THREE THINGS learned from UCF’s 49-24 win against UConn.
Check out three things we learned from UCF’s 49-24 win against UConn.
■ 1. UCF capable of withstanding a rough stretch
The 2017 season has not presented the Knights with a whole lot of challenges. Entering Saturday’s game against UConn, UCF had played just two close games all season and the team had looked dominant for much of the year.
But coming out of halftime against the Huskies, the Knights were struggling. After building a comfortable lead thanks to a 28-point first half, UCF’s offense sputtered in the third quarter. The team’s two full drives in the quarter ended in a fumble and a punt, and UConn scored to make it just an 11-point game.
“I think we made some mistakes and we hurt ourselves a few times. We are driving to score and we fumble and then we have a low snap on the first play of the drive,” UCF coach Scott Frost said. “Those are things that you can’t do against really good football teams.”
Despite the rough quarter, the defense held on and the offense recovered, allowing the Knights to easily pull away for a blowout win in the fourth quarter.
“It’s … an interesting feeling when you come off and not everybody’s elated because they know we didn’t play quite our best as a football team,” Frost said. “It’s awesome when you can get a win when you don’t quite play your best, but I think our guys understand we’re gonna have to be at our best in the upcoming weeks.”
■ 2. McKenzie Milton bounces back Sophomore quarterback McKenzie Milton has been one of UCF’s most impressive players all year, but he struggled at times during a Nov. 4 win at SMU. He tossed two interceptions and recorded his lowest completion percentage of the season against the Mustangs.
But Milton proved on Saturday he could quickly bounce back from a down performance. He passed for 311 yards and two touchdowns against the Huskies, completing 67 percent of his passes and rushing for 52 yards and a touchdown. It was also the fifth time this year he passed for more than 300 yards.
“McKenzie’s been our catalyst. We have a lot of guys around him that can make football plays, but McKenzie’s the one making the decisions,” Frost said.
“When we need plays, McKenzie makes them and he’s been lights out from a decision-making standpoint all year.”
■ 3. Otis Anderson a key player for Knights As UCF was struggling to get its offense going in the third quarter, freshman wide receiver Otis Anderson was poised to help put the Knights in scoring position after catching a big pass from Milton in UConn territory. Instead, the ball was poked loose and Anderson’s fumble was recovered by the Huskies.
But the team made sure the disappointment of that play didn’t rattle Anderson.
“They told me to keep my head up and go back out and make another play,” Anderson said. “They said it happens to the best of us.”
In the fourth quarter, Anderson broke free for a 65-yard touchdown run. That score gave the Knights a 35-17 lead, effectively putting the game out of reach for the Huskies.
Despite the fumble, Anderson finished the game with 84 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
“For me to get back in the game and show that I can make another big play is really important,” he said. “It keeps my confidence up.”