They proved early they could overwhelm opponents in the first half.
They've proved lately they can play defense (and offense) with a passion in the third period.
They proved at Temple two weeks ago that they can play at a high level in all three phases of the football game for 60 minutes against a quality opponent.
Slowly but surely, Josh Heupel and his 2019 UCF football team are building an impressive resume, as a still very young roster—led by a true freshman (Dillon Gabriel) at quarterback—matures.
Winners of 32 of their last 35 games overall, the Knights are fighting to keep pace in the American Athletic Conference East with a Cincinnati team still unbeaten in league play.
Here are some areas to watch when UCF (7-2 overall, 4-1 AAC) heads to Tulsa (2-7 overall, 0-5 AAC) to take on the Hurricane Friday night on ESPN2:
- Records can be deceiving. At first glance these look like teams headed in opposite directions, with UCF having won three in a row and Tulsa losers of five straight games. But take a closer look. The Knights' big win at Temple was a seven-point game at the half—and UCF actually trailed at halftime at home Saturday versus Houston. Meanwhile, Tulsa is a play away from a couple of signature wins—having lost in three overtimes at SMU and then by a single point to Memphis (the two teams that played the ABC primetime game last weekend). Among the Hurricane defeats are four to ranked opponents: #18 Michigan State, #24 SMU, #21 Cincinnati and #25 Memphis. And don't forget that in four previous meetings between these two programs in Tulsa, UCF has never won (those games were in 2008, 2015 and two in 2012). These two programs three times met in the Conference USA title game (the last time in 2012).
- Red-zone improvement. When the Knights dropped a pair of contests in a three-game span from mid-September to early October, the UCF coaches pointed to red-zone struggles as one of the issues. In those two defeats, the Knights scored touchdowns on only three of 11 red-zone trips. They've fixed that significantly of late, notching TDs on nine of 10 trips in the last three games combined (all wins). In those same three games, the UCF defense permitted only six TDs in 13 red-zone opportunities for its foes. On the other side of the coin, Tulsa stands 25th nationally in red-zone defense (.765), good for fourth in the AAC.
- The skinny on Tulsa. The Hurricane already has faced a brutal AAC slate--with its five previous league opponents currently combining for a 36-7 mark (.837). How close has it been for Tulsa? In the triple OT loss to SMU, the Hurricane led 30-9 at one point and missed a 43-yard field goal in the first OT that would have won it. In the one-point defeat against Memphis, Tulsa grabbed a 41-35 lead with 5:07 left, fell behind by a point at the :41 mark, then missed a 29-yard field goal after reaching the Memphis 12. Tulsa gained 584 total yards against the Tigers. Senior linebacker Cooper Edmiston is the leading tackler in the AAC with 77. Tulsa's most noteworthy national rankings? The Hurricane stands seventh in blocked kicks (with three) and seventh in fumbles recovered (with 10). Quarterback Zach Smith is 14th nationally in passing yards at 2,440.
- Motivation, Part One. The Knights last had a short week of preparation prior to the early October road game at Cincinnati—and that also happens to be the last time UCF lost a game. So expect Heupel to be a stickler this week on preparation to prove the Knights can get the job done away from home with one less day to work. UCF has an open date next weekend, though technically it's the only time all year the Knights play consecutive road games (Nov. 23 at Tulane).
- Motivation, Part Two. Meanwhile, Tulsa has been able to promote its strength of schedule (eighth nationally this week according to the NCAA), but the Hurricane instead would like to translate one of these efforts into a victory. Add up the records of the 10 Tulsa opponents (including UCF) as they came in to face the Hurricane--and the combined figure is an amazing 37-8 (.822). Among its five defeats in a row, four (SMU, Cincinnati, Memphis, Tulane) have come by an average of a touchdown. Tulsa played SMU, Navy, Cincinnati and Memphis on four consecutive weeks—and those teams are now a combined 30-4. UCF has been an offensive juggernaut, but its two lowest point totals of 2019 have come in road losses at Pitt (34) and Cincinnati (24).