UCF football is set for its first trip to the state of Oklahoma since 2019 and its first trip to Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium this weekend for a matchup against No. 6/7 Oklahoma. Kickoff is set for 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT on ABC.
GAME INFORMATION
Date: Saturday, Oct. 21
Time: 12 p.m. ET/11 a.m. CT
TV: ABC
Talents: Dave Pasch (PXP), Dusty Dvoracek (Analyst), Tom Luginbill (Sideline)
Radio: FM 96.9/AM 740 The Game
Spanish Radio: UCFKnights.com, YouTube.com/UCFKnights
Live Stats: click here
A UCF WIN WOULD...
• Mark the first Big 12 Conference win in program history.
• Mark the first win against Oklahoma in the first meeting between the programs.
• Give UCF its fourth top-10 win in program history and the first since the 2017 Peach Bowl against No. 7 Auburn.
• Give head coach Gus Malzahn his first win against Oklahoma in his second meeting against the program.
• Give Malzahn his 99th career win as a head coach, one shy of reaching 100 career victories.
• Be better than a loss
SERIES BREAKDOWN
| Overall | First Meeting |
KNIGHT NOTES
• The Knights are looking for their fourth top-10 win in program history, as the Black and Gold last defeated No.7/8 Auburn, 34-27, in the 2017 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. UCF also beat a pair of top-10 teams during the 2013 season, taking down No. 8/6 Louisville, 38-35, and No. 6/5 Baylor, 52-42. The 2023 season marked the 10th anniversary of the 2013 team, which compiled a 12-1 record and an 8-0 mark in American Athletic Conference play. The 2013 team was recognized on the field during the Baylor game on Sept. 30.
• UCF’s offense continues to rank among the nation’s best following the first six games of the season, as the Knights are fourth in the country and lead the Big 12 Conference in total offense, averaging 516.7 yards per game. The Knights have surpassed 400 or more yards in five of its six games this season, headlined by 723 yards in the season opener against Kent State, the second-most yards by any team in the country this year in a single game.
• Additionally, the Knights are third nationally in rushing offense with 246.3 rushing yards per game, behind Air Force (334.2), which runs the triple option, and Liberty with 253.5. UCF is one of just eight FBS programs that has surpassed 1,400 rushing yards as a team this season with the Black and Gold compiling 1,478.
• The UCF offensive line is one of 23 listed on the 2023 midseason honor roll announced Tuesday for the Joe Moore Award for the most outstanding offensive line unit in college football. According to PFF Stats, the Knights’ offensive line has graded out at 86.8 in pass blocking, which is fourth best in the country. UCF’s run-blocking grade of 68.9 also ranks among the nation’s top 25.
• UCF is the only two teams to rank among the top six in the Big 12 in total offense (third), rushing offense (second), scoring offense (sixth) and passing offense (sixth) joining TCU.
SCOUTING OKLAHOMA
Oklahoma is in its second season under head coach Brent Venables, who has a 12-7 record over his two years in Norman. Oklahoma is 6-0 for the 22nd time in program history and the 10th time since 2000. The Sooners defeated No. 3/4 Texas, 34-30, in their most recent outing on Saturday, Oct. 7.
Oklahoma has been stellar on both sides of the ball this season, as the Sooners are one of just two teams (Penn State is the other) that ranks in the top seven nationally in both scoring offense (No. 3, 47.4 ppg) and scoring defense (No. 7, 14.0 ppg). The Sooners’ defense has only allowed 84 points this season, which are the fewest in the Big 12 and the fewest over the first six games of a season for the program since 2009 (gave up 68).
Their 271 points scored on offense are also the most in the conference. Oklahoma’s defense has recorded 12 interceptions to rank second nationally and lead the conference, while the Sooners’ two interceptions thrown are the sixth fewest in the country and the fewest in the league. OU’s offense is led by redshirt senior quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who spent his first three seasons at UCF and still ranks among the career and single-season leaders in several quarterback categories.
