The American still runs through Orlando.
No. 11 UCF gave up a touchdown off a fumble on their very first offensive snap of the game but wound up turning things around quickly to thump No. 24 Cincinnati 38-13 on Saturday night, capturing another AAC East title in the process.
The rare primetime spotlight for the Knights allowed one of the most hotly debated teams in the country to show off several things against a ranked opponent. You could start with the offense of course, as QB McKenzie Milton wound up throwing for 268 yards and three touchdowns (adding another on the ground) against a top 10 defense coming in. Speedy tailback Adrian Killins was a one-man wreaking crew in space too, scoring on two long touchdown receptions out of the backfield and finishing with 109 total yards.
It was the 23rd straight win for the program, all of which have come by topping the 30-point mark -- which tonight just so happened to double as the most allowed by UC all season.
UCF’s defense also showed up after several weeks of getting beat up on that side of the ball. The unit was on the field nearly twice as long as their counterparts but allowed only one scoring drive (well into the fourth quarter) and recovered three fumbles. After a few weeks of getting gashed, it was certainly an impressive effort on the big stage for everybody, particularly the Selection Committee, to see.
There were a handful of bright spots for the visiting Bearcats despite the loss, which takes nothing away from the remarkable turnaround campaign that Luke Fickell’s crew has put together. Signal-caller Desmond Ridder took plenty of shots but the freshman did still show several flashes in throwing for 127 yards and providing a nice threat running the ball with 70 on the ground. Running back Michael Warren chipped in with another 81 yards while the defense kept things close until the third quarter and saw Kimoni Fitz recover the initial fumble for a touchdown.
Though a division title is now off the table for Cincinnati, they still have a great shot at reaching double-digit wins on the season against East Carolina next week.
As for UCF, it remains to be seen if the comfortable victory will be enough to move them up much when the Selection Committee releases their next set of rankings but they continue to lead comfortably in the race for the Group of Five bid. They’ll head down the highway to take on USF on Black Friday and then will turnaround and host either Houston or Memphis for a chance to win another AAC championship.