UCF earns second win ever over Big Ten foe

COLLEGE PARK, Md. — UCF coach Scott Frost was calm and subdued as he walked into the interview room following UCF’s 38-10 victory over Maryland on Saturday.

“I was ecstatic, the guys are happy, but they’re not acting like they won the Super Bowl,” Frost said.

OK, well maybe not the Super Bowl, but the players saw something different in the locker room.

“Everybody was going crazy. We were dancing, throwing water in the air … even Coach Frost was in there yelling at the top of his lungs. That was just great to see,” said running back Taj McGowan.

Quarterback McKenzie Milton, who orchestrated an offensive attack that put 428 yards of offense on the Big Ten Terrapins, agreed Frost was pretty hyped in the celebration.

“He was pretty excited. He was just proud of us,” Milton said.

Frost was trying to make a statement that it was just another victory for the Knights and there is plenty more to accomplish, but in the moment, Frost did say that he was celebrating right along with his players and UCF athletics director Danny White beamed with pride outside the locker room.

“It feels great. … We obviously have a pretty dang good team,” White said. “When you are playing a team like this, certainly in the Big Ten Conference, but more importantly what they’ve shown on the football field so far this year … they’re a good football team and it was a great opportunity for us, our kids, to show college football across the country that we’re pretty formidable as well.”

What was most formidable Saturday was the UCF defense. Every which way they turned, the Terrapins were met with the all-white clad Knights defenders, who Frost said spent extensive time studying Maryland’s tendencies while preparing for this game.

“Our defense played lights out,” Frost said.

Maryland running back Ty Johnson, who came into the game averaging 128 yards during wins over Texas and Towson, was held to 25 yards on 11 carries.

The nation’s No. 9 rushing offense, which had averaged 315 yards entering hte matchup, was held to just 42 against UCF.

“They did their studying. They watched their film,” Johnson said of the UCF defense. “They saw certain formations and certain ways that we line up. They knew what to expect and they took advantage of it.”

The UCF defense baffled the Maryland offense, which was dealt a big blow early in the game when quarterback Kasim Hill suffered a leg injury on the Terps’ second series and never returned. He was the second quarterback to go down this season for Maryland, which was forced to dig deeper, going with third-string quarterback Max Bortenschlager.

“Everybody is excited and happy, but my message to them is, ‘We’re not done.’ We’ve got a big-time conference opponent coming in next weekend. We gotta have the same type of preparation for them,” Frost said of Memphis, which visits UCF Saturday.