Tigers lose game; Knights lose coach
ORLANDO, Fla. — Central Florida needed another shootout victory to keep its unbeaten football season alive.
When it was over, the Knights found out the coach who orchestrated the program’s turnaround won’t be around much longer.
The 12th-ranked Knights captured the American Athletic Conference title with a 62-55 victory over No. 16 Memphis in double overtime Saturday in the league’s championship game at Central Florida’s home field.
It is the Knights’ third AAC crown in five years and was secured eight days after they won the East Division with a 49-42 victory over South Florida.
Saturday’s matchup was another wild game — and quite possibly the last at Central Florida for coach Scott Frost. Less than two hours after it was over, the second-year coach and Nebraska native was announced as the Cornhuskers’ next coach.
During the earlier postgame news conference, Frost said he would discuss his fate with his Central Florida players first.
“The hard thing about all of this is they should give you time after the season to make decisions, and they don’t. These things happen at the wrong time,” Frost said. “The one thing I wasn’t going to do was sacrifice my commitment to this team. I’ve been game planning, coaching and doing the best that I can for these guys, and these decisions land on you.
“This place has given me more than I have given this place.”
Central Florida athletic director Danny White said there is a possibility Frost will coach the Knights in their bowl game, likely one of the New Year’s Six. Offensive coordinator Troy Walters has been named the interim coach to handle day-to-day matters.
If this was the end for Frost, it was quite a sendoff. The top two scoring teams in the country combined for 117 points — a record for a Football Bowl Subdivision conference championship game — and 1,479 yards. It was tied at 48 at the end of regulation.
Central Florida (12-0) had the ball first in the second overtime and scored on a 1-yard run by Otis Anderson. Memphis (10-2) got as far as the Knights’ 9 on its possession, but Riley Ferguson’s pass on second-and-goal was intercepted by Tre Neal.
The teams exchanged touchdowns in the first overtime. Memphis got the ball first and scored when Ferguson connected with Anthony Miller from 15 yards. Central Florida answered on a 2-yard run by Adrian Killins.
The Knights led 48-34 early in the fourth quarter, but the Tigers rallied to tie with 4:13 remaining on Ferguson’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Miller. Memphis had a chance to win it in regulation, but Riley Patterson’s 51-yard field-goal attempt with 28 seconds remaining was wide left.
Ferguson finished 30-of-42 for 471 yards and four touchdowns. Miller had 14 receptions for 195 yards and three scores, while Darrell Hanederson (15 carries for 109 yards) and Patrick Taylor (17 for 108) each added a touchdown.
The Tigers are likely to play in the Liberty Bowl in their home stadium.