UCF’S Frost voted AP football coach of year
Led Knights to unbeaten season, Peach Bowl bid
Scott Frost was voted The Associated Press coach of the year after leading Central Florida to an unbeaten season and a spot in the Peach Bowl.
Frost, 42, has already accepted the Nebraska head-coaching job, but plans to complete the season with UCF and coach the 10th-ranked Knights against No. 7 Auburn.
Frost received 21 first-place votes and 100 points from 57 Top 25 poll voters who submitted ballots. Kirby Smart of Georgia finished second with
seven first-place votes and 55 points. Clemson’s Dabo Swinney finished third with seven votes and 38 points.
Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley (four, 36) was fourth and Miami’s Mark have won nine consecutive games and captured the Conference USA title this season. The reward is a postseason game in their home stadium.
■ Key matchup: Linebacker Ulysees Gilbert will likely need to tackle Devin Singletary a lot to keep underdog Akron in the game. Gilbert is a first-team all-midAmerican Conference selection who has recorded more than 120 tackles each of the last two seasons. Singletary has rushed for 1,796 yards and a Football Bowl Subdivisionhigh 29 touchdowns for Florida Atlantic while averaging 6.5 yards per carry. Richt (five, 28) was fifth. Alabama-birmingham’s Bill Clark (six), Wisconsin’s Paul Chryst (three), Iowa State’s Matt Campbell (two), Fresno State’s Jeff Tedford (one) and Auburn’s Gus Malzahn (one) also received first-place votes.
Frost took over at UCF two years ago with the Knights coming off an 0-12 season. He got them to a bowl game last season, going 6-7. This season, the Knights exceeded expectations. UCF won the American Athletic Conference and was the nation’s highest-scoring team at 49 points per game.
“I was very fortunate to work with a special group at UCF for the last two years,” Frost said. “I’ve told them a number of times that what they accomplished this season was nothing short of impossible. Any honor or award I receive based on what we accomplished as a team is a credit to those student-athletes. I’m very proud to have been a part of this magical season.”