Matter at hand
Knights say they’ll block out spotlight, defeat Cincinnati
It’s not every Thursday afternoon that hundreds of UCF fans line the road leading to Spectrum Stadium to celebrate the arrival of college football’s foremost television institution.
As the ESPN College GameDay bus made its presence known on campus, complete with a blaring police escort, a few UCF players rushed off the bus to celebrate with their adoring public. The fight song echoed. The cheers deafened.
No, this isn’t a normal Thursday. This isn’t a normal week, at least on the outside.
Inside team headquarters, however, the Knights say it’s business as usual.
“I think if you came out to practice, it wouldn’t feel a whole lot different than it’s been the first [nine] weeks of the season,” coach Josh Heupel said earlier in the day. “Our kids are dialed in, focused and want to go compete well in this one.”
With all of the decorations that adorn this week’s showdown versus Cincinnati — College GameDay’s visit; a primetime kickoff on national TV; senior night; the American Athletic Conference East Division title on the line — there are plenty of avenues for the Knights to become distracted from the task at hand. But distractions are nothing new for UCF, which is looking to extend the nation’s longest win streak Saturday by earning its 23rd consecutive victory.
“It all has to do with the maturity of the squad and how we’re used to it,” punter Mac Loudermilk said on how the team is able to block out the external noise. “There was a little bit of a limelight last year when we got on that hot streak. But now that we’ve been through it 22 games in a row, it’s nothing really too different.”
Throughout the second half of last year, the Knights dealt with a barrage of questions weekly about if they can actually go undefeated, the future of coach Scott Frost and their placement in the College Football Playoff rankings.
A couple of those topics continue to be easy talking points about the Knights. Still, it’s the experience gained from last season and a maturity that remained through a coaching staff overhaul which allows this team to concern itself with just football when necessary.
“It’s a mentality, a part of our team: We’re just going to go 1-0,” guard Samuel Jackson said. “We’re going to worry about the team we’re playing this week. It doesn’t matter what anyone else says.”
Added center Jordan Johnson: “I think last year was like a practice. It shows us how to stay humble within situations of high achievement.”
Heupel doesn’t want his players to quarantine themselves from this moment. Rather, he wants them to relish and thrive in it. He welcomes the big stage and even the distractions that come with it because, as he said Monday, “That indicates that you’re doing the right things inside your program.” Namely, winning games. The Knights know that this spotlight likely wouldn’t be shining down upon them if they had tripped up at some point over the past 14 months. The players constantly attest that those victories are a function of everyone getting the most out of each practice.
“By the time Saturday comes, the game should have already been played out on Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday when you put the work in,” quarterback McKenzie Milton said.
So, on Thursday morning, the Knights put forth their final practice of the week before one of the biggest games in school history. With the prep work complete, it was time to party a little bit on Thursday afternoon.
The Knights are confident their work will to lead more partying Saturday night.
Said Milton, “That’s what we do: We prepare better than other teams and that’s how we win.”