an appearance on an all-conference squad, including seven First Team selections. Quarterback McKenzie Milton became the first player in league history to repeat as the Offensive Player of the Year after totaling 297 yards through the air per game and 25 passing touchdowns.
1OHANA
Saturday’s game will carry College Football Playoff, conference title and winning streak implications. Not surprisingly, in the wake of what’s transpired over the last week, those will be the last things fueling UCF. The Knights will play for 10. Fully immersed in Hawaiian spirit, and in conjunction with Global Promo, owner Sanjay Sam Srinivasan and UCF Student Government Association, UCF will be distributing 40,000 leis prior to kickoff, as the Knights look to go #10hana. For more information about that donation, click here.
Weekly Presser Preview
Chick-fil-A UCFilm Room Preview
Championship Press Conference Preview