BATTLE OF THE NATION'S TOP OFFENSES
Saturday’s game will feature two of the nation’s top offenses, as UCF is fourth with 516.7 yards per game and Oklahoma is sixth with 506.0. Both teams have surpassed 400 total yards in five of their six games this season, with the Knights’ fewest against Kansas with 371 yards. Similarly, the fewest yards the Sooners have been held to this season is 365 against SMU.
UCF'S OFFENSIVE LINE MAKES JOE MOORE AWARD HONOR ROLL
The UCF offensive line is one of 23 listed on the 2023 midseason honor roll announced today for the Joe Moore Award for the most outstanding offensive line unit in college football. According to PFF Stats, the Knights’ offensive line has graded out at 86.8 in pass blocking, which is fourth best in the country. UCF’s run-blocking grade of 68.9 also ranks among the nation’s top 25.
UCF has an impressive recent history in terms of running the football. The Knights in 2022 ranked ninth nationally in rushing (228.4 yards per game), 19th in 2019 (223.8) and eighth in 2018 (265.2).
The 2023 UCF line gained the attention of the Joe Moore Award voting committee as it moves closer to announcing the selection of semifinalists on Nov. 14 and finalists on Dec. 5. Selection of the 2023 Joe Moore Award winner will be made public after a surprise visit to the winning university’s campus in late December.
Presented since 2015, the Joe Moore Award voting committee judges solely on six criteria: toughness, effort, teamwork, consistency, technique and finishing. Evaluations for the midseason honor roll were made solely through weekly review of actual game film and offensive line coach-provided cut-ups.
The Joe Moore Award is named after Joe Moore, widely regarded as one of the best offensive line coaches in college football history, most notably for his work at Notre Dame and Pittsburgh. Over 18 seasons, Moore sent 52 players to the NFL, including Bill Fralic, Mark May, Russ Grimm and Jimbo Covert.
FAMILIAR FACES
UCF players and fans will notice a few familiar faces on the Oklahoma sidelines this weekend, as former quarterback standout Dillon Gabriel, who spent his first three seasons with the Knights, is having a strong season for the Sooners. Gabriel still ranks among the career and single-season leaders in the UCF record books.
Jeff Lebby, who was UCF’s offensive coordinator for two seasons from 2018-19, is now the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma. Lebby also has a connection to current Knights quarterback John Rhys Plumlee, as Lebby spent the 2020-21 seasons as the OC at Ole Miss before Plumlee transferred into the Knights program.
WALKER NAMED MIDSEASON TRUE FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICAN
UCF true freshman defensive tackle John Walker was named an On3 Midseason True Freshman All-American. The Kissimmee, Florida, native made his first career start in the Knights’ last game at Kansas. Walker ranks among UCF’s top pass rushers based on PFF Stats, grading out at 64.6.
This season, Walker has tallied 13 tackles, including nine solo tackles and three tackles for loss.
MALZAHN AFTER BYE WEEKS
Throughout his 12-year head coaching tenure, Gus Malzahn’s teams have been very difficult to beat coming off a bye week, as Malzahn has compiled a 10-1 mark in the first game following the bye week. He was a perfect 9-0 during his time at Arkansas State and Auburn and is 1-1 with UCF.
Arkansas State
2012 - W at North Texas, 37-19
Auburn
2013 - W at No. 24 Ole Miss, 30-22
2014 – W vs. No. 14 LSU, 41-7
2015 – W at Kentucky, 30-27
2016 – W vs. No. 17 Arkansas, 56-3
2017 – W at Texas A&M, 42-27
2018 – W vs. No. 25 Texas A&M, 28-24
2019 – W at Arkansas, 51-10
2020 – W at Tennessee, 30-17 (Schedule adjusted due to Covid-19 Pandemic)
UCF
2021 – L at Navy, 30-34
2022 – W vs. Temple, 70-13 (Schedule adjusted due to Hurricane Ian)
STARTING FAST
The Knights have started fast in games this season and are hoping to return to form this weekend at Oklahoma, as UCF has outscored opponents, 65-27, in the first quarter of games.
