Future for Knights: With Milton gone, it’s Mack’s team now
No. 9 UCF earned a 38-10 road win over rival USF Saturday, extending the nation's longest win streak to 24 games and completing back-to-back undefeated regular-season runs.
The win, however, was overshadowed by McKenzie Milton's major knee injury. Milton had emergency surgery Friday night in Tampa, multiple sources told the Orlando Sentinel.
Check out the top three things we learned from the Knights' bittersweet win:
1. This is Darriel Mack Jr.’s team now: While UCF officials declined to comment on the extent of Milton's injury, it's clear he will not play again this season.
Mack stepped in to help lead the Knights to a win over the Bulls after Milton was hurt in the second quarter.
“I'm extremely proud of DJ [Mack]. Just the way that he came in, the poise he played with and took care of the football,” UCF coach Josh Heupel said. “He missed a couple of things but then rebounded and found a way to make some plays as well.
“It's typical of who he is and the way he's practiced inside our program really since the East Carolina game.”
Mack guided the offense, which scored 21 points during the second half to clinch the win.
He finished 5-of-14 passing for 81 yards while adding 51 yards on the ground.
Heupel said he is confident his young backup can lead the Knights against Memphis next week in the American Athletic Conference title game.
“We'll be ready to play,” Heupel said. “This is a team game and, again, everyone in that locker room is thinking of McKenzie at this time, but at the same time, we'll push forward and be ready to play next week.”
Mack said he'll continue to do what he's been doing all season long.
“Stay ready as I always do,” he said. “Just having the team on my back and we're going out there and playing for him [Milton], playing for the rest of our school and playing for the city.”
Tailback Greg McCrae insists this week's preparations will be just like it is every week for the Knights.
“Nothing changes. We go out with the same mentality, the same effort and just trying to go 1-0 every week,” McCrae said.
2. McCrae continues to power the running game: McCrae put together a career-best night against USF Saturday, rushing for a team-high 181 yards and a career-high three touchdowns while sparking the Knights' offense.
UCF finished with a season-high 391 yards rushing against the Bulls, including McCrae's third 100-yard rushing performance this season.
“A great job by the O-line. They picked up a lot of blocks. The holes were there and I made a lot of great adjustments,” McCrae said. “They just provided really big holes for me to run through.”
Heupel was pleased with McCrae's performance.
“He just continues to play and execute and do the little things at such a high level,” Heupel said.
McCrae is 105 yards away from becoming the first UCF 1,000-yard rusher since Storm Johnson in 2013.
3. Another big performance by the defense: After giving up a season-high 670 yards to Temple on Nov. 1, UCF's defense has clamped down on the opposition, allowing just 359 yards per game against Navy, Cincinnati and USF.
The 309 yards the Knights allowed against the Bulls was the lowest total since giving up just 272 yards during a win over Pittsburgh on Sept. 29.
“Just a suffocating performance by them in both the run game and going after the quarterback,” Heupel said of the group's achievement Saturday.
UCF managed four sacks Saturday against the Bulls, pushing its season total to 25. The Knights also registered another takeaway, extending a streak of at least one turnover forced during the past 30 games, dating back to 2016.
“On defense, we always say we've got to bring the juice,” said linebacker Nate Evans, who finished with a team-high 10 tackles including a tackle for loss. “I'm just happy for all of us right now.”