Game Notes | Depth Chart
The UCF football team (0-0) will kick off the 2022 season on Thursday, Sept. 1, at 7 p.m. against South Carolina State (0-0).
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Thursday, Sept. 1
Time: 7 p.m.
TV: ESPN+
Radio: FM 96.9/AM 740 The Game
Live Stats: click here
A UCF WIN WOULD...
• Mark the seventh consecutive season the Knights have opened the season with a win
• Total 183 FBS wins for UCF in program history
• Be the Knight's eighth straight home win
• Be UCF's fouth straight win over the Bulldogs
• Give the Knights their 33rd win in home openers with a 33-10 all-time mark
• Give Gus Malzahn a perfect 11-0 record in home openers as a head coach
• Be better than a loss
SERIES BREAKDOWN
| Overall | 3-0 |
| in Orlando | 3-0 |
| Last Meeting | W, 38-0 (9/8/2018) |
| Streak | W3 |
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
• South Carolina State is in its 21st season under head coach Oliver "Buddy" Pough, who has led the Bulldogs to eight Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) Championships and two HBCU National Championships in his tenure.
• Last season, Pough led the Bulldogs to a 7-5 overall headlined by winning the MEAC Championship with a perfect 5-0 mark against conference opponents and a 31-10 victory against Jackson State in the Cricket Wireless Celebration Bowl.
• Pough has coached South Carolina State in each of the previous three meetings against UCF (2008, 2016 and 2018).
PRESEASON HONOR ROLL
Eleven different players have appeared on a preseason watch list in advance of the start of the 2022 season. Below is a comprehensive list:
Here are UCF players who have appeared to date on watch lists for the 2022 national college football awards:
--RB Isaiah Bowser (Doak Walker and Danny Wuerffel)
--RB Johnny Richardson (Doak Walker)
--WR Ryan O'Keefe (Fred Biletnikoff, Paul Hornung and Earl Campbell Tyler Rose)
--C Matt Lee (Rimington)
--TE Kemore Gamble (John Mackey)
--CB Davonte Brown (Jim Thorpe)
--OL Lokahi Pauole (Outland)
--S Divaad Wilson (Nagurski)
--P Andrew Osteen (Ray Guy)
--LS Alex Ward (Mannelly)
--OL Lokahi Pauole (Polynesian)
SENIOR BOWL WATCH LIST
A half-dozen UCF football standouts—running back Isaiah Bowser, tight end Kemore Gamble, offensive tackle Tylan Grable, wide receiver Ryan O'Keefe, quarterback John Rhys Plumlee and safety Divaad Wilson—have been named to the watch list for the 2023 Reese's Senior Bowl all-star game (Feb. 4, 2023, in Mobile, Alabama).
LEADING THE CHARGE
Running back Isaiah Bowser, defensive lineman Josh Celiscar, offensive lineman Sam Jackson, linebacker Jeremiah Jean-Baptiste and receiver Ryan O'Keefe have been selected captains of the 2022 UCF football squad by vote of their teammates.
STRONG RETURNERS
• Fifteen returning starters (eight on defense, seven on offense) plus a handful of key specialists are back for Malzahn in 2022 as UCF looks to compete for the American Athletic Conference championship it last won in 2017 and 2018.
COOL UNDER PRESSURE
• UCF led the nation last season in fourth-down conversion percentage at 84.6%. The Knights were successful on 11 of their 13 fourth-down attempts.