Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Frost still sees room for improvement
DALLAS — UCF coach Scott Frost was exhausted, relieved and feeling quite fortunate to get out of Texas with a victory at SMU Saturday.
He also knows that if his Knights want to continue their current undefeated pace and earn a spot in a New Year’s Six bowl game, they are going to have to eliminate some of the selfinflicted wounds he saw in Dallas.
UCF had been near flawless while running its record to 7-0 heading into the SMU matchup, but the things the Knights had avoided in the first seven games flared up against the Mustangs and had the Knights in what Frost called a “a pot of hot water.” The problems included: ■ Quarterback McKenzie Milton throwing two interceptions, one of which was returned for a touchdown.
■ UCF failing to score on two trips inside the red zone. The Knights turned the ball over on downs on the first series of the game and usually dependable tight end Jordan Akins fumbled at the SMU 7-yard line, also in the first half.
■ The Knights converting a paltry 4 of 15 third-down attempts, an area UCF had been quite successful in during its previous seven games — converting nearly half (39-of-81) of their third-down attempts.
■ UCF piling up 615 yards of total offense only to put up a season low 31 points, 29 points below their nation-leading 50 points-pergame average.
■ The defense missing numerous tackles and assignments on big plays, especially on SMU’s first offensive play that saw quarterback Ben Hicks hit James Proche with a short pass and then Proche turning it into an 86-yard touchdown catch-and-run. Seven different Knights missed tackles on the play.
■ The defensive line getting gashed up front, allowing 203 rushing yards and failing to give its usual effort on the pass rush that helped SMU record 283 yards through the air. As a result, defensive backs Nevelle Clarke and Tre Neal led the team in tackles as SMU consistently penetrated the Knights’ secondary.
These are problems UCF is not likely to get away with in games looming down the road, especially a Black Friday date with rival USF. Fortunately for the Knights, SMU failed to take complete advantage of the opportunities presented.
Frost reiterated several times Saturday night it wasn’t the prettiest of victories, but he was still pleased to get through a week during which his train of thought was also consumed by Baby Frost Watch, as he and wife Ashley are expecting their first child, a boy that is expected to be born any day now.
Frost even took full responsibility for the offensive woes.
“When you have 600-plus yards of offense you’re supposed to have more points than that, and that’s my fault,” he said. “We got stopped on a fourth down that would have really helped to get points on the first drive. [We] threw a pick-6 that helped them stay in the game. [We] had a chance to put it away in the third quarter and fumbled down there.
“[We] had a chance to score a touchdown and be up more than a touchdown at the end of the game and we got stopped on a thirdand-short and had to kick the field goal. We got sacked another time and that knocked us out of field-goal range.
“So we had plenty of chances to make it a little more comfortable.”