ORLANDO - With the game on the line and South Florida driving inside the 5-yard line, the UCF defense came up with its sixth sack of the game and the clock expired to give the Knights a 17-13 victory over the visiting Bulls and a 7-6 lead in the War On I-4 rivalry series.
UCF (8-4, 5-3 AAC) made it necessary for South Florida (2-10, 1-7 AAC) to go for the last second touchdown when quarterback Mikey Keene led the Knights on a 10-play, 61-yard scoring drive that lasted five minutes and 24 seconds and culminated in a 32-yard Daniel Obarski field goal that put UCF up 17-13 with less than nine minutes to play in the game.
The three points from Obarski were the only points for the Knights in the second half, as UCF built a 14-7 first-half lead on one touchdown on the ground in the first quarter and a second through the air in the second quarter.
Redshirt freshman Parker Navarro scored for the third time in the last three games to give UCF an early lead, rushing for a 3-yard touchdown to cap an 8-play, 63-yard drive that gave the Knights the early lead.
After the Bulls tied things up on the final play of the first quarter, UCF made it 14-7 when Keene found Brandon Johnson for a 7-yard touchdown pass, the senior's 11th of the season. UCF took advantage of a short field after Titus Mokiao-Atimalala recorded a career-best 39-yard punt return to get the Knights started at the South Florida 27-yard line.
UCF finished the season 8-4, recorded eight or more wins for the fourth time in the last five seasons. The Knights also completed the 2021 season undefeated at home, the fourth time in the last five seasons doing so.
SIX SACKS AGAIN
• For the second time this season, the UCF defense recorded six sacks in a game, also having done so in the win over Memphis on Oct. 22.
• Over the last six games, the Knights have averaged 4.5 sacks per game.
• Six different Knight got in on the action, led by Ricky Barber with 1.5 sacks in the game.
• Divaad Wilson, Tre'mon Morris-Brash, Big Kat Bryant, and William Wells each had one sack, while Davonte Brown had half a sack.
COACH MALZAHN
"First of all, I'm just so proud of our team. Eight win. Nothing's been easy this year. A lot of times, it's how you win. They responded. Give South Florida credit. They played really good on defense. We're 7-0 at home. I'm real proud of that. Our home-field advantage is one of the best in the country. I'm really proud of that."
SAMUEL JACKSON
"I know why people call us Cardiac Knights now. That was a stressful situation. I don't think there are words to describe my emotions. I'm elated. I'm happy for everyone. I'm happy for all of our seniors. Everyone put so much work into the game, and we came up on the right side of it."
SOUNDS OF THE GAME
UCF Knights · 2021 UCF Football vs South Florida – Highlights