The Knights are set to host the No. 7 Cincinnati Bearcats Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at the Bounce House.
The Bearcats head into the matchup with an undefeated 7-0 record, with five of their victories coming within American Athletic Conference play.
UCF sits at 5-2, with a 4-2 record in the AAC.
This game has the potential to be the best matchup in the AAC this season, but this is certainly the biggest matchup for the Knights in 2020.
After UCF suffered back to back losses against Tulsa and Memphis, the team has managed to win three straight and have scored over 37 points a game within that timespan.
UCF sophomore quarterback Dillon Gabriel has thrown nine touchdown passes and zero interceptions in UCF’s three game winning streak.
UCF’s defense has also turned a corner, forcing six turnovers within their last three contests. Overall, UCF’s defense has been very opurtunistic this season, accumulating 19 total turnovers on the year.
The Knights rank No. 6 in the nation with a 1.57 average turnover margin.
Giving Gabriel and company extra possessions is not ideal for opposing defenses. UCF currently ranks No. 1 overall in total offense, passing offense, and yards per game.
The Knights are playing complimentary football, and seem to be clicking on both sides of the ball.
Cincinnati’s defense has been stout this season, only allowing 12.4 points per game — the Bearcats have held their opponents to just a 32% conversion rate on third down.
Offensively, the Bearcats have been exceptional as well.
Cincinnati quarterback Desmond Ridder has accounted for 1,909 yards of offense this season — throwing 1,483 yards and 14 touchdowns with another nine scores on the ground.
UCF head coach Josh Heupel said containing the junior signal caller should be UCF’s top priority.
“[We’ve] got to make him uncomfortable, I think he’s done a really good job of throwing the football and being accurate inside the pocket this year,” Heupel said when asked about defending Ridder.
Last year Cincinnati edged UCF 27-24, handing the Knights their first loss in 19 conference games up to that point.
UCF has played very well at home, winning 23 of their last 24 games in the Bounce House. The last time Cincinnati visited Orlando in 2018, the Knights dominated the Bearcats 38-13 while College Gameday paid a visit to UCF’s campus.
This year, Cincinnati has only played one contest on the road.
Although Cincy was able to pull away handsomely in the second half against SMU and win 42-13, Luke Fickell’s squad had a slow start in front of the only crowd the team has witnessed so far this season.
The Bearcats have not played a game at home with fans in attendance, according to box records.
Although the Bounce House will only hold under 12,000 fans, will UCF’s crowd have an effect on their offense? That was certainly the case the last time Cincinnati came to town.
UCF has also won 12 of their last 13 games in the month of November.
Because this is the final home game of the season, Saturday will honor Senior Knight for 13 players — UCF has 10 graduates on their team.
The Black and Gold have received major contributions from their seniors this season, especially from the running back room. Their ground game ranks third in the AAC, and ranks No. 20 in all of college football.
Running mates Otis Anderson, Jr. and Greg McCrae have registered over 500 rushing yards, and have both averaged over five yards per carry in 2020.
“I never imagined all the things that would have happened, all the success of the program and being part of the program,” McCrae said on Wednesday. “I just wanted to be part of a team and I ended up being part of a family.
On defense, redshirt senior defensive back Richie Grant has made an impressive impact.
Grant has three interceptions on the season, alongside two fumble recoveries — he ranks No. 4 fourth and No. 2 in the nation among defensive players, respectively.
Grant has intercepted 10 passes during his tenure with the Black and Gold, tying him for the fifth overall spot in UCF history with Josh Robinson.
UCF will be wearing their big game gold helmets with an all new-white stack UCF logo, with black pegasus jerseys and black pants. UCF has worn gold helmets in all five of its meetings against Cincinnati.
This is the third brand-new helmet the Knights have worn in 2020, and also the team’s third blackout game of the season. This game will mark the third time the Knights will wear gold helmets with their all black threads since 2016.
UCF currently holds the lead in the all time series against Cincinnati 3-2 and has won both matchups in Orlando, in 2016 and 2018.
For the last time this season, the UCF Knights will play in the Bounce House as they face the No. 7 Cincinnati Bearcats at 3:30 p.m. — the game will air on ESPN.
Check back with Knight News for updates.
