No. 8 UCF remains unbeaten, but loses Milton in 38-10 win
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — McKenzie Milton's teammates crowded around the injured UCF quarterback, some kneeling in prayer and others offering comforting words.
"Our guys care deeply about everybody on our football team, and certainly McKenzie," coach Josh Heupel said after the eighth-ranked Knights rebounded from losing their leader to an apparent right knee injury to finish a 38-10 rout of intrastate rival South Florida on Friday.
"You could tell by their reaction, wanting to be over near him, by him, to support him . ... In that moment, it's hard," Heupel added. "I'm proud of our kids — just the resiliency to come back from something like that that happened and continue to play football . ... I'm proud of the way they finished the game."
Central Florida (11-0, 8-0, No. 9 CFP) extended the nation's longest winning streak to 24 and completed a second consecutive undefeated regular season.
Heupel would not confirm the nature or severity of Milton's injury. Still, it seems unlikely the junior from Kapolei, Hawaii, will play again anytime soon.
"Obviously, a traumatic injury. All of our thoughts and prayers are with him," Heupel said. "I'm not going to discuss anything right now until medically I get more information."
Milton, eighth in Heisman Trophy balloting a year ago, hurt his knee when he was tackled at the end of a 5-yard run in the second quarter. Darriel Mack Jr. replaced him and probably will make his second start of the year when UCF faces Memphis next week in the American Athletic Conference title game.
"We'll be ready to go play," Heupel said. "This is a team game. Again, everybody inside that locker room is thinking about McKenzie at this time. At the same time, we'll push forward and be ready to play next week."
Players from both schools, which are located about 100 miles apart via Interstate 4, kneeled on one knee while a cart was rolled onto the field and Milton received medical attention in front of the South Florida bench. The entire UCF squad left their sideline at one point to form a crowded circle around Milton, who was placed on the cart and taken to the locker room and later a nearby hospital.
Heupel said he didn't have a clear view of the play from the sideline.
"My immediate concern was one, his well-being. And two, his mental state as well," the coach said. "I told him I love him."
Before leaving, Milton completed 5 of 10 passes for 86 yards, including a 14-yard scoring throw to Gabriel Davis for a 7-0 lead. The Knights kicked a field goal on the first play after the quarterback departed to make it 10-0.
"You hate to see that happen to Milton because he's such a competitor," South Florida coach Charlie Strong said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with him. I just hope he's able to make it back."
Mack got plenty of help from a talented supporting cast that includes Greg McCrae to make sure UCF finished the job. South Florida (7-5, 3-5) finished the regular season on a five-game losing streak, its longest skid since 2013.
McCrae scored on runs of 40, 39 and 31 yards, with the second of the three TDs re-establishing a 14-point after South Florida briefly pulled to 17-10 on Johnny Ford's 34-yard catch-and-run for the Bulls' only touchdown.
McCrae finished with 181 yards rushing on 16 carries for the Knights, who have scored at least 30 points in 24 consecutive games — matching South Florida (201517) for the longest such streak since 1939.
Ford rushed for 120 yards on 16 attempts for South Florida, which played without injured quarterback Blake Barnett (shoulder/ankle).
THE TAKEAWAY
UCF: The Knights lost Milton, but were still good enough to take care of their intrastate rival. Mack also led the team to a 37-10 road victory over East Carolina while Milton was sidelined with an undisclosed injury on Oct. 20.
South Florida: After a 7-0 start, the Bulls faded quickly down the stretch. The defense is partly responsible, allowing 57, 41, 35, 27 and 38 points in losses to Houston, Tulane, Cincinnati, Temple and UCF, but the offense had difficulty sustaining drives and getting in the end zone.
I-4 RIVALRY
UCF has won two straight in the series South Florida leads 6-4. Since 2016, the rivalry has been dubbed the "War on I-4" and the winner is presented with a traveling trophy that's 4-foot, 3 inches in height and weighs 160 pounds.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
The Knights climbed three spots in the AP poll after dominating Cincinnati on national television and have done everything they can to remain in the top 10 for at least another week by beating South Florida. UCF is No. 9 in the latest CFP rankings, the highest spot ever occupied by an AAC team.
UP NEXT
UCF: Hosts AAC championship game against Memphis next Saturday.
South Florida: Despite five-game skid, Bulls are bowl eligible and await a fourth consecutive berth.
