After experiencing their first conference loss in two years in Cincinnati, the UCF Knights will face the East Carolina Pirates Saturday at the Bounce House for the 2019 Homecoming Game.
UCF (4-2, 1-1 American Athletic Conference) and East Carolina (3-3, 0-2 AAC) are coming out of a bye week and into the matchup after experiencing a loss to a conference opponent.
UCF head coach Josh Heupel said in a pregame press conference that the Knights need to play with great energy and focus on the things they can control. He said the team is well-rested and ready to play after the bye week.
“Our guys are excited to get back out there on the field,” Heupel said. “Gotta continue to create more turnovers and put ourselves in a position to play championship football.”
Heupel said the team has learned from the two losses this season, and said the Knights’ feed off the energy in the Bounce House and look forward to the Homecoming Game Saturday against the Pirates.
“We went undefeated two years in a row, everyone wants to be the one to beat the team that’s doing something like that,” UCF junior wide receiver Gabriel Davis said. “That shows how relevant we are. A lot of people wanted to see us fall and they see us lose and now everybody was on our back, but that’s a good thing I feel like. Everyone is watching us now, everyone wants to see what UCF is gonna do … we definitely made a statement in college football.”
The Pirates head to Spectrum Stadium looking to even their AAC road record at 1-1 after falling to Temple 27-17 before the bye week.
The two teams have matched up 17 times before Saturday, with the Pirates holding the upper hand in the series 10-7. UCF has won the last three games in the series, with the most recent victory attributed to then redshirt freshman quarterback Darriel Mack Jr. as he led the Knights to defeat the Pirates 37-10 at East Carolina.
Looking for their 19th straight win at home, and their fourth straight victory over the Pirates, the UCF Knights take on the East Carolina Pirates Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Spectrum Stadium.
