The annual War on I-4 rivalry game renews it’s tradition on Black Friday, as the UCF Knights travel to Tampa, Florida, to take on the USF Bulls at Raymond James Stadium at 3:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPN2.
UCF head coach Josh Heupel said during a press conference earlier in the week that this rivalry game is playing for more than just an American Athletic Conference win — he said the team is playing for a trophy they have kept inside their building and looked at everyday.
“This is a game where pretty much everybody knows everybody. Played together in highschool, played against each other, been on the same seven on seven travel teams … they know the opponent they know who they’re going against, ” Heupel said. “It means a lot for everybody because you are going to live with this one and it resides here in the state …”
Heading into the matchup, UCF has an overall record of 5-3, its most recent game being decided by just three points against No.7 Cincinnati. With last week’s loss, the Knights are currently 4-3 in AAC play.
USF, on the other hand, has not won a game since its opening matchup against the Citadel, where the Bulls defeated the Bulldogs 27-6. The Bulls have lost their last seven straight and have not won a conference game this season.
These two teams seem to be trending in very different directions, as all three of UCF’s losses this season have been decided by a total of 11 points, while the Bulls have been outscored by their opponents by 157 points in all seven losses.
It has been 15 years since the start of the South Florida, UCF rivalry as the two teams met for the first time on Sept. 15, 2005.
Before kickoff on Friday, South Florida leads the all-time series versus UCF 6-5, but the Knights have gone 5-2 against the Bulls since joining the AAC.
Since 2017, UCF has certainly gotten the better of USF not only in the rivalry, but as a program overall.
Following the historic 49-42 victory by UCF three years ago, the school has posted an 81% win percentage (29-7) won 2 consecutive conference titles, and played in back to back New Year’s 6 Bowl games.
UCF has also had three Top 25 seasons within the time span.
USF only has a 38% win percentage (13-21) and has never won an AAC championship. During the downfall, the Bulls have suffered 17 double digit losses and have not qualified for a NY6 bid.
The last time South Florida was in the Top 25 was the week before they lost to UCF in the aforementioned 2017 War on I-4 contest.
Although history is a huge part of these games, neither school should overlook one another heading into Friday.
USF ranks in the top half of the AAC in defense, even though the unit is giving up 37.6 points per game. Despite this, South Florida has fared well against the pass and only allows 7.4 yards through the air per passing attempt. Daquan Evans has excelled this season, snagging three interceptions from the Cornerback position.
Transitioning to the offensive side of the ball, USF ranks 10 of 11 in the AAC. USF has struggled at Quarterback this season between Noah Johnson and Jordan McCloud.
UCF’s defense has feasted on opposing offenses this season and forced 20 turnovers.
Riche Grant and company should have a field day against a struggling South Florida team who lacks consistency on offense. Grant had a career high 16 tackles in last week’s contest versus Cincinnati.
Despite Dillion Gabriel not having the best afternoon against Cincy, the sophomore still tossed for three touchdowns in a valiant effort against the top defense in the conference.
Gabriel ranks first in the nation with 3,017 passing yards and counting, behind only three interceptions this season. This year marks Gabriel’s consecutive season with 3,000 passing yards in just two years as a starter.
“I believe he is one of the top 3-4 quarterbacks in college football right now,” said USF head coach Jeff Scott, when asked about Gabriel in a pre-game presser. “The biggest disappointment is when I found out he was a sophomore.”
The Knights have been fortunate enough to transition from one outstanding signal caller to another, both coming from Mililani High School in Hawaii.
McKenzie Milton is regarded as one of the greatest quarterbacks in UCF school history, but has not taken a single snap since his catastrophic knee injury almost two years ago in 2018’s game against the Bulls.
Milton was medically cleared to play earlier this season, and has been practicing with UCF’s scout team.
Heupel said Milton’s journey has been nothing short of a story of faith and the human spirit.
“You look back at where it started, the injury on the field … At that point you were hoping he was able to keep his leg, the next hurdle was being able to walk normal and live a normal life,” Heupel said. “Now you’re talking about him getting back on the field and competing at the highest level.”
Heupel said there is a lot of gratitude that Milton has gotten this far in the process.
“I think it’s remarkable where it started and where it is currently,” Heupel said. “The best part of that story is that it is not done yet. The complete story hasn’t been written.”
There has been quite a bit of speculation on whether or not Milton will see the field this Friday in the same stadium where he last played football over two calendar years ago.
“If I was a fan, I’d want to be surprised so I can’t say yes, I can’t say no,” Dillon Gabriel said in a presser. “We’ll see what happens.”
Milton’s journey has been a story of true resilience, grace, gratitude and will. ESPN’s College Gameday documented KZ’s story last weekend, and shared some of his perspective on his road to recovery.
UCF will be wearing white pegasus jerseys accompanied with black pants and corresponding black helmets. This is the fourth time in team history the Knights have charged on with this uniform combo, the most recent of which in 2019 against Temple.
UCF has now worn four different jerseys within the last five matches against South Florida.
UCF has an opportunity to even the all-time series versus USF 6-6 with a win this Black Friday. The Knights have won their last three games against the team from West Florida.
It has been exactly 1,462 days since UCF lost to USF.
Check back with Knight News for updates.