NO. 11 TEXAS 24, KANSAS 17
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Sam Ehlinger threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score, and No. 11 Texas held off Kansas to clinch a spot in the Big 12 title game.
The Longhorns opened a 24-7 lead on Cameron Dicker's 34-yard field goal in the fourth quarter, but the lowly Jayhawks responded with Peyton Bender's 31-yard touchdown pass to Daylon Charlot and recovered the ensuing onside kick.
After Gabriel Rui made it a one-score game with a 45-yard field goal with 1:37 remaining, Kansas was unable to recover another onside kick and Texas (9-3, 7-2, No. 15 CFP) closed out its third consecutive victory.
Tre Watson finished with 79 yards on 14 carries as Texas continued its strong second season under coach Tom Herman.
Ehlinger threw two interceptions, but he made enough plays to get another win. The Longhorns had a 98-yard drive on their first possession that ended with a 26-yard touchdown pass from Ehlinger to Collin Johnson.
Texas' offense struggled for much of the first half, and then got back on track in the third quarter. Watson's 31-yard run helped set up Andrew Beck's 5-yard touchdown
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Amari Cooper's 90-yard touchdown catch was soon followed by DeMarcus Lawrence's first career interception in a Dallas win over Washington that pulled the Cowboys even with the Redskins atop the NFC East.
Call Jerry Jones crazy, but the Cowboys owner and general manager believes those two big plays are connected. And he's suggested as much several times in the month since he traded his next first-round pick in the draft to Oakland for a new No. 1 receiver.
"It's got this entire bunch involved," Jones said of Cooper's impact during a three-game winning streak that put the Cowboys back in contention. "It had to do something, especially defensively. My whole point is there's no question he's added a spark."
The Cowboys (6-5) are showing confidence and swagger reminiscent of two years ago, when quarterback Dak Prescott and running back Ezekiel Elliott were rookie sensations leading a franchise-record 11-game winning streak. They'll need it when New Orleans visits with a 10-win run Thursday.
The Saints (10-1) will be trying to match exactly what Dallas did when Prescott was the 2016 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year and Elliott the league rushing champion: win 11 in a row after losing the opener. The Cowboys finished with an NFC-best 13 wins two years ago.
"They say if you want to be a good team, you have to really start rolling in November," said Cooper, who had a Dallas Thanksgiving record with 180 yards receiving with a 40-yard touchdown as well in a 31-23 win over the Redskins. "We've been standing tall with our backs against the wall. Hopefully we can keep this up."
There's another connection to 2016 for the Cowboys. They intercepted Colt McCoy three times in the longtime Washington backup's return to Texas coming off Alex Smith's season-ending leg injury. Dallas' last three-pick game was in the 12th win of that year, 26-20 over Tampa Bay. Anthony Brown had the first interception by a Cowboys cornerback this year in the first quarter; a deflection and catch by defensive end Lawrence set up Prescott's scrambling 5-yard touchdown run for a 31-13 lead early in the fourth quarter; and safety Xavier Woods had his second of the season to all but seal the outcome.
While the defense helped keep the Cowboys around .500 as the offense struggled through the first half of the season, takeaways were an issue with six through the first seven games. But Dallas has seven during a four-game run of forcing at least one turnover and was plus-3 against the Redskins after being minus-2 in a 20-17 loss in Washington, the last time the Cowboys didn't have a takeaway.
"It's not a designed play to get takeaways," said cornerback Chidobe Awuzie, who dropped a potential interception in the end zone and had the deflection that led to Woods' pick. "It kind of just happens. Things happen like that when you're in position to make plays."
And now the Cowboys are in position for the playoffs, with the daunting task of trying to keep their run going while slowing the roll of Drew Brees and the Saints.
"The way we are going and the way we are progressing, especially over the last three games," Prescott said, "we're taking care of the ball, the defense is getting us many possessions even when we are punting it. So we are all just playing together."
NOTES: Jones said he expected LT Tyron Smith to play against the Saints after the five-time Pro Bowler was active but didn't play against the Redskins. Smith said he sustained a stinger in a win at Atlanta four days earlier . ... Elliott finished with 121 yards rushing and overtook Todd Gurley for the NFL lead with 1,074 yards. Gurley, who is in his open week with the LA Rams, had 1,043 yards.