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UCF makes the most of national stage, beating Cincinnati to extend win streak to 23 games
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The football bounced on the ground before 6-foot-1, 313-pound Joey Connors fell on top of it. The UCF defensive lineman jumped out of the pile of players and thrust the ball into the air in celebration.
Cincinnati’s second turnover of the night was just another highlight during what would be a career-best night for Connors, who was among the 22 Knights who celebrated Senior Night before the start of Saturday’s game.
Connors recorded his first sack of the season and blocked a field goal, helping No. 11 UCF extend the nation’s longest win streak to 23 games with a 38-13 win over No. 24 Cincinnati in front of an announced sold-out crowd at Spectrum Stadium.
“A lot of the talk should be about our defense,” UCF quarterback McKenzie Milton told ESPN’s Maria Taylor after the win.
Milton went on to credit all of the Knights for making the most of their opportunity in the national spotlight, rolling past Cincinnati on a day that started with ESPN College GameDay broadcasting live from the UCF campus and closed with a win over the Bearcats that aired in prime time on ABC.
“We beat
Milton said.
With the victory, the Knights wrapped up their second consecutive East Division crown, earning a spot in the American Athletic Conference Championship Game on Dec. 1 against the winner of next week’s Houston-Memphis game. The Knights a good football team tonight,” UCF running back Adrian Killins Jr. carries the ball during the Knights’ game against Cincinnati Saturday night at Spectrum Stadium. UCF at USF TBD, Friday
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wrap up the regular season next Friday against rival USF (7-4, 3-4 AAC) in Tampa.
It was a rocky start for UCF (10-0, 7-0 AAC), which turned the ball over on its first possession.
After being pinned back deep in its own territory, Milton took the snap from center but was sacked by linebacker Malik Clements and fumbled the ball back in the end zone. It was recovered by the Bearcats, who took a 6-0 lead after a failed extrapoint attempt.
Cincinnati's defense would again apply pressure on Milton, sacking the junior quarterback on third down and forcing a UCF punt. But after a missed 38-yard field goal by Bearcats kicker Cole Smith, the Knights' offense came alive.
Milton found Dredrick Snelson on back-to-back throws for a gain of 43 yards. He connected with Greg McCrae on a 27-yard throw deep into Cincinnati territory that would eventually set up a threeyard touchdown run by Milton as the Knights took a 7-6 lead. It was Milton's ninth rushing touchdown of the season.
Cincinnati (9-2, 5-2 AAC) drove into UCF territory and set up for a 41-yard field goal attempt by Smith, but the kick was blocked by Connors and the ball was returned 53 yards by Brandon Moore to the Bearcats' 22-yard line.
Three plays later, Milton connected with Adrian Killins for a 17-yard touchdown on the right side of the end zone, pushing the UCF lead to 14-6 at the start of the second quarter.
Connors wasn't the only senior to put together a career-best night.
Defensive lineman Titus Davis recorded three sacks in a game for the first time in his career.
Milton went back to work on the team's sixth possession of the first half, moving the ball down the field with a variety of passes to Gabriel Davis and Killins before finding Tre Nixon on a 36-yard touchdown pass to push the lead to 21-6.
Midway through the third quarter, Milton found Killins again, this time on a short shovel pass that the junior took before out-running the Cincinnati defense for a 42-yard touchdown. It was the third touchdown pass of the night for Milton and the fifth time this season in which he's thrown at least three touchdown passes in a game. For Killins, it was his first career multi-touchdown receiving performance.
McCrae added a nineyard touchdown run — his fifth of the season — to push the UCF lead to 35-6 in the fourth quarter. It was the 23rd consecutive game during which the Knights have scored at least 30 points in a game.
UCF entered this week's College Football Playoff rankings at No. 11, up one spot from the previous week.