After nearly blowing their season to a 1-10 team, UCF in the last seconds of the game beats rival USF 46-39 to advance to an AAC championship with Tulane and keeps hopes alive for another NY6 matchup in the Cotton Bowl.
The Knights entered Raymond James Stadium Saturday night with a 7-6 all-time series record against rival USF in what may be their last matchup with Bulls due to the team leaving AAC for the Big 12 Conference next season.
The Knights got off to a great start in the first half, scoring twenty-eight unanswered points and jumping out to a 28-7 lead by the end of the first half.
UCF starting quarterback John Rhys Plumlee had a great first half of play throwing for one touchdown and running in two more before injuring his hamstring on a touchdown run towards the end of the 2nd quarter. Plumlee finished the game with going 9/9 through the air for 73 yards and a touchdown and 133 yards on the ground off eight carries for two touchdowns.
Just as fans were ready to chalk up a 6th straight War on I4 win against USF things took a turn for the worse as the Bulls scored 22 points in the 3rd quarter off of three costly turnovers by the Knights that had the momentum fully with USF by the time the start of the fourth quarter.
USF has been 0-29 against teams who have had a 28+ lead in the game at some point since the year 2000 and by its metrics the Bulls had a 99.8% chance of defeat by the time the third quarter started.
USF head coach Daniel Da Prato said, “We took our 0.2 opportunity and made the most of it.”
With 7 minutes left in the game, the Bulls did the unthinkable and took a 39-38 lead after a 42-yard touchdown run and were ready to upset and squash the Knights’ chance of going to their final AAC championship.
“I’m so proud of our team, it’s hard to win in college football rivalry games. There’s nothing like it and we got their best,” said UCF head coach Gus Malzahn. “We were in control of the game in the first half, but we had three turnovers in the second half. Our guys just kept fighting and we found a way to win.”
The Knights did just that after an incredible 41-yard gain by Javon Baker to bring UCF to the 29-yard line in the final two minutes of the game, Sophomore Mikey Keene through a game winning touchdown to tight end Alec Holler to have the Knights grab the lead and eventual win with 20 seconds left in the game.
“That last drive was a classic drive and Mikey, he answered the bell again,” Malzahn said. “Now, we play in the championship game and I’m just so proud of our team. Looking around college football, it’s hard to win, especially on the road.”
With the win the Knights finished their series with USF after losing their first four games against the Bulls, 8-6 in the all-time series record.
The Knights will now play for their final AAC Championship against the No. 19 ranked Tulane this Saturday in New Orleans at Yulman Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ABC with kickoff set for 4 p.m.
