The UCF football team (2-2, 0-1 AAC) returns home this weekend for the first time since Sept. 11. The Knights take on East Carolina (3-2, 1-0 AAC) Saturday at 6 p.m. with coverage on ESPN+ and FM 96.9 The Game.
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, Oct. 9
Time: 6 p.m.
TV: ESPN+
Radio: FM 96.9/AM 740 The Game
Live Stats: click here
CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE GAME NOTES - UCF VS ECU
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
• Keep UCF undefeated at 3-0 at home
• Make sure the Knights don't fall below .500 for the first time since the last game of the 2016 season
SERIES BREAKDOWN
| Overall | ECU, 10-9 |
| in Greenville | ECU, 6-5 |
| in Orlando | Tied, 4-4 |
| at Neutral Location | -- |
| Last Meeting | UCF 51, ECU 28 - 9/26/20 |
| Streak | UCF won 5 |
ABOUT THE PIRATES
• ECU is in its third season under head coach Mike Houston, who holds a 90-41 all-time record and 10-16 mark with the Pirates.
• Last season, ECU went just 3-6 overall and 3-5 in conference play during the COVID-19 shortened campaign.
• The Pirates opened the 2021 slate with a pair of losses to App State and South Carolina, but have since won three in a row on the road at Marshall, and at home to Charleston Southern and Tulane.
• Quarterback Holton Ahlers has thrown for 1,266 yards and seven touchdowns, while rushing for three scores. Ja'Quan McMillian leads the defense with 33 tackles, four interceptions and 12 pass breakups.
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
RECEIVER ROUNDUP
• The top returning receiver target is Jaylon "Flash" Robinson, who totaled 979 yards and six touchdowns in his first season with the Knights in 2020.
• Jay Flash earned first-team all-conference honors in the AAC as a sophomore, ranking 14th in the nation in receiving yards.
• Robinson went over 100 yards six times on the season, which tied for the third most in UCF history.
• Robinson has caught 12 passes for 234 yards and two scores in 2021, but missed the game at Navy due to injury. Brandon Johnson and Ryan O'Keefe have stepped up this season, with the former having caught 19 balls for 230 yards and five touchdowns and the latter catching 18 balls for 242 yards and one score. Tight end Alec Holler and receiver Amari Johnson have eight receptions each.
DEFENSE NOTE
DEFENSIVE DOWNTURN
• The Knights held their first two opponents to 283 yards and 279 yards of total offense, respectively. UCF was 2-0. In the last two games - a pair of road losses at Louisville and Navy - the Knights have given up 501 yards and 406 yards of offensive, respectively.
• UCF ranks 101st in scoring defense, allowing 30.2 points per game, 67th in total defense, giving up 367.2 yards per game, 64th in passing defense (221.5), and 75th in rushing defense (145.8).
• 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.
• Allowing less than 300 yards in each of its first two games, UCF did 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?
UCF has played ECU more than any other opponent in program history.