UCF NO STRANGER TO NCAA STAT LEADERS
UCF ranks in the top 25 in two of the four major offensive categories this week in NCAA statistics: fourth nationally in total offense (516.7 yards per game), third in rushing (246.3), 37th in passing (270.3) and 27th in scoring (34.7). UCF leads the Big 12 in both total offense and rushing.
The Knights are no strangers to qualifying among the nation’s top offenses and rushing and passing attacks. Here’s a recent history of where UCF has landed in final NCAA stat numbers and rankings (2023 numbers are this week’s NCAA standings):
Total Offense
2023 4th 516.7
2020 2nd 568.1
2019 2nd 540.5
2018 5th 522.7
2017 5th 530.5
Rushing
2023 3rd 246.3
2022 9th 228.4
2019 19th 223.8
2018 8th 265.2
Passing
2023 37th 270.3
2020 4th 357.4
2019 8th 316.8
2017 10th 331.8
Scoring
2023 27th 34.7
2020 8th 42.2
2019 5th 43.5
2018 6th 43.2
2017 1st 48.2
MATCHUP TO KEEP AN EYE ON
One of the key matchups in Saturday’s game will be the turnover margin. Oklahoma leads the nation in turnover margin with 15 forced and only four committed. The Sooners have forced at least two turnovers in five of their six games.
Protecting the football will be essential for the Knights against the Sooners, as UCF has committed 10 turnovers and forced five.
BOOMER WITH THE PAT
Sophomore kicker Colton Boomer has conneted on 66 consecutive PATs, which is the sixth-longest streak in program history. The Lake Mary, Florida, native is 25-for-25 this season and has only missed one PAT in his career, which occurred in his collegiate debut at Florida Atlantic last year.
CONSECUTIVE PATS MADE
1. Matthew Wright 154 2017-18
2. Franco Grilla 103 1990-92
3. Charlie Pierce 81 1993-94
3. Shawn Moffitt 81 2012-14
5. Michael Torres 67 2006-07
6. Colton Boomer 66 2022-pres.
7. Javier Beorlegui 60 1999-00
MORRIS-BRASH AMONG THE NATION’S BEST
Fifth-year defensive end Tre’mon Morris-Brash has solidified himself among the nation’s top edge rushers, as he is fourth in the nation in tackles for loss with 12.0. Morris-Brash has tallied three tackles for loss in three of UCF’s six games this season and has had at least 1.5 in two of the other three games. He’s averaging 2.0 TFLs per game, which is the third best in the country.
His 50 career tackles for loss are also the most by any active FBS player and the fourth most in UCF program history behind record holder Elton Patterson (59.5), Bruce Miller (57.5) and Darrell Rudd (56.5).
In addition to his TFLs, Morris-Brash has five sacks to tie for the Big 12 Conference lead.
MALZAHN APPROACHING 100 CAREER WINS
Now in his third season as UCF head coach, Gus Malzahn is just two wins shy of 100 for his career. His 98 victories are the fourth most among active coaches in the Big 12 Conference.
Big 12 Head Coaching Wins
1. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State, 160-77
2. Lance Leipold, Kansas, 159-58
3. Chris Klieman, Kansas State, 106-35
4. Gus Malzahn, UCF, 98-50
5. Dana Holgorsen, Houston, 91-64
Additionally, Malzahn’s .662 career winning percentage (98-50) ranks among the nation’s top 20 active coaches.
THROWING THE BALL DOWNFIELD
One of the points of emphasis for the Knights offense this season under first-year offensive coordinator Darin Hinshaw was to throw the football down the field. UCF ranks 12th nationally and leads the Big 12 in passing yards per completion with 15.16.
HARVEY’S FINDING THE ENDZONE
Running back RJ Harvey has scored six rushing touchdowns this season, which is tied for the conference lead in the Big 12. The Orlando native has scored a rushing TD in five of the six games this season, including a pair of TDs against Villanova. Those six rushing TDs rank 27th nationally.
His seven total TDs are also tied for the most by any player in the conference this season.