Central Florida wins again, but loses Milton

McKenzie Milton’s teammates crowded around the injured UCF quarterback, some kneeling in prayer and others offering comforting words.

“Our guys care deeply about everybody on our football team, and certainly McKenzie,” coach Josh Heupel said after the eighth-ranked Knights rebounded from losing their leader to an apparent right knee injury to finish a 38-10 rout of intrastate rival South Florida on Friday in Tampa.

“You could tell by their reaction, wanting to be over near him, by him, to support him. ... In that moment, it’s hard,” Heupel added. “I’m proud of our kids — just the resiliency to come back from something like that that happened and continue to play football. ... I’m proud of the way they finished the game.”

Central Florida (11-0, 8-0) extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 24 and completed a second consecutive undefeated regular season.

Heupel would not confirm the nature or severity of Milton’s injury. Still, it seems unlikely the junior from Kapolei, Hawaii, will play again anytime soon.

Milton, eighth in Heisman Trophy balloting a year ago, hurt his knee when he was tackled at the end of a 5-yard run in the second quarter. Darriel Mack Jr. replaced him and probably will make his second start of the year when UCF faces Memphis next week in the American Athletic Conference title game.

Players from both schools kneeled on one knee while a cart was rolled onto the field and Milton received medical attention in front of the South Florida bench. The entire UCF squad South Florida coach Charlie Strong, left, comforts Central Florida quarterback McKenzie Milton, who suffered a gruesome injury to his right leg during Friday’s game.

left their sideline at one point to form a crowded circle around Milton, who was placed on the cart and taken to the locker room and later a nearby hospital.

South Florida (7-5, 3-5) finished the regular season on a five-game losing streak, its longest skid since 2013.

NO. 11 TEXAS 24, KANSAS 17: Sam Ehlinger threw for two touchdowns and ran for a score, and Texas (9-3, 7-2 Big 12) held off Kansas

(3-9, 1-8) in Lawrence, Kansas, to clinch a spot in the Big 12 title game. IOWA 31, NEBRASKA 28: Miguel Recinos drilled a 41-yard field goal as time expired and Iowa (8-4, 5-4 Big Ten) beat Nebraska (4-8, 3-6) in Iowa City, Iowa. Mekhi Sargent ran for a career-high 173 yards and scored twice for the Hawkeyes. Nebraska erased a 15-point fourthquarter deficit. Adrian Martinez ran in the end zone with 3:22 left and the Huskers made the two-point conversion to tie it at 28. CINCINNATI 56, ECU 6: Desmond Ridder threw four touchdown passes in the first half, and Cincinnati (10-2, 6-2 AAC) wrapped up the regular season with 10 victories for the first time since 2012, routing East Carolina (3-8, 1-7) in Cincinnati. BUFFALO 44, BOWLING GREEN 14: Tyree Jackson threw a touchdown pass and Buffalo (10-2, 7-1 MAC) ran in four scores to beat Bowling Green (3-9, 2-6) in Bowling Green to claim the Mid-American Conference East Division championship. The Bulls will face Northern Illinois in the conference title game on Nov. 30 at Detroit’s Ford Field. OHIO 49, AKRON 28: A.J. Ouellette ran for 169 yards and two touchdowns and Papi White became Ohio’s all-time leader in yards receiving as the Bobcats (8-4, 6-2 MAC) rolled to a victory over Akron (4-7, 2-6) in Athens. White caught three passes for 63 yards, pushing him past LaVon Brazill (2,511 yards from 2007-11) and giving the senior 2,529 for his career. TOLEDO 51, CENTRAL MICHIGAN 13: Bryant Koback rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns, helping Toledo (7-5, 5-3 MAC) beat Central Michigan (1-11, 0-8) in Toledo. Koback and Art Thompkins each had 1-yard touchdown runs in the first quarter and Koback added an 8-yard score to cap the first-half scoring. EASTERN MICHIGAN 28, KENT STATE 20: Ian Eriksen rushed for 118 yards and three touchdowns to power Eastern Michigan (7-5, 5-3 MAC) to a win over Kent State (2-10, 1-7) in Kent. EMU trailed 10-0 in the first quarter when Eriksen bulled his way in from a yard out. Issac Stiebeling ran it in from the 1 two minutes into the second quarter to put the Eagles up 14-10.