The UCF football team (2-0) won its first two games of the 2021 season at home and now looks to continue its winning ways on the road this weekend. The Knights take on Louisville (1-1) Friday night at 7:30 p.m. with coverage on ESPN and FM 96.9 The Game.
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Friday, Sept. 17
Time: 7:30 p.m.
TV: ESPN
Radio: FM 96.9/AM 740 The Game
Live Stats: click here
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE GAME NOTES - UCF AT LOUISVILLE
A UCF WIN WOULD...
• Be better than a loss
• Be Malzahn's 80th win as a head coach
• Total 177 FBS wins for UCF in program history
• Give UCF a 2-1 lead over Louisville in the all-time series
• Mark the Knights' fourth times starting 3-0 in the last five seasons
SERIES BREAKDOWN
| Overall | Tied, 1-1 |
| in Louisville | Tied, 1-1 |
| in Orlando | -- |
| at Neutral Location | -- |
| Last Meeting | UCF 38, Louisville 35 - 10/18/13 |
| Streak | UCF won 1 |
ABOUT THE CARDINALS
• Louisville is in its third season under head coach Scott Satterfield, who has led the Cardinals to a 13-13 record in just over two seasons of competition.
• The Cards opened up the 2021 season with a neutral site loss to Ole Miss, falling 43-24 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Monday night of week one action. This past Saturday Louisville defeated visiting Eastern Kentucky 30-3.
• Quarterback Malik Cunningham has completed 61.7 percent of his passes for 468 yards and two touchdowns to go with four rushing scores through the first two games.
• Kenderick Dunca is the Cards' top tackler so far in 2021, making 15 total stops including 14 unassisted tackles.
TEAM NOTE
BOWLS, BCS AND NEW YEAR'S SIX
• The Knights appeared in their fifth straight bowl game in 2020 (Roofclaim.com Boca Raton Bowl vs. BYU), extending the program record for most consecutive bowl game appearances. UCF played in the Cure Bowl in 2016, the Peach Bowl in 2017, the Fiesta Bowl in 2018 and the Gasparilla Bowl in 2019.
• The 2020 Boca Raton Bowl marked UCF's eighth bowl appearance in the last nine seasons and the Knights' 12th in the past 16 years.
• Since the 2013 season, UCF has appeared in three BCS/New Year's Six bowl games and won two (2014 Fiesta Bowl, 2018 Peach Bowl).
• The Knights are one of only 16 FBS programs in the nation to appear in three such games during that span and one of only 13 teams to win two games during that time.
• UCF is the only current non-"Power 5" team to appear on either list.
OFFENSE NOTE
BOWSER BEAST MODE
• The UCF rushing attack looks a lot different in 2021, as the Knights had to replace their top three running backs from a season ago in Greg McCrae, Otis Anderson and Bentavious Thompson.
• The most experienced back in the room is graduate transfer Isaiah Bowser, who totaled 334 carries for 1,300 yards and seven touchdowns with Nortwestern the last three seasons.
• In his first game as a Knight, Bowser rushed 33 times for a career-high 172 yards and a touchdown. In week two, he scored four rushing touchdowns and currently rankssecond in the nation in the category.
• As a team, UCF ranks 11th in the nation in rushing after two weeks of action.
DEFENSE NOTE
RUSHING DEFENSE DOMINATING
• The Knights currently rank second in the nation in rushing defense, holding their opponents to 22.0 rushing yards per game through two weeks of play.
• New defensive coordinator Travis Williams has had the task of turning around UCF's defense that ranked 123rd in the nation in total defense a season ago, allowing 491.8 yards per game, and have shown that they are well on their way after two weeks.
• The Knights are currently ranked 28th in the nation in total defense, allowing just 281.0 yards per game and 68th in scoring defense, giving up 22.5 points per game.
• UCF allowed less than 300 yards in each of its first two games, doing so in consecutive outings for the first time since achieving the feat against SMU and South Florida on Nov. 22 and Nov. 28, 2014.
DID YOU KNOW?
In 2013, the Knights defeated then 8th-ranked Louisville on the road en route to earning a bid to the Fiesta Bowl, eventually defeating Baylor to finish ranked in the top 10.